FAQ

• How are educational licenses different from other STK licenses?

  
  
  STK educational licenses are the same as the standard 30-day evaluation license, but have a longer fixed duration and contain a “For Educational Use” banner on the screen. Other than the banner, there is no difference in the educational version of the software and the commercial version. Educational licenses include the free permanent STK Basic license as well as licenses to open an additional 10 software modules: STK/Professional, STK/Astrogator, STK/Attitude, STK/CAT-Conjunction Analysis Tools, STK/Communications, STK/Coverage, STK/Integration, STK/Radar, STK/SEET-Space Environment & Effects Toolkit and Aircraft Mission Modeler. In addition, if requested, educational partners can receive licenses for Orbit Determination Tool Kit. If you do not see the “For Educational Use” banner, you have not correctly loaded your STK license file.
  
  

• How many licenses can I request?

  
  
  Educational partners can request as many licenses as needed. Partners can request individual node-locked licenses for installation on a single PC, or a network server license to install the software into a computer lab or classroom or both. It is recommended that partners request one license for each person (instructor or student) who will use the software. We do not limit the number of licenses requested, the number of students using the software or how you choose to administer the educational licenses.
  
  

• Can I give licenses directly to students?

  
  
  Educational licenses can either be installed in a lab for student use, or installed on individual instructor or student computers. Each partner can decide how they want to distribute the license they request, and giving them out to students is permitted. This is why our educational licenses have fixed expiration dates, as the expiration dates correspond to a typical university calendar. If any instructor/student is using the STK software for fall classes, then the license will expire at the end of that term. However, the permanent license file for STK Basic does not expire and this part of the software can continue to be used.
  
  

• How do I get node-locked educational licenses? How do I give educational
  licenses directly to my students?

  
  

  Educational partners are permitted to distribute the STK software directly to students for installation on their own personal computers. Each STK disk can be installed on multiple computers as the licensing is tied to the network card specific to each computer, not tied to the installation disk.

  Ask each student to first install the STK software, and then provide you with three unique bits of information: host id, registration id and computer operating system. Now you can go to the educational licensing website at www.agi.com/education and look for the Educational Licenses section. You will first be asked to log into the agi.com website with your personal e-mail and password, review your contact information and make any updates as needed. Then you will be taken to the licensing pages.

  First, you will be asked for your school id, which is printed on the bottom of the welcome letter or the renewal letter.

  Second, select your version of the STK software. Licenses are downward compatible and the newest license will work fine with older versions. This option is recommended.

  
  

  Third, answer the four questions identifying the computer which you want to license.

  
  

  Next you will see a screen verifying the email address of those individuals who will receive the licenses. The main point of contact or the technical point of contact (listed on the application or renewal survey) are usually listed as the recipients, although other instructors can be added by sending an e-mail to education@agi.com.

  License installation instructions are included in the e-mail with the license file.

  You should find the license in your e-mail within seconds of verifying your e-mail address. You can then exit the licensing pages or request additional educational licenses.

  
  
  

• What is the host id and registration id and how do you find this?

  
  

  Easiest way: Run STK, go to the Help Menu and select License Manager, and find both listed there.

  Or, find them using the options below:

  HOSTID

  1. Run LMTools.exe and locate Ethernet Physical Address on the System Settings tab. This can be found in C:\Program Files\AGI\STK 6.0\FlexLM
  2. Type ipconfig / all at the command prompt and locate the Ethernet Physical Address

  REGID

  Your Registraton ID is the volume serial number for the drive where you have STK installed. To get it on a windows machine:

  1. Click <Start>
  2. Select <Run…>
  3. Type <cmd>
  4. Click <OK> (this will bring up a command prompt)
  5. Type the drive letter where you have STK installed and hit Enter
  6. Type <vol> and hit Enter
  7. Your Reg ID is your Volume Serial Number without the dash (it should be an 8 digit number).

  
  
  

• Why do my node-locked licenses expire all the time?

  
  
  Educational licenses are designed to be used by students during a typical U.S. university course. Most universities have fall, spring and summer classes and the educational licenses are active for the full course. Fall licenses become available on August 1 and expire December 31 of the same year. Winter/spring licenses become available on December 1 and expire at the end of May the following year. Summer licenses have the duration of May 1 to August 31. When the node-locked licenses expire, partners simply go to the website and get another node-locked license file. Network licenses are designed to be installed into a computer lab or classroom. These licenses have a full-year duration, from August 1 of the current year to August 31 of the following year. Licenses run on an academic year rather than a calendar year.
  
  

• Do I have to upgrade my version of STK?

  
  
  Educational customers are provided with the latest version of AGI software when they join the partnership program or each summer after partners complete the annual renewal survey. Partners should upgrade their software each academic year. AGI software developers are constantly adding enhanced functionality and new modules are occasionally added to the educational license file. Instructors do not always have their curriculum materials updated or their computers are not capable of running the latest version of the software, so we support older versions when possible. All educational licenses are downward compatible, so the current license file opens older versions of the software.
  
  

• Where can I and my students learn more about how to use STK?

  
  
  The best place to start is the resources section of our website (www.agi.com/resources/). We provide free training materials, tutorials, videos, and online training classes. You can also sign up for one of our STK training classes given regularly at many of our field offices.
  
  

• How can I get started using STK in my classroom quickly?

  
  
  AGI provides a broad set of example curricula that make use of STK to teach courses in many fields and at all technical levels from high school to graduate school. Most of these have been provided by existing partner schools who have already considered the same questions you are. Try: www.agi.com/resources/academic-resources/for-students/access-resources.aspx
  
  

• What computer requirements do I need to run STK?

  
  

  System requirements are updated with each version upgrade. You can find the latest requirements at this link: http://www.agi.com/products/system-requirements/.

  Here you will also find answers to specific questions on operating systems support, video card options and more. For STK version 9.2, the system requirements are listed below:

  	Minimum	Recommended
  CPU	1 GHz (800 MHz for ODTK)	2+ GHz
  RAM	1 GB (256 MB for ODTK)	2 GB (512 MB for ODTK)
  Operating System	Windows 7/Vista/XP/XP Professional	Windows 7/Vista/XP/XP Professional
  3D Graphics Card	OpenGL-compatible card (128 MB memory)	OpenGL-compatible card (512+ MB memory)
  OpenGL Library Version	1.2	2.0+
  Disk Space	1.5 GB (1.0 GB for ODTK)	4.0 GB
  Optional STK/Terrain, Imagery & Maps	2.3+ GB disk space

  STK is a computationally and graphically intensive product. To enable the educational program to offer maximum benefit to your students, AGI requests that you only run STK on hardware which meets the minimum recommended requirements.

  
  
  

• What is a Scenario?

  
  

  Everything in STK begins with a scenario. A scenario is STK's name for an instance of an analytical or operational task being modeled using STK. In STK a scenario is represented by an icon of an idealized “scene”. The STK scenario creates the context, or environment, within which all other objects in the scenario exist. You can create an unlimited number of scenarios with STK, however only one scenario can be open at a time. When STK launches, the Welcome to STK! dialog (the Welcome Dialog) will appear. Using the options available here, you can create new scenarios, open exiting scenarios, access the STK Help System, or exit the STK application

  The first thing you need to do is launch STK, and create a new scenario.

  1. Double-click the STK icon on the desktop. When STK launches, the Welcome to STK! dialog (the Welcome Dialog) will appear. Using the options available here, you can create new scenarios, open exiting scenarios, access the STK Help System, or exit the STK application.

     
     

  2. Click the Create a New Scenario button. The Welcome Dialog also provides an option to disable this feature in the event that you prefer to create and manage scenarios manually. If the Welcome Dialog dialog were disabled, you could create a new scenario by either:
     
     
     • Clicking the New scenario button (mountain with a sun rising behind it) on the Default toolbar, or
     • Selecting the New option from the File menu.

       
       

  When you click the Create a New Scenario button, the New Scenario Wizard appears. You can input basic information about the scenario here.

  Important note: Save each scenario in its OWN folder, and save often. Select the Learn about STK option in the Welcome Dialog box or download the STK Fundamentals training to learn more and create sample scenarios at: http://www.agi.com/downloads/training/manuals/Fundamentals.pdf.

  
  
  

• What is Access?

  
  

  Calculating object-to-object visibility in STK is called access. STK will calculate the times one object can access, or “see”, another object based on position and availability information that considers timing and constraints if necessary. An access is defined by the two objects for which the access is computed and is calculated FROM the object that is “looking” for another object TO the object that it is “looking for”. Once an access is calculated, it maintains a close relationship with the defining objects. If either of the defining objects is changed in such a way that the access times may be altered, the access is automatically recomputed. Also, if either of the defining objects is removed from the scenario, the access is automatically removed.

  A simple access will calculate an unconstrained line-of-sight between the two objects in your scenario.

  1. Click the Access Tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. When you open the Access tool, you can select both the object from which access will be calculated and the object(s) to which access will be calculated. The object FROM which access will be calculated is selected using the Access for: option, and all objects TO which access can be calculated is selected in the Associated Objects list. You can select the object(s) TO which you’d like to calculate access by selecting them in the list.
  2. Select your FROM access object.
  3. Select your TO access object(s) in the Associated Objects list.
  4. Click Compute. Now, look at the sample scenario below. Access was calculated FROM a satellite, Spysat, TO a city, Washington, D.C. Washington is now bold, and an asterisk * appears next to the object to indicate that access has been calculated to that object.

  
  

  Whenever an access occurs during animation each object is outlined and a line connects SpySat to Washington providing a clear visual representation of object-to-object visibility.

  You can also generate a report which will return information about when AND where accesses occur, as well as duration.

  1. Select the Access tool ( ) to bring it to the front.
  2. Click the Access... button in the Reports area. STK will generate and display an access report. The access report lists the start and stop time for each instance that SpySat can “see” Washington.