Table of Contents

Editor: Data Downlink Tutorial

Nominal Editor provides a simulated data telemetry system able to communicate messages and bytes between different objects in the simulation. A typical spacecraft scenario would involve a data downlink from a spacecraft to a ground station located on Earth. A ground station is stationary on the planet and rotates with the body it is located on. By using antennae with the same frequency, messages can be communicated via telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) system. This tutorial will cover how to create a ground station and configure it, how to add antennae and sensors to a spacecraft and how to use the TT&C system to communicate messages across space.

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Table of Contents

  1. Creating a Simulation
  2. Designing a Spacecraft
  3. Configuring a Ground Station
  4. Configuring Antennae
  5. Configuring Sensors
  6. Configuring User Interface
  7. Transmitting Messages
  8. Receiving Messages
  9. Completing the Simulation

Minimum Requirements

  • Nominal Editor must be installed before this tutorial commences. Information about how to install Nominal Editor can be found in the document below.

    Installing Editor

  • The basic spacecraft simulation tutorial has been completed as all knowledge from this tutorial is assumed to have been understood.

    Spacecraft Tutorial

Key Learnings

  • Blueprint Designs: Create new spacecraft and attach components using the blueprint visualization editor rather than hardcoding transform properties.
  • Spacecraft Defaults: Update the default values of components on a spacecraft by manipulating the values on the blueprint editor.
  • Ground Stations: Spawn and configure ground stations for simulations requiring TT&C systems.
  • TT&C: Understand how the TT&C system works with transmitters, receivers and communication of messages when a spacecraft is in range of a ground station.
  • Sensors: Configure and place basic sensor components on a spacecraft and understand how to read the data from these components.
  • Messages: Create, read and plot message values on the user interface widgets from components and data produced by the ground station.
  • Plotting: Utilize more advanced plotting techniques for showing multiple data points on the same graph.