Satellites dialog box (Data menu)

This dialog box contains options for importing and displaying artificial satellites.

Update Frequency

Select the relative frequency at which the positions of the satellites are updated. Higher update frequencies are more computationally intensive and may slow your computer.

Orbital Elements

This group contains options for importing satellites.

Import From File

Click this button to display the Import Satellite Data dialog box. Select a two-line element file (TLE) that contains the orbital element information necessary to compute a satellite’s position.

Import From Web

Click this button to display the Import Satellites From Web dialog box to download different categories of satellite data directly from the Celestrak web page.

Remove

Click this button to remove all currently loaded satellites.

Compute on Startup

Mark this option to automatically load the selected TLE file when TheSky6 is started.

Paths Group

The path that a satellite will take across the sky can be displayed using the following options. Two parameters are necessary to compute the satellite’s path. The first is the length of time between successive computations of the satellite’s position. The second is the number of these time increments to show. For example, to show where a satellite will travel in the next hour, enter 1 in the Compute Frequency text box and 60 in the Number of Increments text box.

Compute Frequency (mins)

Enter the frequency (from 0.10 seconds to 10 seconds) for which to compute the satellites position when displaying its path. The shorter the increment, the more points in the satellites path.

Number of Increments

Enter the number of increments (0-60) of the above Compute Frequency to display the path of the satellite.

Plot Paths

Mark this option to show compute and show the path of the satellites.

Use Custom Propagator

Mark this option to use a custom orbital propagator to determine the satellites positions. Contact Software Bisque for more information about using this command.