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In-situ Sensing Hands-On Lesson (MATLAB)

Table of Contents

   In-situ Sensing Hands-On Lesson (MATLAB)
      Overview
      Note About HTML Links
      References
         Tutorials
         Required Reading Documents
         MATLAB API Documentation
      Kernels Used
      Mice Routines Used
   Step-1: ``UTC to ET''
      ``UTC to ET'' Task Statement
      ``UTC to ET'' Hints
      ``UTC to ET'' Solution Steps
      ``UTC to ET'' Code
   Step-2: ``SCLK to ET''
      ``SCLK to ET'' Task Statement
      ``SCLK to ET'' Hints
      ``SCLK to ET'' Solution Steps
      ``SCLK to ET'' Code
   Step-3: ``Spacecraft State''
      ``Spacecraft State'' Task Statement
      ``Spacecraft State'' Hints
      ``Spacecraft State'' Solution Steps
      ``Spacecraft State'' Code
   Step-4: ``Sun Direction''
      ``Sun Direction'' Task Statement
      ``Sun Direction'' Hints
      ``Sun Direction'' Solution Steps
      ``Sun Direction'' Code
   Step-5: ``Sub-Spacecraft Point''
      ``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Task Statement
      ``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Hints
      ``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Solution Steps
      ``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Code
   Step-6: ``Spacecraft Velocity''
      ``Spacecraft Velocity'' Task Statement
      ``Spacecraft Velocity'' Hints
      ``Spacecraft Velocity'' Solution Steps
      ``Spacecraft Velocity'' Code Program ``spice_example.m'':




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In-situ Sensing Hands-On Lesson (MATLAB)





May 11, 2009



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Overview




In this lesson you will develop a simple program illustrating how SPICE can be used to compute various kinds of geometry information applicable to the experiments carried out by an in-situ instrument flown on an interplanetary spacecraft.



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Note About HTML Links




The HTML version of this lesson contains links pointing to various HTML documents provided with the Toolkit. All of these links are relative and, in order to function, require this document to be in a certain location in the Toolkit HTML documentation directory tree.

In order for the links to be resolved, create a subdirectory called ``lessons'' under the ``doc/html'' directory of the Toolkit tree and copy this document to that subdirectory before loading it into a Web browser.



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References




This section lists SPICE documents referred to in this lesson.

Of these documents, the ``Tutorials'' contains the highest level descriptions with the least number of details while the ``Required Reading'' documents contain much more detailed specifications. The most complete specifications are provided in the ``Headers'' -- the comments in the top section of the source file.

In some cases the lesson explanations also refer to the information provided in the meta-data area of the kernels used in the lesson examples. It is especially true in case of the FK and IK files, which often contain comprehensive descriptions of the frames, instrument FOVs, etc. Since both FK and IK are text kernels, the information provided in them can be viewed using any text editor, while the meta information provided in binary kernels -- SPKs and CKs -- can be viewed using ``commnt'' or ``spacit'' utility programs located in ``mice/exe'' of Toolkit installation tree.



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Tutorials



The following SPICE tutorials are referenced in this lesson:

   Name             Lesson steps/routines that it describes
   ---------------  -----------------------------------------
   Time             UTC to ET and SCLK to ET
   Loading Kernels  Loading SPICE kernels
   SCLK             SCLK to ET time conversion
   SPK              Computing positions and velocities
   Frames           Computing transformations between frames
These tutorials are available in printed form and as MS Office or PDF files from NAIF server at JPL:

   http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/tutorials.html


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Required Reading Documents



The Toolkit includes a set of Required Reading documents. You find these documents in the documentation directory, ``mice/doc'', directory of the Toolkit installation trees.

   Name             Lesson steps/routines that it describes
   ---------------  -----------------------------------------
   time.req         UTC to ET time conversion
   kernel.req       Loading SPICE kernels
   sclk.req         SCLK to ET time conversion
   naif_ids.req     Body and reference frame names
   spk.req          Computing positions and velocities
Another very useful document, also distributed with the Toolkit, is ``Permuted Index'', called ``spicelib.idx'' for FORTRAN or ``cspice.idx'' for C, IDL, and MATLAB also found in the ``doc'' directory.

This text document provides an easy way to find what SPICE routine(s) performs a particular function of interest and the name of the source file that contains this function (this is especially useful for FORTRAN because some of the routines are entry points and, therefore, their name is different from the name of the source file in which they are located.)



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MATLAB API Documentation



A Mice routine's specification is found in the API documentation page located under ``mice/doc/html/mice''.

For example, the document

   mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_str2et.html
describes the cspice_str2et routine.



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Kernels Used




The kernels used in this lessons:

   File Name                 Type Description
   ------------------------- ---- --------------------------
   naif0008.tls              LSK  Generic LSK
   cpck05Mar2004.tpc         PCK  Cassini project PCK
   cas00084.tsc              SCLK Cassini SCLK
   020514_SE_SAT105.bsp      SPK  Saturnian Satellite Ephemeris SPK
   030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp SPK  Cassini Spacecraft SPK
   981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp  SPK  Planetary Ephemeris SPK
   sat128.bsp                SPK  Saturnian Satellite Ephemeris SPK
   04135_04171pc_psiv2.bc    CK   Cassini Spacecraft CK
   cas_v37.tf                FK   Cassini FK
These SPICE kernels are included in the lesson package available from the NAIF server at JPL:

   ftp://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/naif/toolkit_docs/Lessons/


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Mice Routines Used




The Mice routines demonstrated in the lesson:

   Name             Function that it performs
   ----------       ----------------------------------------------
   cspice_furnsh    Loads kernels, individually or listed in
                    meta-kernel
   cspice_str2et    Converts UTC to ET
   cspice_scs2e     Converts SCLK to ET
   cspice_spkezr    Computes states (position & velocity)
   cspice_spkpos    Computes positions
   cspice_subpnt    Computes body-fixed coordinates of sub-observer
                    point
   cspice_reclat    Converts rectangular coordinated to latitudinal
   cspice_pxform    Computes 3x3 matrix rotating vectors between
                    frames


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Step-1: ``UTC to ET''







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``UTC to ET'' Task Statement




Write a program that computes and prints the Ephemeris Time (ET) corresponding to ``2004-06-11T19:32:00'' UTC, as the number of ephemeris seconds past J2000, .



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``UTC to ET'' Hints




Find out what SPICE kernel(s) is(are) needed to support this conversion. Reference the ``time.req'' and/or ``Time'' tutorial.

Find necessary kernel(s) on the NAIF's FTP site.

Find out what routine should be called to load necessary kernel(s). Reference the ``kernel.req'' and/or ``Loading Kernels'' tutorial.

Find the ``loader'' routine calling sequence specification. Look at the ``time.req'' and that routine's source code header. This routine may be an entry point, in which case there will be no source file with the same name. To find out in which source file this entry point is, search for its name in the ``Permuted Index''.

Find the routine(s) used to convert time between UTC and ET. Look at the ``time.req'' and/or ``Time'' tutorial.

Find the ``converter'' routine(s) calling sequence specification. Look in the ``time.req'' and the routine's source code header.

Put all calls together in a program, add variable declarations (the routine header's ``Declarations'' and ``Examples'' sections are a good place to look for declaration specification and examples) and output print statements.



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``UTC to ET'' Solution Steps




Only one kernel file is needed to support this conversion -- an LSK file ``naif0008.tls''.

As any other SPICE kernel this file can be loaded by the cspice_furnsh routine. For that, the name of the file can put be provided as a sole argument of this routine:

   ...
   lskfle =  'naif0008.tls';
 
   cspice_furnsh( lskfle )
or it can be listed in a meta-kernel:

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        )
   \begintext
the name of which, let's call it ``spice_example.tm'', can be then provided as a sole argument of the cspice_furnsh routine:

      ...
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
While the second option seems to involve a bit more work -- it requires making an extra file -- it is a much better way to go if you plan to load more kernels as you extend the program. With the meta-kernel approach simply adding more kernels to the list in KERNEL_TO_LOAD without changing the program code will accomplish that.

The highest level Mice time routine converting UTC to ET is cspice_str2et (``mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_str2et.html'').

It has two arguments -- input time string representing UTC in a variety of formats (see cspice_str2et header's section ``Particulars'' for the complete description of input time formats) and output DP number of ET seconds past J2000. A call to cspice_str2et converting a given UTC to ET could look like this:

      ...
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
By combining cspice_furnsh and cspice_str2et calls and required declarations and by adding a simple print statement, one would get a complete program that prints ET for the given UTC epoch.

Use of Mice calls in a MATLAB script requires the MATLAB search path include the Mice source, ``mice/src/mice'', and Mice library, ``mice/lib'', directories. Add those directories to the path using the ``addpath'' command.

When you execute the script, ``spice_example'', it produces the following output (the output below was generated on a OS X; your output may differ slightly in its format and numeric precision):

   >> spice_example
   utc   =  2004-06-11T19:32:00
   et    =     140254384.184625


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``UTC to ET'' Code




Program ``spice_example.m'':

   function spice_example()
 
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
 
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
 
      fprintf( 'utc   =  %s\n', utc );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
Meta-kernel file ``spice_example.tm'':

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        )
   \begintext


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Step-2: ``SCLK to ET''







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``SCLK to ET'' Task Statement




Extend the program from Step-1 to compute and print ET for the following CASSINI on-board clock epoch ``1465674964.105''.



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``SCLK to ET'' Hints




Find out what additional (to those already loaded in Step-1) SPICE kernel(s) is(are) needed to support SCLK to ET conversion. Look at the ``sclk.req'' and/or ``SCLK'' tutorial.

Find necessary kernel(s) on the NAIF's FTP site.

Modify the program or meta-kernel to load this(these) kernels.

Find the routine(s) needed to convert time between SCLK and ET. Look at the ``sclk.req'' and/or ``Time'' and ``SCLK'' tutorials.

Find the ``converter'' routine's calling sequence specification. Look in the ``sclk.req'' and the routine's source code header.

Look at ``naif_ids.req'' and the comments in the additional kernel(s) that you have loaded for information on proper values of input arguments of this routine.

Add calls to the ``converter'' routine(s), necessary variable declarations (the routine header's ``Declarations'' and ``Examples'' sections are a good place to look for declaration specification and examples), and output print statements to the program.



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``SCLK to ET'' Solution Steps




A CASSINI SCLK file is needed additionally to the LSK file loaded in the Step-1 to support this conversion.

No code change is needed in the loading portion of the program if a meta-kernel approach was used in the Step-1. The program will load the file if it will be added to the list of kernels in the KERNELS_TO_LOAD variable:

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        )
   \begintext
The highest level Mice routine converting SCLK to ET is cspice_scs2e (``mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_scs2e.html'').

It has three arguments -- NAIF ID for CASSINI s/c (-82 as described by ``naif_ids.req'' document), input time string representing CASSINI SCLK, and output DP number of ET seconds past J2000. A call to cspice_str2et converting given SCLK to ET could look like this:

      ...
      scid = -82;
      sclk = '1465674964.105';
      et   = cspice_scs2e( scid, sclk);
By adding the cspice_scs2e call, required declarations and a simple print statement, one would get a complete program that prints ET for the given SCLK epoch.


   When you execute the script, ``spice_example'', it produces the
   following output (the output below was generated on OS X; your output
   may differ slightly in its format and numeric precision):

   >> spice_example
   utc   =  2004-06-11T19:32:00
   et    =     140254384.184625
   sclk  = 1465674964.105
   et    =     140254384.183426


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``SCLK to ET'' Code




Program ``spice_example.m'':

   function spice_example()
 
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
 
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
 
      fprintf( 'utc   =  %s\n', utc );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      scid = -82;
      sclk = '1465674964.105';
      et   = cspice_scs2e( scid, sclk);
 
      fprintf( 'sclk  = %s\n', sclk );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
Meta-kernel file ``spice_example.tm'':

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        )
   \begintext


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Step-3: ``Spacecraft State''







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``Spacecraft State'' Task Statement




Extend the program from Step-2 to compute geometric state -- position and velocity -- of the CASSINI spacecraft with respect to the Sun in the Ecliptic frame at the epoch specified by SCLK time from Step-2.



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``Spacecraft State'' Hints




Find out what additional (to those already loaded in Steps-1&2) SPICE kernel(s) is(are) needed to support state computation. Look at the ``spk.req'' and/or ``SPK'' tutorial.

Find necessary kernel(s) on the NAIF's FTP site.

Verify that the kernels contain enough data to compute the state of interest. Use ``brief'' utility program located under ``toolkit/exe'' directory for that.

Modify the meta-kernel to load this(these) kernels.

Determine the routine(s) needed to compute states. Look at the ``spk.req'' and/or ``SPK'' tutorial presentation.

Find the the routine(s) calling sequence specification. Look in the ``spk.req'' and the routine's source code header.

Reference the ``naif_ids.req'' and ``frames.req'' and the routine(s) header ``Inputs'' and ``Particulars'' sections to determine proper values of the input arguments of this routine.

Add calls to the routine(s), necessary variable declarations and output print statements to the program.



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``Spacecraft State'' Solution Steps




A CASSINI spacecraft trajectory SPK and generic planetary ephemeris SPK files are needed to support computation of the state of interest.

The file names can be added to the meta-kernel to get them loaded into the program:

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        )
   \begintext
The highest level Mice routine computing states is cspice_spkezr (``mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_spkezr.html'').

We are interested in computing CASSINI position and velocity with respect to the Sun, therefore the target and observer names should be set to 'CASSINI' and 'Sun' (both names can be found in ``naif_ids.req'').

The state should be in ecliptic frame, therefore the name of the frame in which the state should be computed is 'ECLIPJ2000' (see ``frames.req'' document.)

Since we need only the geometric position, the `abcorr' argument of the routine should be set to 'NONE' (see aberration correction discussion in the (``mice/src/cspice/spkezr_c.c''). header).

Putting it all together, we get:

      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'ECLIPJ2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'SUN';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
The updated program with added calls, required declarations and simple print statements produces the following output (the output below was generated on OS X; your output may differ slightly in its format and numeric precision):

   >> spice_example
   utc   =  2004-06-11T19:32:00
   et    =     140254384.184625
   sclk  = 1465674964.105
   et    =     140254384.183426
   state =
        -376599061.916539
        1294487780.929154
        -7064853.054698
        -5.164226
        0.801719
        0.040603


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``Spacecraft State'' Code




Program

   function spice_example()
 
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
 
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
 
      fprintf( 'utc   =  %s\n', utc );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      scid = -82;
      sclk = '1465674964.105';
      et   = cspice_scs2e( scid, sclk);
 
      fprintf( 'sclk  = %s\n', sclk );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'ECLIPJ2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'SUN';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
 
      disp ('state =')
      fprintf( '     %f \n', state(:) )
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
Meta-kernel file ``spice_example.tm'':

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        )
   \begintext


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Step-4: ``Sun Direction''







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``Sun Direction'' Task Statement




Extend the program from Step-3 to compute apparent direction of the Sun in the INMS frame at the epoch specified by SCLK time from Step-2.



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``Sun Direction'' Hints




Determine the additional SPICE kernels needed to support the direction computation, knowing that they should provide the s/c and instrument frame orientation. Retrieve these kernels from the NAIF's FTP site.

Verify that the orientation data in the kernels have adequate coverage to support computation of the direction of interest. Use ``ckbrief'' utility program located under ``toolkit/exe'' directory for that.

Modify the meta-kernel to load this(these) kernels.

Determine the proper input arguments for the cspice_spkpos call to calculate the direction (which is the position portion of the output state). Look through the Frames Kernel find the name of the frame to used.

Add calls to the routine(s), necessary variable declarations and output print statements to the program.



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``Sun Direction'' Solution Steps




A CASSINI spacecraft orientation CK file, providing s/c orientation with respect to an inertial frame, and CASSINI FK file, providing orientation of the INMS frame with respect to the s/ frame, are needed additionally to already loaded kernels to support computation of this direction.

The file names can be added to the meta-kernel to get them loaded into the program:

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        'kernels/ck/04135_04171pc_psiv2.bc'
                        'kernels/fk/cas_v37.tf'
                        )
   \begintext
The same highest level Mice routine computing positions, cspice_spkpos, can be used to compute this direction.

Since this is the direction of the Sun as seen from the s/c, the target argument should be set to 'Sun' and the observer argument should be set to 'CASSINI'. The name of the INMS frame is 'CASSINI_INMS', the definition and description of this frame are provided in the CASSINI FK file, ``cassini_v02.tf''.

Since the apparent, or ``as seen'', position is sought for, the `abcorr' argument of the routine should be set to 'LT+S' (see aberration correction discussion in the (``mice/src/cspice/spkpos_c.c'') header).

Putting it all together, we get:

      ...
      target = 'SUN';
      frame  = 'CASSINI_INMS';
      corrtn = 'LT+S';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [ sundir, ltime ] = cspice_spkpos( target, et, frame, ...
                                             corrtn, observ );
      sundir = sundir/norm(sundir);
The updated program with added calls, required declarations and simple print statements produces the following output (the output below was generated on OS X; your output may differ slightly in its format and numeric precision):

   >> spice_example
   utc   =  2004-06-11T19:32:00
   et    =     140254384.184625
   sclk  = 1465674964.105
   et    =     140254384.183426
   state =
        -376599061.916539
        1294487780.929154
        -7064853.054698
        -5.164226
        0.801719
        0.040603
   sundir =
        -0.290204
        0.881631
        0.372167


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``Sun Direction'' Code




Program ``spice_example.m'':

   function spice_example()
 
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
 
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
 
      fprintf( 'utc   =  %s\n', utc );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      scid = -82;
      sclk = '1465674964.105';
      et   = cspice_scs2e( scid, sclk);
 
      fprintf( 'sclk  = %s\n', sclk );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'ECLIPJ2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'SUN';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
 
      disp ('state =')
      fprintf( '     %f \n', state(:) )
 
      target = 'SUN';
      frame  = 'CASSINI_INMS';
      corrtn = 'LT+S';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [ sundir, ltime ] = cspice_spkpos( target, et, frame, ...
                                             corrtn, observ );
      sundir = sundir/norm(sundir);
 
      disp ('sundir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', sundir )
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
Meta-kernel file ``spice_example.tm'':

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        'kernels/ck/04135_04171pc_psiv2.bc'
                        'kernels/fk/cas_v37.tf'
                        )
   \begintext


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Step-5: ``Sub-Spacecraft Point''







Top

``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Task Statement




Extend the program from Step-4 to compute planetocentric longitude and and latitude of the sub-spacecraft point on Phoebe, and the direction from the spacecraft to that point in the INMS frame.



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``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Hints




Find the Mice routine that computes sub-observer point coordinates. Use ``Most Used Mice APIs'' or ``subpt'' cookbook program for that.

Refer to the routine's header to determine the additional kernels needed for this direction computation. Get these kernels from the NAIF's FTP site. Modify the meta-kernel to load this(these) kernels.

Determine the proper input arguments for the routine. Refer to the routine's header for that information.

Convert the surface point Cartesian vector returned by this routine to latitudinal coordinates. Use ``Permuted Index'' to find the routine that does this conversion. Refer to the routine's header for input/output argument specifications.

Since the Cartesian vector from the spacecraft to the sub-spacecraft point is computed in the Phoebe body-fixed frame, it should be transformed into the instrument frame get the direction we are looking for. Refer to ``frames.req'' and/or ``Frames'' tutorial to determine the name of the routine computing transformations and use it to compute transformation from Phoebe body-fixed to the INMS frame.

Using ``Permuted Index'' find the routine that multiplies 3x3 matrix by 3d vector and use it to rotate the vector to the instrument frame.

Add calls to the routine(s), necessary variable declarations and output print statements to the program.



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``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Solution Steps




The cspice_subpnt routine (``mice/doc/html/icy/cspice_subpnt.html'') can be used to compute the sub-observer point and the vector from the observer to that point with a single call. To determine this point as the closest point on the Phoebe ellipsoid, the `method' argument has to be set to 'NEAR POINT: ELLIPSOID'. For our case the `target' is 'PHOEBE', the target body-fixed frame is 'IAU_PHOEBE', and the observer is 'CASSINI'.

Since the s/c is close to Phoebe, light time does not need to be taken into account and, therefore, the `abcorr' argument can be set to 'NONE'.

In order for cspice_subpnt to compute the nearest point location, a PCK file containing Phoebe radii has to be loaded into the program (see ``Files'' section of the routine's header.) All other files required for this computation are already being loaded by the program. With PCK file name added to it, the updated meta-kernel will look like this:

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        'kernels/ck/04135_04171pc_psiv2.bc'
                        'kernels/fk/cas_v37.tf'
                        'kernels/pck/cpck05Mar2004.tpc'
                        )
   \begintext
The sub-spacecraft point Cartesian vector can be converted to planetocentric radius, longitude and latitude using the cspice_reclat routine (``mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_reclat.html'').

The vector from the spacecraft to the sub-spacecraft point returned by cspice_subpnt has to be rotated from the body-fixed frame to the instrument frame. The name of the routine that computes 3x3 matrices rotating vectors from one frame to another is cspice_pxform (``mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_pxform.html''). In our case the `from' argument should be set to 'IAU_PHOEBE' and the `to' argument should be set to 'CASSINI_INMS'

The vector should be then multiplied by this matrix to rotate it to the instrument frame.

After applying the rotation, normalize the resultant vector by dividing the vector by its norm.

For output the longitude and latitude angles returned by cspice_reclat in radians can be converted to degrees by multiplying by cspice_dpr function (``mice/doc/html/mice/cspice_dpr.html''). Putting it all together, we get:

      ...
      method = 'NEAR POINT: ELLIPSOID';
      target = 'PHOEBE';
      frame  = 'IAU_PHOEBE';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [spoint, trgepc, srfvec] = cspice_subpnt( method, target, ...
                                         et, frame, corrtn, observ);
 
      [srad, slon, slat] = cspice_reclat( spoint );
 
      fromfr = 'IAU_PHOEBE';
      tofr   = 'CASSINI_INMS';
 
      m2imat = cspice_pxform( fromfr, tofr, et);
 
      sbpdir =  m2imat * srfvec;
      sbpdir = sbpdir/norm(sbpdir);
 
      fprintf( 'lon    = %f\n', slon * cspice_dpr )
      fprintf( 'lat    = %f\n', slat * cspice_dpr )
 
      disp ('sbpdir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', sbpdir )
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
The updated program with added calls, required declarations and simple print statements produces the following output (the output below was generated by this script on OS X; your output may differ slightly in its format and numeric precision):

   >> spice_example
   utc   =  2004-06-11T19:32:00
   et    =     140254384.184625
   sclk  = 1465674964.105
   et    =     140254384.183426
   state =
        -376599061.916539
        1294487780.929154
        -7064853.054698
        -5.164226
        0.801719
        0.040603
   sundir =
        -0.290204
        0.881631
        0.372167
   lon    = 23.423158
   lat    = 3.709797
   sbpdir =
        -0.000776
        -0.999873
        -0.015905


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``Sub-Spacecraft Point'' Code




Program ``spice_example.m'':

   function spice_example()
 
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
 
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
 
      fprintf( 'utc   =  %s\n', utc );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      scid = -82;
      sclk = '1465674964.105';
      et   = cspice_scs2e( scid, sclk);
 
      fprintf( 'sclk  = %s\n', sclk );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'ECLIPJ2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'SUN';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
 
      disp ('state =')
      fprintf( '     %f \n', state(:) )
 
      target = 'SUN';
      frame  = 'CASSINI_INMS';
      corrtn = 'LT+S';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [ sundir, ltime ] = cspice_spkpos( target, et, frame, ...
                                                    corrtn, observ );
      sundir = sundir/norm(sundir);
 
      disp ('sundir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', sundir )
 
      method = 'NEAR POINT: ELLIPSOID';
      target = 'PHOEBE';
      frame  = 'IAU_PHOEBE';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [spoint, trgepc, srfvec] = cspice_subpnt( method, target, ...
                                         et, frame, corrtn, observ);
 
      [srad, slon, slat] = cspice_reclat( spoint );
 
      fromfr = 'IAU_PHOEBE';
      tofr   = 'CASSINI_INMS';
 
      m2imat = cspice_pxform( fromfr, tofr, et);
 
      sbpdir =  m2imat * srfvec;
      sbpdir = sbpdir/norm(sbpdir);
 
      fprintf( 'lon    = %f\n', slon * cspice_dpr )
      fprintf( 'lat    = %f\n', slat * cspice_dpr )
 
      disp ('sbpdir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', sbpdir )
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
Meta-kernel file ``spice_example.tm'':

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        'kernels/ck/04135_04171pc_psiv2.bc'
                        'kernels/fk/cas_v37.tf'
                        'kernels/pck/cpck05Mar2004.tpc'
                        )
   \begintext


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Step-6: ``Spacecraft Velocity''







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``Spacecraft Velocity'' Task Statement




Extend the program from Step-5 to compute the spacecraft velocity with respect to Phoebe in the INMS frame.



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``Spacecraft Velocity'' Hints




Compute velocity of the spacecraft with respect to Phoebe in some inertial frame, for example J2000. Recall that velocity is the last three components of the state vector returned by cspice_spkezr.

Since the velocity vector is computed in the inertial frame, it should be rotated to the instrument frame. Look at the previous step the routine that compute necessary rotation and rotate vectors.

Add calls to the routine(s), necessary variable declarations and output print statements to the program.



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``Spacecraft Velocity'' Solution Steps




All kernels required for computations in this step are already being loaded by the program, therefore, the meta-kernel does not need to be changed.

The spacecraft velocity vector is the last three components of the state returned by cspice_spkezr. To compute velocity of CASSINI with respect to Phoebe in the J2000 inertial frame the cspice_spkezr arguments should be set to 'CASSINI' (TARG), 'PHOEBE' (OBS), 'J2000' (REF) and 'NONE' (ABCORR).

The computed velocity vector has to be rotated from the J2000 frame to the instrument frame. The cspice_pxform routine used in the previous step can be used to compute the rotation matrix needed for that. In this case the frame name arguments should be set to 'J2000' (FROM) and 'CASSINI_INMS' (TO).

As in the previous step the difference vector should be then multiplied by this rotation matrix. After applying the rotation, normalize the resultant vector by dividing the vector by its norm.

Putting it all together, we get:

      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'J2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'PHOEBE';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
      scvdir = state(4:6);
 
      fromfr = 'J2000';
      tofr   = 'CASSINI_INMS';
      j2imat = cspice_pxform( fromfr, tofr, et );
 
      scvdir = j2imat * scvdir;
      scvdir = scvdir/norm(scvdir);
 
      disp('scvdir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', scvdir )
The updated program with added calls, required declarations and simple print statements produces the following output (the output below was generated on OS X; your output may differ slightly in its format and numeric precision):

   >> spice_example
   utc   =  2004-06-11T19:32:00
   et    =     140254384.184625
   sclk  = 1465674964.105
   et    =     140254384.183426
   state =
        -376599061.916539
        1294487780.929154
        -7064853.054698
        -5.164226
        0.801719
        0.040603
   sundir =
        -0.290204
        0.881631
        0.372167
   lon    = 23.423158
   lat    = 3.709797
   sbpdir =
        -0.000776
        -0.999873
        -0.015905
   scvdir =
        0.395785
        -0.292808
        0.870413
Note that computing the spacecraft velocity in the instrument frame by a single call to cspice_spkezr by specifying 'CASSINI_INMS' in the `ref' argument returns an incorrect result. Such computation will take into account the spacecraft angular velocity from the CK files, which should not be considered in this case.



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``Spacecraft Velocity'' Code Program ``spice_example.m'':




   function spice_example()
 
      mkfile  =  'spice_example.tm';
      cspice_furnsh( mkfile )
 
      utc = '2004-06-11T19:32:00';
      et  = cspice_str2et( utc );
 
      fprintf( 'utc   =  %s\n', utc );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      scid = -82;
      sclk = '1465674964.105';
      et   = cspice_scs2e( scid, sclk);
 
      fprintf( 'sclk  = %s\n', sclk );
      fprintf( 'et    = %20.6f\n', et );
 
      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'ECLIPJ2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'SUN';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
 
      disp ('state =')
      fprintf( '     %f \n', state(:) )
 
      target = 'SUN';
      frame  = 'CASSINI_INMS';
      corrtn = 'LT+S';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [ sundir, ltime ] = cspice_spkpos( target, et, frame, ...
                                             corrtn, observ );
      sundir = sundir/norm(sundir);
 
      disp ('sundir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', sundir )
 
      method = 'NEAR POINT: ELLIPSOID';
      target = 'PHOEBE';
      frame  = 'IAU_PHOEBE';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'CASSINI';
 
      [spoint, trgepc, srfvec] = cspice_subpnt( method, target, ...
                                         et, frame, corrtn, observ);
 
      [srad, slon, slat] = cspice_reclat( spoint );
 
      fromfr = 'IAU_PHOEBE';
      tofr   = 'CASSINI_INMS';
 
      m2imat = cspice_pxform( fromfr, tofr, et);
 
      sbpdir =  m2imat * srfvec;
      sbpdir = sbpdir/norm(sbpdir);
 
      fprintf( 'lon    = %f\n', slon * cspice_dpr )
      fprintf( 'lat    = %f\n', slat * cspice_dpr )
 
      disp ('sbpdir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', sbpdir )
 
      target = 'CASSINI';
      frame  = 'J2000';
      corrtn = 'NONE';
      observ = 'PHOEBE';
 
      [state, ltime] = cspice_spkezr( target, et, frame, ...
                                          corrtn, observ );
      scvdir = state(4:6);
 
      fromfr = 'J2000';
      tofr   = 'CASSINI_INMS';
      j2imat = cspice_pxform( fromfr, tofr, et );
 
      scvdir = j2imat * scvdir;
      scvdir = scvdir/norm(scvdir);
 
      disp('scvdir = ')
      fprintf( '     %f\n', scvdir )
 
      cspice_unload( mkfile )
Meta-kernel file ``spice_example.tm'':

   \begindata
      KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (
                        'kernels/lsk/naif0008.tls'
                        'kernels/sclk/cas00084.tsc'
                        'kernels/spk/020514_SE_SAT105.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/030201AP_SK_SM546_T45.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/981005_PLTEPH-DE405S.bsp'
                        'kernels/spk/sat128.bsp'
                        'kernels/ck/04135_04171pc_psiv2.bc'
                        'kernels/fk/cas_v37.tf'
                        'kernels/pck/cpck05Mar2004.tpc'
                        )
   \begintext