NEXTSTEP Satellite Tracking Version 1.2 of Rendezvous is now available from the NEXTSTEP archive sites. Rendezvous is a general purpose Satellite Tracking and Space Surveillance utility for NEXTSTEP users. See the Rendezvous1.2.README file on the archives for complete information. New for version 1.2 o Lunar Eclipses are calculated and displayed in the Telescope Inspector window. o The Map in the Main Window now has an option to display the lunar shadow (umbra and penumbra) as it passes over the earth during a Solar Eclipse. o Autoscaling has been implemented in the Trajectory Plot Inspector. All graphs in the Trajectory Plots window are autoscaled by default. o Slight rearrangement of controls in the Telescope Inspector. New for version 1.1 o A Solar System Inspector has been added which shows the relative positions of the planets in their orbits around the sun. o The Telescope Inspector now has an option to display the planets in the field of view allowing a user to find the azimuth and elevation to a planet from his location. Demo copies of Rendezvous are available at: ftp://ftp.cs.orst.edu/pub/next/submissions/Rendezvous1.2.tar.pkg ftp://sonata.cc.purdue.edu/pub/next/submissions/Rendezvous1.2.tar.pkg The copy on the ftp.cs.orst.edu site will eventually migrate to: ftp://ftp.cs.orst.edu/pub/next/binaries/science/demos/Rendezvous1.2.tar.pkg The demonstration copy is a fully functioning copy of Rendezvous, with the caveat that only calculations done with the Epoch Date set prior to June 1, 1994 are correct. For ordering information call Alembic Systems at: Alembic Systems 14 Inverness Dr E. Bldg G228 Englewood CO 80111 Voice: 1-800-452-7608 Fax: 1-303-799-1435 email: info@alembic.com Or contact Howard Cole at Tripod Engineering: Tripod Engineering 4816 McMahon Blvd NW N125 Albuquerque, NM 87114 Voice/Fax: 1-505-898-1483 email: hcole@rt66.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Version 1.0 Tripod Engineering is pleased to announce the availability of Rendezvous, a MAB NEXTSTEP compatible satellite tracking and Space Surveillance tool. Rendezvous will read standard NASA/NORAD two line element set files and graphically display the orbit as a ground trace in any of three different world projections including a NASA-Select style globe. The solar terminator, earth coverage area, and satellite illumination conditions can be displayed on the map with the push of a button, providing an easy and intuitive means for determining if a satellite is visible from your location. Satellites may be flown forward or backward simply by changing the time in the clock, or selecting the day, month, or year in the handy calendar. The map is immediately updated to reflect the date and time you've selected. Ground station and satellite selections are displayed in browsers, and the engagement geometry between any set of sensors and targets may be viewed by selection in the browsers. Detailed plots of the engagement (azimuth, elevation, and range) can be shown in a separate window. A display of the sensor's field of view, including stars, targets, sun, moon, and earth horizon can be shown with the telescope inspector window, and the orientation of the sensor can be changed by adjusting the sliders. The sun and moon are displayed in the inspector window with their actual apparent size, and solar eclipses are displayed properly (lunar eclipses will be supported in the next release). Telescope boresight tracking supports four different modes. There is inertial tracking where the boresight remains fixed in inertial space as the telescope orbits. Second is fixed az-el mode in which an azimuth, elevation, and roll angle are specified in "local horizontal" (sometimes called topocentric) coordinates. As the telescope orbits, the boresight slowly changes to maintain this az/el/roll in its current instantaneous local horizontal (topocentric) system. The third and fourth modes are target tracking modes in which the telescope boresight is locked on to single targets or the centroid of a cluster of targets selected from a browser. As the telescope orbits, its boresight always remains pointed at the target or centroid. For the adventurous souls, the element set can be displayed and changed in nine different coordinate systems. This allows quick conversion between the commonly used systems (ECI, ECR, Orbital Elements, etc), and lets the user perform "what-if" type experiments by changing the values of various parameters. For example, if you were responsible for discarding the solar panel from the Hubble Space Telescope, would you recommend giving it a boost forward, backward, or to the side? Each of these scenerios can be explored quite easily by changing the velocity compenent of the Hubble Telescope state vector and watching the ensuing trajectory.