CAP — Civil Air Patrol Cadet Tracker

AGI Systems Tool Kit (STK) scenario files for 16 orbital mechanics lessons. Download a lesson's ZIP, unzip it, then open the .sc or .wsp file in STK. Requires ANSYS STK (free academic license available).

L01 SIZE

Orbital size and the semi-major axis — the fundamental parameter that defines how large an orbit is and sets the orbital period via Kepler's Third Law.

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L02 SHAPE

Eccentricity and orbital shape — from circular LEO to highly elliptical transfer orbits; how the shape of the ellipse affects ground track and coverage.

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L03 INCLINATION

Inclination angle — how the orbital plane tilts relative to the equator, determining which latitudes are accessible and how the ground track sweeps the globe.

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L04 RAAN

Right Ascension of the Ascending Node — the angle that rotates the orbital plane around Earth's polar axis, placing ground tracks at the desired longitudes.

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L05 ARGUMENT OF PERIGEE

Argument of perigee — locates the low point of the orbit within the orbital plane; critical for HEO missions that need apogee dwell over specific regions.

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L06 TRUE ANOMALY

True anomaly — the satellite's current angular position in its orbit, tying real-time position to the Keplerian elements and enabling access window prediction.

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L07 LEO

Low Earth Orbit (160–2,000 km) — rapid passes, short contact windows, and global coverage with large constellations; the home of ISS, Starlink, and most imaging satellites.

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L08 MEO

Medium Earth Orbit (2,000–35,786 km) — the realm of GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS; longer orbital periods and wider footprints than LEO but below the GEO belt.

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L09 HEO

Highly Elliptical Orbit — the Molniya and Tundra families that park apogee over high latitudes for hours, providing persistent coverage where GEO satellites can't reach.

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L10 GEO

Geostationary Earth Orbit (35,786 km) — satellite appears fixed above the equator for continuous TV broadcast, weather monitoring, and SATCOM relay.

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L11 SUN SYNC

Sun-synchronous orbit — a near-polar orbit where RAAN precesses to match Earth's solar year, keeping the same local solar time for consistent lighting in imagery.

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L12 DATABASE

STK's satellite and facility database — importing TLE data, adding ground stations, and managing object catalogs for realistic scenario building.

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L13 ROCKET LAUNCH

Rocket launch mechanics — modeling ascent trajectories, parking orbits, and insertion burns in STK to simulate how payloads reach their target orbital slots.

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L14 SOLAR SYSTEM

Solar system objects in STK — adding planets, moons, and the Sun for interplanetary mission design, eclipse analysis, and solar power modeling.

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L15 CONSTELLATION

Satellite constellations — designing and analyzing multi-satellite networks like GPS or Walker patterns for global coverage and redundancy metrics.

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L16 SPACE AIR SEA GROUND

Multi-domain operations — combining space assets with airborne, maritime, and ground elements in a single STK scenario for joint mission analysis.

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CADET TRACKER