IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - August 2021 - 4

Feature Article:
DOI. No. 10.1109/MAES.2021.3053121
Simulation Framework for Orbit Propagation and
Space Trajectory Visualization
Abolfazl Shirazi , Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Bilbao 48009,
Spain; and also University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Donostia 20018,
Spain
Josu Ceberio
, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Donostia 20018,
Spain
Jose A. Lozano, Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Bilbao 48009, Spain,
and also University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Donostia 20018, Spain
INTRODUCTION
Modeling and simulation of autonomous spacecraft have
made momentous strides in recent years, and the space
industry and other aerospace professions are on the
verge of being able to use computing power. The aim
of this usage is to simulate reality for all kinds of
applications in space engineering, such as autonomy of
nanosatellites [1], flight simulation [2], space object registration
[3], and orbit propagation [4]. In space engineering,
rapid simulation of space orbits and trajectories
is essential in different aspects of space engineering,
including trajectory optimization [5], orbit transfers,
orbit determination and attitude control, and gravitational
modeling. Representation of the dynamical states
of spacecraft while moving in an orbit is nontrivial for
Earth-orbiting satellites. Although preliminary analysis
of satellite space orbits can be done without extensive
simulation, interactive environments in simulation
frameworks allow researchers to design space missions
Authors' current addresses: Abolfazl Shirazi and Jose
A. Lozano, Basque Center for Applied Mathematics
BCAM, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU,
20018, Donostia, Spain. (e-mail: ashirazi@bcamath.
org; jlozano@bcamath.org). Josu Ceberio, Intelligent
Systems Group, University of the Basque Country
UPV/EHU, 20018, Donostia, Spain. (e-mail: josu.ceberio@ehu.eus).
Manuscript
received October 5, 2020; accepted
December 11, 2020, and ready for publication January
17, 2021.
Review handled by Richard Linares.
0885-8985/21/$26.00 ß 2021 IEEE
4
in a broad view that are difficult, expensive, or time consuming
to deal with. Programming languages, such as
Java, have been well used in different aspects of space
engineering [6]. However, the amount of simulation
frameworks in space engineering with MATLAB has
increased in recent years. This is due to the fact that the
capability of MATLAB to manage matrices is dominant
and the vast number oflibraries and toolboxes are available
in this programming language. In recent years, several
applications for orbit simulation have been developed,
including various MATLAB-based toolboxes. The simulation
package of AGI, named Systems Tool Kit (STK) [7],
is a reputed analytical framework. It has the capability of
simulating dynamic environment and scheduling of events
within a space mission and has a great contribution in the
space engineering community. It also has the capability of
integrating with MATLAB, which makes it more flexible
for different types of users. The General Mission Analysis
Tool (GMAT) [8] is another space mission analysis software
package developed by NASA. The MATLAB interface
in this software supports connections to the MATLAB
environment, letting GMAT to run MATLAB scripts
simultaneously.
In addition to the applications with MATLAB integration
capabilities, some MATLAB toolboxes have also been
developed in recent years for space orbit simulation and
design. In 2015, Carrara [9] presented PROPAT, a satellite
attitude and orbit analysis tool developed in MATLAB.
Although the system's attitude simulation is well developed
based on attitude kinematics and dynamics, the orbit simulation
process on the other hand is limited. The propagation
model is based on a solution that is achieved analytically,
IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2021
https://www.orcid.org/0000-0003-3246-3379 https://www.orcid.org/0000-0001-7120-6338
IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - August 2021

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