SYSTEMS TOOL KIT (STK)
Systems Tool Kit is used to analyze and visualize complex systems
with dynamic datasets in four dimensions.

With STK, you can:• Select, build, or import vehicle andsensor models and combine themto accurately represent existing andproposed systems.
• Simulate the entire system in action at
any location and at any time to gaina clear understanding of the systembehavior and its mission performance.
STK Pro features are in italics.

Accurate Environment• Accurate Earth representation.
WGS84, MSL and Earth motion (polewander, nutation, sidereal time).
• Streaming terrain. Stream worldwide
terrain for both analysis and visualization from the STK Terrain Server.
• Streaming or local imagery. Bing
Maps, ArcGIS, WMS, .bmp, .jpg, .jp2,.tif and .nitf.
• Import, analyze, and export GIS
data. Import and export KML andshapefiles.
• Digital terrain data. Load all standard
types of data to more accurately modeland visualize altitude variations, lineof-site restrictions and sensor footprintintersection.
• 3D Tiles. Optimally stream massive
3D datasets.

Objects• Ground types. Facility, target, areatarget, line target.
• Vehicles types. Aircraft, groundvehicle, ship, launch vehicle, missile,satellite, and multi-track object.
• Vehicle routes. Great arc (with terrain
following), ballistic, two-body, J2, J4
SGP4, GPS, 11-Parameter, SPICE, andExternal (data file).

• Import standard objects. Standard
object databases that containthousands of satellites, facilities,
ground station networks, aircraft,cities, and sensors are available online
and locally.
• Import user data. Vehicle data in any
format can be imported into STK.
• Vehicle attitude profiles. Nadiralignment with ECF or ECI velocity
constraint, ECF velocity alignment withnadir or radial constraint, ECI velocityalignment with nadir constraint,
GPS External attitude ,CoordinatedTurn External, User-defined Attitude
profiles, Fixed in Axes, and Alignedand Constrained.

Sensors
Sensors are used to define Fields ofView and Fields of Regard on objects.
• Sensor Types. Simple Conic, Complex
Conic, Half Power, Rectangular, andSynthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).
• Sensor Pointing. Along Vector,
customer External, Fixed, radars, pushbroom sensors and other instrumentsthat spin, scan or sweep over time.),Grazing Altitude, Fixed In Axes,
3D Targeted (track other objects.),
Spinning (for Model)• Sensor AzEl Mask. Defines anazimuth-elevation mask for the sensor.
Terrain calculated or file defined.

Constraints
You can impose constraints to add
fidelity to an STK object.
• Basic. Imposes standard accessconstraints on an object. Constraints
are Altitude, Azimuth angle, Elevation
Angle, Line of Sight, Field of View,Range, Azimuth Rate, Elevation Rate,Range Rate, Angular rate, Propagation
Delay, Terrain Mask, Facility Az-El Mask,and Sensor Az-El Mask.
• Sun. Imposes constraints based onthe position of the Sun and Moon.
Constraints are Line of Sight, Lighting,
Sun Elevation Angle, Sun Ground
Elevation Angle, Lunar Elevation
Angle, Line of Sight Sun Exclusion
Angle, Line of Sight Lunar Exclusion
Angle, Boresight Sun Exclusion Angle,
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SYSTEMS TOOL KIT (STK)
Boresight Lunar Exclusion Angle, SunSpecular Point Exclusion, Solar/Lunar
Obstruction, Field of View SpecularPoint Exclusion, and Additional Central
Body Obstruction.
• Temporal. Imposes time-based
constraints on an object.
• Vector. Constrains accesscomputations with respect to any validvector or angle.
• Zone. Defines areas where access isor is not allowed using inclusion andexclusion zones.
• Resolution constraints for sensors.
Limit access based on sensor characteristics and the quality of the inview.
• Geostationary Belt Exclusion Angle.
Constrains access to an object when
it falls within the specified angle. This
constraint is useful when calculating
access from a facility, place, or target
to a LEO satellite.
• Height Above Horizon. Constrains
access based on the minimum and/ormaximum height of the facility, place,or target above the horizon.
• Terrain Grazing Angle. Constrains
access based on the minimum and/or
maximum angle between the relative
position vector and the local terrain.
• Object Exclusion Angle. Used to
select and remove objects that are to
be excluded from access computations
if they are at the indicated angle fromthe original object.
• Elevation Rise-Set Angle. Used to
specify different elevation angle limits
for the rise-stage and setting-stage ofa satellite.
• Access constraint plugins. Provide
a method for adding customized
constraints directly into visibilitycomputations.
• Targeting constraints. Define therelationship between an object and thetarget of that object.
• Space-related advanced constraints.
Impose a variety of vehicle-specificconstraints.

Reports and Graphs
Create reports and graphics from STK’s
data providers. There are thousands ofdata providers, including:• Sensor Boresight Grazing LLA andBoresight Grazing LLR data providers
report information on the point along
the sensor boresight direction withthe lowest detic altitude. The point iscomputed in the sensor’s central body
fixed coordinate system.
• Sensor Access Refraction reports
information of the effects of refraction
on elevation angle, range, andpropagation delay.
• Azimuth Elevation Mask data
provider reports the obscuration mask
data for a sensor or facility.

• Imagery and terrain converter.
Convert a single image, with its terrain
data, into a pdttx or jp2 file format thatcan be displayed in a 3D Graphics
window.
• Calculation tool. Produce various
time-dependent quantities that
include installed scalars, conditions,and parameter sets.
• Vector geometry tool. Define
location, pointing, and orientationin 3D space, using installed points,
vectors, angles, axes, and coordinatesystems.

Utilities and Tools

Visualization

Use the following to fine-tune youranalysis and enhance your visualization.
• Access tool. Determine times one
object can “access,” or see, another.
• Data tools and utilities. Manage,
update, and export data.
• Import and Export tools. Import data
into STK and export STK data, such as
ephemeris, attitude, sensor pointing,
KML and display times.
• Object-specific tools. Manipulate
and display the data related toindividual objects. These tools include
calculating vehicle or sensor swath, orgenerating a Walker constellation.
• Share Analysis. Convert your STK
3D scenarios to VDF files that can beviewed in the free Viewer.
• Deck Access. Compute access to aset of objects, not currently defined in
the STK scenario, from a single object
in the scenario. Deck access operations are useful when you have a large
number of objects that no longer need
to be in the STK scenario but for which
you would like visibility information.
Using deck access can greatly reduceload and save time for such scenariosand minimize graphical clutter.
• Area tool. Calculate the area of amodel from a given view direction,over a given time interval, such as anorbit period.
• Obscuration tool. Determine whena sensor’s field of view is obscured by
one or more objects.

• Time-dynamic 3D globe.
Annotations, object lines, lighting,stars, vectors and overlays.
• Time-dynamic 2D map. Equidistantcylindrical, Mercator, orthographic andazimuthal equidistant.
• Timeline view. Time components,access intervals and ephemerisintervals.
• 3D model database. Hundreds ofmodels in mdl, COLLADA and glTF
format, which can be articulated andscaled.
• Advanced viewing Controls. View
from/to any STK object, change fieldof view and more.
• Advanced analysis display options.
Apply constraints to the graphicaldisplay of a Sensor’s field of view,
display a facility’s azimuth-elevation
mask.

Extend STK’s Capabilities• Automate tasks, extend analysis, andcustomize workflows using the fully
documented, open API.
• Interface with STK using Connect andthe Object Model.
• Extend the computational capabilities
of STK using Analysis Workbench.
• Customize STK using UI Plugins.
• Scale computations across multiple
cores/compute clusters using theScalability Extension.

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