Spacecraft Propagation
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Engineer
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Mission
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Fixed or variable step (step size is user-definable)
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Supports nanosecond-level timing precision
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Runge Kutta 4(5), 7(8), 8(9), VOP, two body, Bulirsch Stoer, J2 Mean Elements, SGP4 propagators
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Planetary ephemeris (e.g. DE405, DE421, DE430)
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Solar System object editor
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Atmospheric drag/lift, solar radiation pressure
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Atmospheric density - Analytic, Jacchia Roberts, Harris Priester, MSIS models
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International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) modeling
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Celestial body gravitational potential (point mass, zonals and tesserals, solid tides)
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SGP4 two-line elements, FreeFlyer ephemeris/state, STK ephemeris/state, SP3 Precise Ephemeris and CCSDS OEM file formats
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8th and 10th order Lagrange ephemeris interpolation
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User-defined parameters and formatting in FreeFlyer ephemeris file formats
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Hundreds of orbit/trajectory properties calculated at each integration step
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Unlimited user-defined properties using embedded math libraries or MATLAB connection
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Full spacecraft mass properties modeling
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Customizable spacecraft Tanks (chemical or electrical) and Thrusters (mono-propellant, bi-propellant, or electrical)
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Formation/constellation modeling for unlimited numbers of objects
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Mean of J2000 Earth Equator/Earth Ecliptic, True of Date Earth Equator, True Equator Mean Equinox, Earth Fixed, CelestialObject fixed reference frames
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Cartesian, Keplerian/nonsingular Keplerian, Spherical/Spherical Lat/Long, Equinoctial, Modified Equinoctial, Brouwer-Lyddane Mean/J2, Brouwer-Lyddane Mean of 1950 orbital element systems
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Launch vehicle coordinates (user-definable to launch vehicle vendor specs)
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Conversion functions to convert between numerous attitude and coordinate systems
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User-defined/custom coordinate systems with conversions
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LVLH, Mean of J2000 Earth Equator, Geodetic, UVW, VNB, and user-defined custom attitude reference frames
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Euler angles, Quaternion, Attitude matrix, Spinner attitude modeling
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Attitude history file (AHF) support
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Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire (HCW) propagator
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LVC (Cylindrical), RIC Cylindrical, and RIC Spherical attitude reference frames
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Relative Motion Orbit Wizards for Proximity Operations (ProxOps)
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Ability to Get/Set a Cartesian and Curvilinear relative states
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Work with HCW equations using the Relative Motion Utility
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High fidelity SRP Modeling using a PlateModel
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Generating Output
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Engineer
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Mission
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Full 2D and 3D visualization with customizable camera Viewpoints
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Full-featured plotting library (XY and polar plots with Monitor option)
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User-defined custom ASCII reports
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2000+ built-in parameters available for reporting and plotting
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Globe layers to support coastlines, coastal offsets, political boundaries, and user-defined line layer element sets
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Unlimited user-defined parameters for reporting and plotting
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GroundStation masking and sensor swath modeling
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2D/3D Sensor views
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ProximityZones, Regions, and PointGroups for coverage analysis
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2D/3D visualization HD movie recording and image saving
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Unlimited output window tiling
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WatchWindow and GridWindow for configurable real-time data updates
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Output layout control for controlling size and location of output windows
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Pop output windows in/out of the FreeFlyer Workspace
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Flexible Console Window for reporting data
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GraphicsOverlay and WindowOverlay for adding custom elements to visualizations
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FreeFlyer Scripting
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Engineer
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Mission
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Object-oriented scripting language to control all aspects of a FreeFlyer Mission Plan (objects, methods, commands, conditional logic, data inputs/outputs, and custom computations)
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Full-featured FreeForm scripting language editor with general programming convenience functionality such as finding all references, smart indenting, and script auto-complete
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Logic to control actions based on any calculated property
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For, If, While, Pause, Stop, Achieve, Target, Vary, Break, Switch, Continue commands
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Drag and drop mission design sequence
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Lists of any object type and Structs of any collection of types
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Batch run/Command line capability
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Conversion between all supported time systems and formats
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Integrated development environment control for system administrators
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Integrated debugger
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Any property can be set/reset real-time during execution
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30+ math operators for implementing custom algorithms
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Matrix math
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Random Number Generator
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Random and Gaussian noise distributions
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Coverage and Contact Analysis
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Engineer
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Mission
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400+ pre-defined GroundStation geodetic files and masking profiles
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Custom user-defined GroundStation position and masking
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Complex conic, rectangular, and user-defined sensor shapes
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Sensor obscuration masking
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Dynamic Sensor scanning
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Complete native RF link budget analysis support
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Visibility period calculations between any objects (Spacecraft-to-Spacecraft, Spacecraft-to-GroundStation, Spacecraft-to-custom ground region, etc.)
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Field of view, elevation angle, azimuth angle, range, and range rate
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Solar and lunar constraints, Lighting constraints, Beta angle constraints
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Temporal constraints (interval, duration, GMT, mean local time)
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Cross track, along track, range and range rates
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Vectors to/from any object
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Acquisition of Signal / Loss of Signal (AOS/LOS)
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Collision avoidance calculations (customizable ProximityZones)
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Sensor-to-Sensor, Sensor-to-Spacecraft, Sensor-to-GroundStation constraints
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Sensor tracking
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Magnetic field region modeling
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Numeric and analytic Earth refraction modeling
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Intersection of any vector and 3D model
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BlockageDiagram contact analysis
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Complete GroundVehicle propagation and analysis
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Simple Motion or Waypoint propagation models for GroundVehicle objects
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Mean of J2000 Earth Equator, VLT, and ENU attitude reference frames for GroundVehicle objects
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Euler angles, quaternion, and attitude matrix attitude modeling for GroundVehicle objects
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Maneuvering and Targeting
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Engineer
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Mission
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Impulsive and finite maneuver modeling
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Maneuver targeting with differential correction algorithms
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Dynamic configuration of the Targeter for resetting initial guesses and use within conditional For/If/While loops
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Support for standard chemical and low-thrust propulsion systems
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Thruster outgassing event modeling
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Optimization
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Engineer
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Mission
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Generic optimization cabability for multivariable optimization of user-defined objective functions
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Definition of any number of state variables and constraints
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Ability to minimize or maximize any objective function
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Support for finding a feasible solution to solve constraints without optimizing an objective function
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Ability to provide gradients and Jacobians to leverage known analytic derivatives
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Built-in support for Ipopt and NLopt optimization libraries
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Support for SNOPT through user-provided shared library file
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Global optimization support through NLopt
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Support segmented trajectory arcs and specific control models
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Ability to create a discretized path of a trajectory arc through trajectory nodes
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Ability to link multiple trajectory arcs
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Interplanetary Analysis
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Engineer
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Mission
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SPICE Ephemeris read/write support
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Full propagator control for a custom CelestialObject with a host of specific and generic interplanetary reference frames
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User-defined Regions on any CelestialObject
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B-plane targeting
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CelestialObject interference (all planets and star catalog)
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Occulting CelestialObject modeling as sphere or ellipsoid
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Target CelestialObject modeling as point, sphere, or ellipsoid
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User-defined GroundStation location and masking profiles on any CelestialObject
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Generalized support for any Rotating Libration Point (RLP) system (L1-L5) in the Solar System
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Rotating-pulsating coordinate system calculation and visualization support for interplanetary mission design
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Interfacing with External Resources
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Engineer
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Mission
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MATLAB interface
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TCP/IP socket interface
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Customizable graphic user interface (GUI)
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Generic ASCII and Binary FileInterface for user-defined ephemeris/state and other I/O applications
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ODBC database-compliant interface with transactional mode
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Run command to spawn external applications
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Automatic e-mail notification based on user-defined rules
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FreeFlyer Extensions Software Development Kit (SDK) for custom force modeling, object definition, and 3rd party code integration
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Runtime Application Program Interface (API) for for embedding FreeFlyer into an external C/C++, C#, Java, MATLAB®, or Python application
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Orbit Determination
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Engineer
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Mission
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Extended Kalman Filter, Batch Least Squares, Unscented Kalman Filter, Square Root Information Filter
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Customizable Batch/Kalman combinations implemented via script
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Orbit Determination error analysis
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Spacecraft Receivers and Transponders
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Tracking Data Simulator
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Tracking Data Editor with Sigma Threshold Editing that can view multiple measurement types simultaneously
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Spacecraft covariance propagation
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Fully customizable, user-specified tracking data
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Ground-based range/range rate/azimuth/elevation tracking data
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TDRS tracking two-way range/two-way Doppler tracking data
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Point solution and GNSS pseudorange tracking data
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Spacecraft-to-Spacecraft range/ range-rate/azimuth/elevation tracking data
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Bilateration Ranging Transponder System (BRTS) tracking data
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DSN 60-byte and three-way Doppler tracking data
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Spacecraft Position, Velocity, Acceleration, Cd, Cr estimation
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Transponder delay estimation
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Maneuver and outgassing estimation (burn magnitude and direction)
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GroundStation location, antenna bias estimation
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Spacecraft antenna offset modeling
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Terrain Modeling
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Engineer
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Mission
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Integration for modeling GroundVehicle state during propagation
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Ability to load and evaluate multiple Terrain Data File formats
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Occulting Terrain modeling with VisibilitySegment objects
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Miscellaneous
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Engineer
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Mission
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Mission Plan Wizards for quick problem setup
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150+ Sample Mission Plans included
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Customizable Home Screen
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Auto-save Mission Plan feature
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Available in Windows (FreeFlyer.exe, FF.exe, API, FreeFlyer Extensions) and Linux (FF.exe, API)
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Extensive Help File with all property definitions, syntax, guides, and examples
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Dedicated FreeFlyer Technical Support Team available for assistance
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