groundTrack

Add ground track object to satellite or platform in scenario

Since R2021a

Syntax

groundTrack(sat)

groundTrack(pltf)

groundTrack(___,Name=Value)

Description

groundTrack(sat) adds ground track visualization for each satellite in sat based on their current positions. The ground track begins at the scenario StartTime, and ends at the StopTime. The spacing between samples that make up the ground track visualization is determined by the scenario SampleTime. If no viewer is open, a new viewer is launched, and the ground track is displayed. If a viewer is already open, the ground track is added to that viewer. By default, ground tracks will be displayed in 2-D.

groundTrack(pltf) adds ground track visualization for each platform in pltf based on their current positions. The ground track begins at the scenario StartTime, and ends at the StopTime. The spacing between samples that make up the ground track visualization is determined by the scenario SampleTime. If no viewer is open, a new viewer is launched, and the ground track is displayed. If a viewer is already open, the ground track is added to that viewer. By default, ground tracks will be displayed in 2-D.

groundTrack(___,Name=Value) adds a groundTrack object by using one or more name-value pairs. Enclose each property name in quotes.

Examples

Add Ground Track to Satellite in Geosynchronous Orbit

Create a satellite scenario object.

startTime = datetime(2020,5,10);
stopTime = startTime + days(5);
sampleTime = 60;                                       % seconds
sc = satelliteScenario(startTime,stopTime,sampleTime);

Calculate the semimajor axis of the geosynchronous satellite.

earthAngularVelocity = 0.0000729211585530;                                             % rad/s
orbitalPeriod = 2*pi/earthAngularVelocity;                                             % seconds
earthStandardGravitationalParameter = 398600.4418e9;                                   % m^3/s^2
semiMajorAxis = (earthStandardGravitationalParameter*((orbitalPeriod/(2*pi))^2))^(1/3);

Define the remaining orbital elements of the geosynchronous satellite.

eccentricity = 0;
inclination = 60;                  % degrees
rightAscensionOfAscendingNode = 0; % degrees
argumentOfPeriapsis = 0;           % degrees
trueAnomaly = 0;                   % degrees

Add the geosynchronous satellite to the scenario.

sat = satellite(sc,semiMajorAxis,eccentricity,inclination,rightAscensionOfAscendingNode,...
        argumentOfPeriapsis,trueAnomaly,"OrbitPropagator","two-body-keplerian","Name","GEO Sat");

Visualize the scenario using the Satellite Scenario Viewer.

v = satelliteScenarioViewer(sc);

Add a ground track of the satellite to the visualization and adjust how much of the future and history of the ground track to display.

leadTime = 2*24*3600;                                          % seconds
trailTime = leadTime;
gt = groundTrack(sat,"LeadTime",leadTime,"TrailTime",trailTime)

gt = 
  GroundTrack with properties:

          LeadTime: 172800
         TrailTime: 172800
         LineWidth: 1
     LeadLineColor: [1 1 0.0670]
    TrailLineColor: [1 1 0.0670]
    VisibilityMode: 'inherit'

Visualize the satellite movement and its trace on the ground. The satellite covers the area around Japan during one half of the day and Australia during the other half.

play(sc);

Input Arguments

sat — Satellite

row vector of Satellite objects

Satellite, specified as a row vector of Satellite objects.

pltf — Platform

row vector of Platform objects

Platform, specified as a row vector of Platform objects.

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Example: LeadTime=3600 sets the lead time of the ground track to 3600 seconds upon creation.

Viewer — Satellite scenario viewer

vector of satelliteScenarioViewer objects (default) | scalar satelliteScenarioViewer object | array of satelliteScenarioViewer objects

Satellite scenario viewer, specified as a scalar, vector, or array of satelliteScenarioViewer objects. If the AutoSimulate property of the scenario is false, adding a satellite to the scenario disables any previously available timeline and playback widgets.

LeadTime — Period of ground track to be visualized

StartTime to StopTime or one orbital period (default) | positive scalar

Period of the ground track to be visualized in the satellite scenario viewer, specified as 'LeadTime' and a positive scalar in seconds.

The default value is:

• Satellite scenario StartTime to StopTime when OrbitPropagator is set to 'ephemeris'

• Satellite scenario StartTime to StopTime when the orbit is parabolic or hyperbolic and OrbitPropagator is set to 'numerical'

• One orbital period, in all other cases.

TrailTime — Period of ground track history to be visualized

StartTime to StopTime (default) | positive scalar

Period of the ground track history to be visualized in Viewer, specified as 'TrailTime' and a positive scalar in seconds.

The default value is:

• Satellite scenario StartTime to StopTime when OrbitPropagator is set to 'ephemeris'

• Satellite scenario StartTime to StopTime when the orbit is parabolic or hyperbolic and OrbitPropagator is set to 'numerical'

• One orbital period, in all other cases.

LineWidth — Visual width of ground track

1 (default) | scalar in the range (0 10]

Visual width of the ground track in pixels, specified as 'LineWidth' and a scalar in the range (0 10].

The line width cannot be thinner than the width of a pixel. If you set the line width to a value that is less than the width of a pixel on your system, the line displays as one pixel wide.

LeadLineColor — Color of future ground track line

[1 0 1] (default) | RGB triplet | RGB triplet | string scalar of color name | character vector of color name

Color of the future ground track line, specified as 'LeadLineColor' and an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB^® uses in many types of plots.

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: 'blue'

Example: [0 0 1]

Example: '#0000FF'

TrailLineColor — Color of ground track line history

[1 0.5 0] (default) | RGB triplet | RGB triplet | string scalar of color name | character vector of color name

Color of the ground track line history, specified as 'TrailLineColor' and an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: 'blue'

Example: [0 0 1]

Example: '#0000FF'

Version History

Introduced in R2021a