No abstract

Satellites are complicated systems designed to accomplish different missions in space. Simulating satellite motion using digital computers gives the ability to visualize dynamically its motion in space, as well as the areas of the earth's surface covered by its service. In this paper fundamentals of astrodynamics were applied to implement a software system that simulates satellite motion in 3D space. In addition, it interactively computes and visualizes the satellite's ground trace and footprint coverage on the rectangular map of the earth.