Software:FreeFlyer

FreeFlyer

3D Output of Proximity Zones representing Spacecraft Covariance, modeled in FreeFlyer
Developer(s)	a.i. solutions, Inc.
Stable release	7.8.1 / May 2023
Operating system	Windows, Linux
Platform	x86, x86-64
Type	Technical computing
License	Proprietary commercial software
Website	ai-solutions.com/freeflyer/

FreeFlyer is a commercial off-the-shelf software application for satellite mission analysis, design and operations. FreeFlyer's architecture centers on its native scripting language, known as FreeForm Script. As a mission planning tool, it encompasses several capabilities, including precise orbit modeling, 2D and 3D visualization, sensor modeling, maneuver modeling, maneuver estimation, plotting, orbit determination, tracking data simulation, and space environment modeling.

FreeFlyer implements standard astrodynamics models such as the JGM-2, EGM-96, LP-165 gravity potential models; the Jacchia-Roberts, Harris-Priester, and NRL-MSIS atmospheric density models; the International Reference Ionosphere model; and the International Geomagnetic Reference Field magnetic field model.

Background

a.i. solutions, Inc. is the owner and developer of FreeFlyer which has been in use since 1997. FreeFlyer is utilized by NASA, NOAA, and the USAF for space mission operations, mission assurance, and analysis support.

Operational and analysis support

FreeFlyer has been used to support many spacecraft missions, for mission planning analysis, operational analysis, or both. Specific mission examples include the International Space Station (ISS), the JSpOC Mission System, the Earth Observing System, Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS).

FreeFlyer has also been successfully used to conduct analysis in both the high-performance computing (HPC) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) environments.

Software tiers

FreeFlyer is one stand-alone product with no added modules, though it does have two tiers of rising functionality.

Engineer

Mission

The Engineer tier includes: Full-featured scripting language and IDE Integrated 2D and 3D visualizations with customizable layouts Multiple spacecraft and hardware modeling including sensors, antennas, tanks, thrusters, and solar arrays Coverage analysis including sensors, antennas, ground stations, and other spacecraft Impulsive and finite maneuver modeling, including targeting system Spacecraft attitude modeling including attitude matrix, quaternions, Euler angles, RA/DEC, spin rates, and attitude history files Complex sensor and antenna modeling, such as custom patterns and obscuration masking Complex maneuver modeling including finite burns and supporting chemical and electrical (low-thrust) propulsion systems Complex coverage analysis, visibility and access calculations Added coordinate system types including custom/user-defined systems MATLAB Interface Automation of flight dynamics tasks Monte Carlo analysis Collision Avoidance/Conjunction Analysis Formation Flying Mission Plan performance profiling

The Mission tier includes all Engineer functionality, plus: TCP/IP socket and SQL database interface Orbit determination and error analysis Estimation in Cartesian or Equinoctial element sets Batch Least Squares Extended Kalman Filter Unscented Kalman Filter Square Root Information Filter Generation of NORAD Two-Line Element states from ephemeris or observational data Access to the FreeFlyer Runtime API from C, C#, Python, or Java Ability to include custom objects and force models via C# extensions: COM objects Easily customizable graphic user interface Generic ASCII/binary file read write Automatic e-mail notification Terrain modeling

FreeFlyer scripting

The FreeFlyer Engineer and Mission tiers contain an integrated scripting language and development environment. The scripting language is an object-oriented script with objects and commands. Objects include properties and methods.

An example of FreeFlyer scripting is this:

// Create a spacecraft object
Spacecraft sc1;
// Create a ViewWindow, passing sc1 as part of an array of objects to view 
ViewWindow vw({sc1});
// Propagate and view the spacecraft for two days
While (sc1.ElapsedTime < TimeSpan.FromDays(2));
    sc1.Step();
    vw.Update();
End;