Ansys software offers precise orbit determination and collision analysis, enhancing data quality through tracking system simulations across various assets.
With space becoming increasingly crowded, it will only become more important to ensure that spacecraft can safely navigate this environment. Learn how engineers can use Ansys software solutions to detect and assess potential collisions in space by tracking space objects, characterizing their maneuvers, and evaluating the degree of risk.
Safeguard Operational Integrity
The growing congestion of satellites and debris makes space situational awareness (SSA) and space domain awareness (SDA) essential for ensuring mission safety in the space industry.
Enable Flexible and Comprehensive On-Orbit Maneuverability and Servicing
Modern space missions require flexibility for satellite adaptability, collision avoidance, and extended lifespan through ISAM operations, benefiting both commercial and defense sectors.
Data analysis and Ansys software enhance space safety by ensuring situational awareness, maneuverability, and reliability of electronics against harsh conditions in increasingly congested orbits.
Solutions Showcase
Solutions to Solve Mission Challenges
Whether you're building satellites for Earth observation, global communications, or deep space navigation, designing assets that can withstand the harsh space environment is non-negotiable. Ansys brings a powerful, integrated suite of multiphysics tools to help you engineer smarter, faster, and with confidence.
ODTK offers precise orbit estimates throughout the mission life cycle, from design to operations. It enables cost-effective tracking simulations, customized reporting, and visualizations. With advanced filtering and automation features, ODTK enhances operator workflows and integration into larger systems, ensuring mission requirements are met.
“Modeling and simulation software has reduced the time required for design and testing by more than 30%, and (we are) currently targeting a reduction of more than 50%, which is expected to have a positive impact on the development schedule going forward. ”
Featured Ansys products and collections for protecting your assets
Plan smarter missions with tools that simulate trajectories, optimize tracking, and connect design to real-time operations—all in one streamlined workflow.
Ansys Systems Tool Kit (STK)
Design and simulate space missions in a 3D, physics-based environment. Plan complex trajectories, model constellations, analyze coverage, and evaluate mission trade-offs in real time.
ODTK helps you maintain mission accuracy by processing real-world tracking data, estimating spacecraft position and velocity, analyzing uncertainty, and optimizing tracking strategies.
Ansys EMC Plus is an advanced simulation tool for analyzing and mitigating electromagnetic interference (EMI) and ensuring electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in electronic systems, helping engineers identify and resolve potential compliance issues early in the design process.
Ansys Sherlock is a reliability physics-based simulation tool that predicts the lifespan and failure risks of electronic hardware by analyzing how real-world conditions like vibration, temperature, and mechanical stress affect components over time—enabling more durable and resilient product designs.
See how the future of Aerospace and Defense is being built. Get the latest stories and updates from Ansys.
Simulating Space
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Curious about how we can elevate your space projects with digital mission engineering? We’ll love to hear about it.
Electronics Lifetime and Reliability
Ensuring PCB reliability while reducing the design cycle and adhering to standards such as IPC-TR-579, IPC 9704, SAE J3168, MIL, and JESD-22 is essential.
Our Solutions
Faster Pre-Processing
Faster pre-processing: 2D ECAD to 3D MCAD conversion at a click of a button.
Exhaustive Library
Exhaustive and expandable electronics components, materials, and laminates library.
Complete life curves
Complete life curves for electronics.
Key Benefits
Reduced Prediction Time
Reduce PCB reliability prediction time by 20-50% at the component, board, and system level.
Improved Reliability
Optimize component selection and placement for target PCB reliability.
Cost Savings
Meet regulations at lower costs by reducing physical prototypes by ~50%.
Electromagnetic & RF System Design
Design a thermal control system for satellites, considering subsystem interdependencies and environmental heat loads, while conducting simulations to analyze temperature behavior over time.
Our Solutions
Comprehensive Satellite Simualtions
Simulate the satellite from design to test, including thermovac testing, launch pad integration, ascent, and on-orbit analysis.
Thermal Control System Design
Analyze efficient radiative heat exchange for the entire system, including environmental heat loads with built-in orbit definition and articulating subsystems such as solar panels.
Thermal Control Device Simulation
Rapidly simulate thermal control devices, including thermostatic heaters, thermoelectric coolers, multi-layer insulation, heat pipes, and pumped fluid loops.
Key Benefits
Adhere to Design Limits
Ensure that flight hardware remains within design limits from the launch pad to end-of-service.
Rapid Evaluation
Evaluate the degradation of surface properties with easy and quick substitution of property values.
Modeling Flexibility
Model the satellite using modeling techniques that meet the needs of the simulation with any combination of lumped parameters, finite difference, and finite element.
RadHard Design Workflow
Electronics are vulnerable to natural and man-made radiation, causing degradation, noise, damage, shutdowns, and power failure. Rad Hard design qualification takes years due to lengthy testing cycles.
Our Solutions
An integrated workflow for the RHBD (Rad Hard by Design) process that leverages the power of TCAD, simulation, and modeling.
TCAD – Synopsys
TCAD – Synopsys
Simulation and modeling
Ansys optiSLang and Ansys Reliability module
Key Benefits
Robust Radiation Solutions
Identify robust radiation solutions.
Higher-Performance Electronics
Enable higher-performance electronics for use in radiation environments.
Reduced Time to Market
Reduce time to market and qualification.
Surface Charging Risk Assessment
Electrostatic discharge risks rise in space and dusty environments, causing concerns with arcing in solar cells, material degradation, and communication disruptions.
Our Solutions
Ansys Charge Plus
Track the balance of charge between the surface and environment of a spacecraft or space bodies with Ansys Charge Plus, which uses numerous material properties.
PIC Solver
Analyze the state of low-energy, low-density plasma surrounding the spacecraft, as well as the charge and distribution of the surrounding plasma state with a PIC solver coupled with BEM.
FEM Analysis
Study surface charging using FEM - full-wave electromagnetic field to calculate fields in 3D to analyze the risk of arcing in the plasma.
Key Benefits
Accurate Results
Accurate results within 5% in the GEO environment, benchmarking with NASCAP.
Adaptive Meshing
Adaptive meshing, which allows for optimal cell count.
STK Insights
Obtain plasma environments from STK software and compute the coupled surface and internal charging.
Radiation Hardening
Space radiation from protons, electrons, and ions can damage electronics, leading to malfunctions or permanent damage. Key threats include SEE, TID, EMI, thermal effects, and solar events.
Our Solutions
Particle Fluence Tracking
Track particle fluences during simulations, and use fields as feedback to the transport problem with Ansys Charge Plus software, which uses Monte Carlo 3D particle transport and the FEM.
Radiation Penetration Evaluation
Evaluate the amount of radiation penetration into the interior of different metal thicknesses with Charge Plus software.
Key Benefits
Weight and Radiation Balance
Design the metal thickness to balance the spacecraft's weight with the impact of radiation hardening.
Maneuver Detection and Threat Assessment
Develop and validate efficient flight trajectory solutions for spacecraft across various orbits, optimizing costs and analyzing impacts on subsystems promptly.
Our Solutions
Segmented Trajectory Design
Ansys STK/Astrogator® enables flexible design for a wide range of missions.
Maneuver Evaluation
Assess maneuver pointing and thrusting strategies for mission feasibility.
Advanced Search and Optimization
Utilize search profiles, differential correctors, and powerful optimizers such as SNOPT and IPOPT.
High-Fidelity Force Modeling
Customizable force models to account for mission-specific perturbations and environmental factors.
Customized Mission Components
Define engine models, propagators, fuel tank characteristics, stopping conditions, and other key parameters.
Key Benefits
Automated Trajectory Design
Automate trajectory design by reducing manual calculations and iteration time for faster mission planning.
Mission Trade Studies
Perform more efficient trade studies by quickly evaluating multiple mission scenarios with built-in optimization tools.
Accurate Assessments
Accurately assess propulsion, delta-v, and maneuver constraints early in the design process for improved feasibility analysis.
Reduced Operational Risk
Reduce operational risk by simulating complex trajectories to ensure mission success before execution.
Seamless Tool Integration
Seamlessly integrate with external analysis tools for a more complete mission design workflow.
On-Orbit Servicing
Satellites require frequent maneuvers to maintain orbits, addressing perturbing forces like drag and solar radiation pressure to ensure optimal operational lifetime and effectiveness.
Our Solutions
Automated Maneuver Planning
Determines and executes station-keeping maneuvers based on defined requirements.
Flexible Maneuver Execution
Specify maneuvers manually or trigger them automatically when conditions are met.
Flexible Orbit Maintenance Strategies
Users create the strategy that best meets their operational and hardware requirement.
Key Benefits
Automated Maneuver Execution
Trigger station-keeping maneuvers at predefined conditions to maintain the desired orbit constraints or trigger as needed in case of special events such as collision avoidance.
Detailed Reporting
Detailed reporting, graphing, and visualization of key metrics such as fuel consumption, ΔV budget, and orbit maintenance performance.
Post-Maneuver Orbit Analysis
Check for conjunctions, communications performance, or access times by using post-maneuver orbit in regular STK analysis.