Spacecraft

Model, simulate, and visualize the motion and dynamics of spacecraft

Use the spacecraft blocks, available in the Aerospace Blockset > Spacecraft sublibrary, to model, simulate, and visualize the dynamics of spacecraft.

Blocks

Attitude Dynamics	Model attitude dynamics of one or more spacecraft (Since R2023a)
Attitude Profile (Nadir Pointing)	Calculate shortest quaternion rotation (Since R2020b)
CubeSat Vehicle Earth (Nadir) Pointing	Model CubeSat vehicle whose primary alignment vector points towards center of Earth
Eclipse Shadow Model (Dual Cone)	Calculate fraction of solar disk visible at inertial positions (Since R2023b)
Line of Sight Access	Determine line of sight (LOS) access between one or more source positions and one or more target positions (Since R2024b)
Orbit Propagator Kepler (unperturbed)	Propagate orbit of one or more spacecraft using Kepler universal variable formulation (Since R2020b)
Orbit Propagator Numerical (high precision)	Propagate orbit of one or more spacecraft using Kepler universal variable formulation (Since R2020b)
Spacecraft Dynamics	Model dynamics of one or more spacecraft (Since R2021b)

Topics

Model Spacecraft
Model, simulate, and visualize the motion and dynamics of spacecraft using spacecraft dynamics, orbit propagator, and CubeSat blocks.
Model and Simulate CubeSats
Model, simulate, analyze, and visualize the motion and dynamics of spacecraft.
Orbit Propagation Methods
Analyze the motion and dynamics of aerospace vehicles with short-period requirements, boundary line, and altitude contour plots.
Getting Started with the Spacecraft Dynamics Block
This example shows how to model six degree-of-freedom rigid-body dynamics of a spacecraft or constellation of spacecraft with the Spacecraft Dynamics block from Aerospace Blockset™.
Constellation Modeling with the Orbit Propagator Block
Propagate the orbits of a constellation of satellites and compute and visualize access intervals between the individual satellites and several ground stations.
Developing the Apollo Lunar Module Digital Autopilot
Develop Apollo Lunar Module digital autopilot using Simulink^® and Aerospace Blockset™.

Featured Examples

Constellation Modeling with the Orbit Propagator Block

Propagate the orbits of a constellation of satellites and compute and visualize access intervals between the individual satellites and several ground stations.

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Space Rendezvous and Docking

Maneuver a spacecraft in orbit to rendezvous and dock with another spacecraft.

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Mission Analysis with the Orbit Propagator Block

Compute and visualize line-of-sight access intervals between satellites and a ground station.

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Getting Started with the Spacecraft Dynamics Block

Model six degree-of-freedom rigid-body dynamics of a spacecraft or constellation of spacecraft with the Spacecraft Dynamics block from Aerospace Blockset™.

Open Live Script

Developing the Apollo Lunar Module Digital Autopilot

Develop Apollo Lunar Module digital autopilot using Simulink and Aerospace Blockset.

Open Live Script

Lunar Mission Analysis with the Orbit Propagator Block

Compute and visualize access intervals between the Apollo Command and Service module and a rover on the lunar surface. The module's orbit is modeled using Reference Trajectory #2 from the NASA report Variations of the Lunar Orbital Parameters of the Apollo CSM-Module [2]. This is a lunar orbit studied by NASA for the Apollo program. The example uses: