space.Ansys.com
space.Ansys.com

Plan the Mission

Space Mission Design for Mission Success

The intricacies of mission design and operations require innovative solutions. Ansys provides cutting-edge simulation software that combines advanced modeling, analysis, and training capabilities. Our software enables organizations to explore flight trajectories, determine orbits, analyze the performance of communication systems, plan station-keeping cycles, and conduct conjunction analyses.

Powering Precision in Space Mission Design

Modern space missions demand a new level of precision in early-stage design, performance analysis, and optimization. That’s why the most visionary aerospace organizations turn to Ansys software to plan their missions with confidence — before anything ever leaves the ground. Here are a few of the advantages simulation offers innovators.

  • Minimize Risk Before Launch

    Identify potential issues early by simulating mission designs upfront to avoid costly surprises down the line.

  • Optimize Your Full Mission

    Space missions are notoriously challenging. Model operational environments and the interrelationships of assets with accurate, dynamic, physics-based simulations to validate system designs concerning the missions they must perform.

  • Assess Feasibility with Confidence

    Model assets across multiple domains — land, sea, air, and space — to analyze system performance, and integrate with Ansys’ portfolio of multi-physics tools and solvers to achieve unmatched end-to-end modeling and simulation.

  • Respond in Real Time

    Support early phase mission design and planning with simulated measurements and anticipate on-orbit operational needs to ensure safety of flight.

Navigating the Challenges in Space Mission Planning

The planning process encompasses mission design, orbit simulation, spacecraft tracking, flight dynamics integration, support for lunar and Mars landings, geolocation of ground emitters, and preparation of applications for cloud deployment.

Launch Digital Mission Engineering with Ansys STK

Digital Mission Engineering starts with Ansys Systems Tool Kit (STK), our flagship product which provides the digital world for platform and subsystem models to be simulated and analyzed. STK enables engineers, operators, and analysts to connect modeling and simulation efforts across all phases of the engineering product life cycle.
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ODTK: Operationally Proven Orbit Determination Solution

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.
Learn about ODTK
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Solutions Showcase

Navigating the Challenges in Space Mission Planning

Optimize Spacecraft Mission Objective

Achieving the highest return on investment for a satellite mission requires precise planning and resource optimization.
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Mission & Trajectory Design

Efficiently develop, optimize, and validate flight-ready trajectories while minimizing costs, enabling rapid maneuver planning, analyzing subsystem impacts, and supporting missions across VLEO, GEO, Lunar/Cislunar, and Deep Space orbit regimes.
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Orbital Maintenance

Satellites require frequent maneuvers for orbit maintenance due to perturbing forces like drag and solar radiation pressure, necessitating strategic planning for optimal timing and execution to extend operational lifetimes.
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Constellation Orbit Management

atellites require frequent maneuvers for orbit maintenance due to perturbing forces like drag and solar radiation pressure, necessitating strategic planning for optimal timing and execution to extend operational lifetimes.
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Spacecraft State Estimate from Tracking Data

Accurate satellite position knowledge is crucial for analyzing past data and planning future missions. Estimating its state from tracking data is difficult due to noise, errors, and biases.
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Satellite and Tracking System Calibration

Calibrate and maintain sensors and software for precise tracking measurements. Recalibrate periodically to address drift and noise and optimize resources to efficiently manage computing power, personnel, and operational time during calibration efforts.
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Payload and Ground Station Schedule

Effective task management is essential for satellite missions, balancing high-priority tasks with lower ones while considering interconnected operations, resource constraints, and adapting to environmental changes for optimal signal quality.
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Spacecraft Anomaly Resolution

The process involves identifying spacecraft anomalies' root causes, assessing their impact on missions, developing mitigation strategies for success, and training teams through simulations of various anomaly scenarios.
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“The Ansys software allows us to model not only the specifics of our orbit but all sorts of hardware and other constraints on Earth, such as if communications are going to be blocked by a mountain. ”

— John Carrico, owner, chief technology officer, astrogator, and technical adviser, Space Exploration Engineering (SEE)
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Planning the Mission

Resource Hub

NEW

Satellite Technology

What Are Satellite Constellations?

Explore the world of satellite constellations, from advantages and challenges to the cutting-edge technologies that are driving the future of this technology.
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White Paper

Linking Engineering With the Mission for Accelerated Product Development and Less Design Risk

Discover how digital mission engineering can help you overcome the critical challenges facing space innovators today.
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Webinar series

Engineering Resilient Space Systems

From mission planning to component-level reliability, explore the challenges and solutions faced by the innovators developing the next generation of robust spacecraft and space systems.
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Webinar series

Journey With Us to the Space Mission Analysis and Design Webinar Series

We cover topics from launch-to-orbit modeling, vehicle design, space operations and more.
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Featured Blogs

Advancing Space Mission Analysis and Design With Simulation

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Navigating Through the Darkness With MDA Space and SAR

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Additional Resources

Trajectory Modeling and Cislunar Space Series

Digital Engineering for Aerospace & Defense

A mission-centric, connected digital thread approach is at the heart of every Ansys solution for the aerospace and defense industries.
Learn about Digital Engineering
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Plan with Precision

Explore how Ansys enables fast, accurate space mission planning from concept to orbit.

Speak With an Ansys Expert

Featured Ansys products and collections for space mission planning

Plan smarter missions with tools that simulate trajectories, optimize tracking, and connect design to real-time operations—all in one streamlined workflow.

Ansys Digital Mission Engineering (DME)

Connect design and operations in one workflow. Integrate real-time data, simulate mission impacts, and keep engineering and ops teams aligned from start to finish.

Ansys Orbit Determination Tool Kit (ODTK)

ODTK helps you maintain mission accuracy by processing real-world tracking data, estimating spacecraft position and velocity, analyzing uncertainty, and optimizing tracking strategies.
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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.
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Missions AI Plus

Accelerate mission analysis with AI-driven tools. Automate ODTK result assessments, predict outcomes faster, and minimize manual tuning and analysis time.