Predicting Opportunities for Viewing the International Space Station (UMAP)

The goal of this module is to give readers a complete description of a method for predicting when and where to look for the International Space Station, as well as guidance in implementing the method on a computer. We use Excel to perform the computations.

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION

KEPLER'S LAWS, A COORDINATE SYSTEM, AND ORBIT ELEMENTS

ORBITAL ELEMENTS FROM r AND v
Details of the Algorithm
Position as a Function of Time

DETERMINING r FROM THE ORBITAL ELEMENTS

LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, AND ALTITUDE

DISTANCE, ALTITUDE, AND AZIMUTH

APPENDIX: IMPLEMENTATION IN EXCEL
Distances and Angles
Time
Deterioration of ?
User-defined Functions
Spreadsheet Description and Algorithm
Interpreting the Results

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR