Lidar Simulation Model: Platforms

The Platform Shot Coverage model (SCV) is a stand-alone model that allows the user to simulate satellite and aircraft missions with a variety of laser scanners. It allows the user to address platform track, laser coverage and shot management issues and trades.

Satellite Model

The satellite model provides the satellite latitude and longitude and the inclination angle of the orbit as a function of orbital time. The satellite model solves an oblique spherical triangle algorithm (Kells, et al, 1940) to compute the satellite location. The model assumes a spherical earth.

Satellite speed is computed by

where

V_sat (km/s) = satellite velocity,

GMERTH = 3.991e14,

Z_s (km) = satellite altitude,

R_e = radius of earth.

Aircraft Model

The aircraft model reads in an existing aircraft data file containing aircraft altitude, location, heading, and attitude information as a function of time along a flight path. The aircraft data files can be real missions or simulated ones. There are 23 aircraft data files in the LSM inventory, 21 real and two simulated. The LSM allows the user to adjust the flight track, vertically and horizontally, on the globe. A future upgrade intends to allow the user to adjust the mean heading of the track.