Class in Zendir.Classes | Inherits from PhysicalObject
Declaration
class Antenna;Description
The Antenna is the base class for all communication components in the telemetry system, providing the common interface and functionality for both transmitters and receivers. Antennas handle connections between spacecraft, ground stations, and other entities, enabling data transfer across the simulation. They define the electromagnetic characteristics required for link budget calculations, including frequency, bandwidth, gain, and pointing losses. The Telemetry System manages all antenna instances and creates the appropriate links between compatible transmitter-receiver pairs.
Properties
| Declared | Description |
|---|---|
| AntennaGain | Antenna Gain of the transmission. This is measured in decibels andrepresents the gain provided by the antenna. |
| BitRate | The effective bit rate of the data being processed. This is the maximumamount of data that can be transmitted per second or received per second.The actual bit rate may be limited by the channel capacity. |
| DivergenceAngle | Divergence angle of the antenna |
| Frequency | The targeted frequency for the antenna |
| ModelType | Analysis type for the antenna dish |
| NumAvailableConnections | Returns the number of active connections that are currently valid on the antennathat have a connection fraction greater than zero, so they can be used fordata transmission. |
| NumConnections | Returns the number of connections that are currently valid on the antenna |
| NumLinks | Returns the number of valid links that the antenna have connected |
| OpticalLoss | Optical Loss of the transmission. This is measured in decibels andrepresents the loss due to optical components. |
| Out_AntennaConfigMsg | The antenna configuration message that contains the dataabout the antenna. |
| PointingLoss | Pointing loss of the transmission due to misalignment. This ismeasured in decibels. |
| TransmissionType | The transmission type for the antenna. This will define whattype of connection is required. |
| Inherited | Description |
|---|---|
| Behaviours | A collection of behaviours attached to this object. |
| CenterOfMassB_B | The center of mass of the component in respect to the body frame (B) of the component. This is isolated from anychildren and exists in isolation. |
| CenterOfMassDot_LB_B | The center of mass time-derivative of the component within its own local coordinates. This does not include anyof the sub-components and exists in isolation. |
| CenterOfMassDotB_B | The center of mass time-derivative of the component relative to the body frame (B). This does not include any ofthe sub-components and exists in isolation. |
| CenterOfMassL_L | The center of mass of the component within its own local coordinates. This does not include any of thesub-components and exists in isolation. |
| CenterOfMassPrime_LB_B | The center of mass general-derivative of the component within its own local coordinates. This does not includeany of the sub-components and exists in isolation. |
| CenterOfMassPrimeB_B | [m/s] The center of mass general-derivative of the component relative to the body frame (B). This does notinclude any of the sub-components and exists in isolation. |
| Children | A collection of children attached to this object. |
| DCM_BN | The rotational DCM matrix between the body frame (B) at the top of this component chain and the inertial frame (N). |
| DCM_LB | The rotational DCM matrix between the component frame of this object (L) relative to the body frame (B). |
| DCM_LN | The DCM rotational matrix of the component relative to the inertial origin (N) of the world. |
| DCM_LP | The DCM matrix of the component in the parent’s frame (P), taken from the Component Transform (PL). |
| IsEnabled | Is true if the object is currently enabled. |
| LocalForward | The direction of the transform frame’s forward vector, which is along the Y axis. |
| LocalRight | The direction of the transform frame’s right vector, which is along the X axis. |
| LocalUp | The direction of the transform frame’s up vector, which is along the Z axis. |
| Mass | The component mass defined in the object. This is independent of any parent or children objects and exists inisolation. |
| MassDot | The component mass time-derivative defined in the object. This is independent of any parent or children objectsand exists in isolation. |
| Models | A collection of models attached to this object. |
| MomentOfInertia_LB | The moment of inertia of the component, measured at the local center of mass, represented with its own localcoordinates. This does not include any of the sub-components and exists in isolation. |
| MomentOfInertiaB_B | The moment of inertia of this component, measured in the body frame relative to the parented body. This isindependent of any children and exists in isolation. |
| MomentOfInertiaPrime_LB | The derivative of the moment of inertia of the component, measured at the local center of mass, represented withits own local coordinates. This does not include any of the sub-components and exists in isolation. |
| MomentOfInertiaPrimeB_B | The derivative of the moment of inertia of the component, represented in the body frame (B). This is independentand exists in isolation. |
| Name | The display name or tag of this object. |
| Out_ComponentMassMsg | The component mass message defines the set of mass properties and states of the system within this componentlocally. This is independent of any parent or children properties or objects. |
| Out_TransformMsg | This defines the base transform message that stores the state of the transform of this object. |
| Parent | The currently attached parent object (if any). |
| Position | [m] The position of the object relative to the parent or to world origin, if no parent exists. |
| Position_BN_N | The position of the body (the root parent B) in the inertial frame relative to the inertial point (N). |
| Position_LB_B | The position of the component relative to the root object of this hierarchy. This is in the inertial frame and ifthe component is the root object, then there will be no position. |
| Position_LN_N | The position of the inertial world space. This position is derived from the world’s transform (N). |
| Position_LP_P | The position of the object relative to the parented object (P). If there is no parent object, then this will bein the inertial frame. |
| Root | The root object in the parent chain. |
| Rotation | [-] The rotation of the object relative to the parent or to the world origin, if no parent exists. |
| Thermal | [TEMPORARY] A reference to the thermal model that is attached to this object. This will allow the object to havethermal properties and be able to be used in thermal simulations. |
Methods
| Declared | Description |
|---|---|
| ConfigureEMLookupTable | Loads the EM signature properties from a CSV table. This will read a CSV fileand will interpolate the data to create a lookup table for the EM signature. |
| GetAntennaLink | Returns the data link message associated with the antenna with a connectionto another antenna. |
| GetAntennaPositionForLink | Gets the position of this antenna for a link to another antenna. Bydefault, this is just the position of the antenna, but can be overriddenin derived classes to provide more complex behavior (e.g., ground stations)for nearest point calculations. |
| GetLoadedSignaturePattern | Gets the currently loaded RF pattern and returns the datain degrees as an array from 0 to 360. |
| GetLookupPointingLoss | Gets the pointing loss of the antenna based on the angle ofthe component. |
| SetRandomSeed | Sets the random seed for the internal random number generator. |
| UpdatePointingLoss | Updates the pointing loss of the antenna based on the angle ofthe component. |
| Inherited | Description |
|---|---|
| AddObject | Returns a new simulation object with the specified type. |
| Attach | Attempts to attach this object to a new parent. This will only work if the current object is no parented to anyother object. |
| ContainsModelWithID | Returns true if an attached model satisfies the specified ID. |
| ContainsModelWithType | Returns true if an attached model satisfies the specified type. |
| Detach | This is an action to detach the current object from its parent, if it exists and move it to another object or tojust exist within the simulation. |
| FindBehavioursWithType | Returns all attached behaviours that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindBehaviourWithID | Returns an attached behaviour that satisfies the specified ID. |
| FindBehaviourWithType | Returns an attached behaviour that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindChildrenWithType | Returns all attached children that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindChildWithID | Returns an attached child that satisfies the specified ID. |
| FindChildWithType | Returns an attached child that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindModelsWithType | Returns all attached models that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindModelWithID | Returns an attached model that satisfies the specified ID. |
| FindModelWithType | Returns an attached model that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindParentWithID | Returns an attached parent that satisfies the specified ID. |
| FindParentWithType | Returns an attached parent that satisfies the specified type. |
| FindRootWithID | Returns a root object that satisfies the specified ID. |
| FindRootWithType | Returns a root object that satisfies the specified type. |
| GetModel | Returns a valid assigned model with the specified type. |
| GetWorldForward | [DEPRECATED] THIS FUNCTION WILL BE REMOVED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED. |
| GetWorldRight | [DEPRECATED] THIS FUNCTION WILL BE REMOVED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED. |
| GetWorldTransform | Returns the world transform of the object which is relative to the parent. If no parent exists, this will be thetransform of the object in world space. |
| GetWorldUp | [DEPRECATED] THIS FUNCTION WILL BE REMOVED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED. |
| ReadBodyTransform | This method will reset the dirty flag on the mass so that it has been read successfully and is valid. |
| SetWorldTransform | [DEPRECATED] THIS FUNCTION WILL BE REMOVED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED. |
| UpdateMassProperties | Updates the mass properties of the current physical object at a particular time. |