Collection of STK scenarios demonstrating satellite mission planning, trajectory optimization, and coverage analysis capabilities.
Coverage Analysis
This is a comprehensive end-to-end mission scenario demonstrating a full satellite constellation with nine satellites, each equipped with imaging sensors and communication transmitters that downlink to AGI headquarters.
The scenario includes detailed link budget analysis showing transmit power, EIRP, free space loss, rain attenuation, atmospheric absorption, Doppler shifts, carrier-to-noise ratios, and bit error rates for the communication links. I also modeled solar panel power generation over the mission timeline to verify the spacecraft can support the payload and comm system power demands.
The constellation configuration allows for continuous or near-continuous ground station coverage, which I validated through access analysis computing pass times and durations. Each satellite has a rotor-mounted antenna for pointing flexibility and an imaging sensor for the observation payload. This type of integrated scenario is what you'd build during
Phase A/B studies to show all the mission elements work together, the communication architecture closes all required links with margin, and the power budget is positive throughout the orbit.
It demonstrates my ability to synthesize orbital mechanics, communications engineering, power systems analysis, and operational constraints into a cohesive mission design that meets stakeholder requirements.
Astrogator Mission Design
This project uses STK's Astrogator module to design and simulate a complete launch mission profile from Earth to geostationary orbit. I modeled a launch vehicle starting from liftoff, going through atmospheric ascent into low Earth orbit, then performing a Hohmann transfer to GEO. Astrogator is basically a sequence-based trajectory design tool where you build mission segments like coast phases, finite burns, and impulsive maneuvers, then let the propagator handle all the orbital mechanics.
I set up the initial state vector for LEO insertion, defined the transfer burn parameters including thrust magnitude and burn duration, propagated through the transfer ellipse, and executed the circularization burn at GEO altitude. The tool automatically computed delta-V requirements, fuel consumption, and verified the final orbital elements matched the target GEO conditions.
This demonstrates my ability to design complex multi-phase missions, optimize maneuver sequences, perform targeting to meet specific orbital constraints, and analyze the propulsive requirements that drive spacecraft sizing. It's the kind of analysis you'd do in early mission design to understand feasibility and establish performance margins.
Analysis Workbench
This project demonstrates satellite tracking and access analysis using STK's Analysis Workbench. I set up a ground tracking station with a sensor and a satellite, then computed access windows to determine when the satellite is visible from the ground station. The scenario runs over a two-day period in March 2021 and includes constraint modeling like elevation angles and line-of-sight blockages.
This type of analysis is essential for communication link budgets and ground station scheduling. The Analysis Workbench let me run parametric studies on things like minimum elevation angle requirements or sensor field-of-view constraints to optimize the ground station configuration. This project shows my ability to model realistic tracking scenarios, define sensor geometries, compute access intervals, and extract timing data that drives operational planning for satellite ground networks.
Communications & Radar
This project models a complete satellite communications link between an Earth observation satellite and a ground receiver. I set up the RapidEye2 satellite with a downlink transmitter and configured a ground site with a tracking sensor and receiver. The key focus was computing detailed RF link budgets using ITU propagation models. I enabled atmospheric absorption using ITU-R P.676-9 and rain attenuation using ITU-R P.618-13 to capture realistic signal degradation through the atmosphere.
The scenario includes terrain data for the ground station location to account for local obstructions. I computed access intervals, then ran detailed link budget reports showing transmit power, path loss, atmospheric losses, antenna gains, and received signal strength. This analysis is critical for validating whether a communications architecture can close the link, meaning the received signal exceeds the minimum threshold for data recovery.
The project demonstrates my understanding of RF link engineering, propagation effects, and how environmental factors impact satellite downlink performance for mission success.
Tools: STK Pro | Astrogator | Analysis Workbench | Coverage Module
Certification: STK Level 1 Certified