Astrogator FAQs

Starting Astrogator Tutorials

• May 23, 2017
• FAQ

Astrogator is one of our most popular tools; here we've compiled some of our best beginner Astrogator tutorials!

Astrogator Engine Plugin MATLAB Script

• Jun 8, 2016
• FAQ

This article describes how to use a MATLAB script to define a custom engine model in Astrogator.

Why does my Astrogator satellite only propagate for 100 days?

• May 22, 2015
• FAQ

Repeating Sun-Synchronous Orbit Stationkeeping with Astrogator Autosequences

• Nov 17, 2021
• How To

Why am I Getting an "AgUiVaPagePlugins" Error When Using Astrogator?

• Oct 3, 2018
• FAQ

Several users have reported an AgUiVaPagePlugins error with the message "Encountered an improper argument." There are two known causes of this...

Create Custom Thruster Sets with an Astrogator Engine Plugin

• Feb 1, 2016
• FAQ

Why do I have a negative duration in Astrogator?

• May 27, 2015
• FAQ

How to Quickly Create a Mission to the Moon Using STK's Astrogator Capability

• Nov 21, 2018
• How To

This article provides the steps for quickly creating a mission to the moon in STK.

Tips and Tricks for the Sparse Nonlinear Optimizer (SNOPT) Profile in Astrogator

• Aug 7, 2018
• FAQ

This is a collection of guidelines that you should follow in order to efficiently optimize trajectories with SNOPT.

Interplanetary Low Thrust Example

• Apr 15, 2019
• FAQ

This describes how to model an interplanetary low-thrust satellite.

Can the Reference Ellipsoid Used by STK be Changed?

• May 28, 2015
• FAQ

By default, STK uses a WGS84 Earth model. You can change this by editing the Earth.cb file.

How Does SNOPT Compare to the Differential Corrector?

• Jun 21, 2018
• FAQ

This article discusses SNOPT settings and how they differ from the differential corrector.

What is the Difference Between Mean and Osculating Elements?

• Jul 14, 2016
• FAQ

Here is an explanation of the difference between Mean and Osculating elements.

Common Pitfalls Using Astrogator's Target Sequence

• Aug 15, 2017
• FAQ

There are several common cases where you may not get a successfully converged solution when using the differential corrector profile in a Target...

STK Certification Process

• Oct 10, 2017
• FAQ

STK Certification Process

What Do I Need for the STK L2 Crash Course?

• Jun 21, 2018
• FAQ

This article is for individuals interested in attending the Virtual L2 Crash Course training. This course does not replace the full L2 training.

Operator's Toolbox Training

• Mar 11, 2022
• How To

Here are some tutorial lessons to help you come up to speed quickly on many Operator's Toolbox utilities.

Having Trouble Connecting to STK with Python?

• Nov 8, 2018
• FAQ

This article describes how to recreate the contents of the comtype gen folder, which allows Python to talk to STK.

Can You Use TLEs for Decay / Reentry Estimation?

• Jul 2, 2020
• FAQ

You cannot use TLE and SGP4 propagators alone to predict deorbit times. You must also use additional support tools.

Where can a custom Central Body file be saved?

• Nov 2, 2016
• FAQ

STK will look for a central body file in specific file locations and in a specific order.