Vehicle Object

The Vehicle object is a base type that provides epoch, position, velocity, orientation, propagator, and visualization properties to the objects that derive from it, as well as methods for computing various geometry, and the ability to add Sensors.

Users cannot create instances of this type of object. However, users can access instances of this object type that have been created indirectly, for example as children of other objects. Users can also access any static properties and methods on this object type.

Available In Editions:

Timing Precision Mode

This page describes functionality in millisecond timing precision mode. Millisecond timing precision mode is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. We recommend that you migrate your Mission Plans to nanosecond timing precision mode.

Name	Description	Attributes
AngularVelocity	The angular velocity vector associated with the quaternion attitude system. The angular velocity will be applied with respect to the attitude frame defined by the Vehicle.AttitudeRefFrame property.	Type: Array Access: Read/Write Units: deg/s
Annotation	When displayed in a Mission View the specified text will be drawn at each tail point. The value may be modified between updates to change the text drawn at subsequent points.	Type: String Access: Read/Write
AttitudeMatrix	The Direction-Cosine-Matrix (DCM) that defines the rotation from the specified Attitude Reference Frame to the Vehicle Body Coordinate System.	Type: Matrix Access: Read/Write
AttitudeRefFrame	This is the Vehicle's attitude reference frame. It is necessary to define the AttitudeRefFrame property of the Vehicle prior to defining the attitude system properties.	Type: String Access: Read/Write
AttitudeSystem	Specifies which attitude system set defines the Vehicle state.	Type: String Access: Read/Write
BodyScale	A scale factor to increase or decrease the size of the Vehicle model in a Mission View. The BodyScale property assumes the model dimensions are in units of meters, similar to the ThreeDModel.Scale property. If, for example, the ThreeDModel.Scale is set to 1, the Vehicle.BodyScale will have to be set to 1 in order to make bounding boxes coincide with the model.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write
CentralBodyObject	CelestialObject that defines the origin for the Vehicle's position and velocity.	Type: CelestialObject Access: Read-Only
Color	The color of the Vehicle tail when displayed in a Mission View. The color can be overridden for an individual view using the ViewWindow.SetObjectColor() method.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write
DeclaredName	The name of the object as declared.	Type: String Access: Read-Only
ElapsedDays	Returns the number of days having passed since the first time this property is read on a specific line of script.	Type: Variable Access: Read-Only Units: day
Epoch	The current Vehicle date and time in International Atomic Time (TAI) in the Modified Julian Date format. The returned value has units of days, measured from January 5, 1941 at 12:00:00.000 TAI. Changing the value of this property does not cause the Vehicle's state to be propagated - the Vehicle's state will not be changed. In order to propagate a Vehicle to a desired epoch, use the Step command.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write Units: day
EulerAngles	These are the angles associated with the Euler attitude system. These angles will be applied as a set of three rotations to the Vehicle's attitude about the axes set in the Vehicle.EulerSequence property.	Type: Array Access: Read/Write Units: deg
EulerRates	Rate of change of the Euler angles.	Type: Array Access: Read/Write Units: deg/s
EulerSequence	Axes of rotation that the EulerAngles are around.	Type: Array Access: Read/Write
FixedPosition	Reports the object's position components (X, Y, Z) referenced to the Body Fixed coordinate system of its central body.	Type: Array Access: Read-Only Units: km
HistoryMode	Determines if the visualized Vehicle tail is unlimited in length, or whether new points replace the oldest points once the tail exceeds the Vehicle tail length. The history mode can be overridden for an individual view using ViewWindow.SetObjectHistoryMode() method.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write
Name	The name displayed for this object in output windows such as views, plots, and reports.	Type: String Access: Read/Write
ObjectId	The unique identifier for the object.	Type: Variable Access: Read-Only
ObjectType	The type of the object.	Type: String Access: Read-Only
Position	Returns the Vehicle's X, Y, Z position referenced to the ICRF.	Type: Array Access: Read/Write Units: km
Propagator	The propagator for updating the state of the Vehicle.	Type: Propagator Access: Read-Only
Quaternion	Returns the four components of the attitude quaternion of a Vehicle. The first three components represent the vector part of the quaternion, the last component represents the scalar part. FreeFlyer uses the right-handed convention when applying the quaternion rotation.	Type: Array Access: Read/Write
Sensors	The Vehicle's sensors.	Type: Array of Sensor Access: Read-Only
TailLength	The number of historical position points to save and draw in visualizations generated using the View command. A new point will be added each time the View command is called. If you use a ViewWindow object, the tail length set there will override this tail length. In millisecond timing precision mode only, the deprecated "as Global" syntax can be used to update the View when any Vehicle is Stepped or Maneuvered. Use caution in setting tail lengths longer than 10,000 - 30,000 points. Tail lengths exceeding this range can cause memory problems due to the large amount of relative position data that must be maintained. The maximum tail length that can be used safely depends on the amount of memory in the system and the number of objects managed by the Mission View.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write
ThreeDModelFile	The file name of the file containing the 3D model that will represent the Vehicle in a Mission View.	Type: String Access: Read/Write
ThreeDModelObject	The name of the ThreeDModel object that holds information about the physical geometry of the Vehicle.	Type: ThreeDModel Access: Read-Only
TickType	The tick mark shape to draw at each point of the tail in a Mission View.	Type: String Access: Read/Write
X	The Cartesian X-component of the Vehicle's position vector, referenced to the ICRF.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write Units: km
Y	The Cartesian Y-component of the Vehicle's position vector, referenced to the ICRF.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write Units: km
Z	The Cartesian Z-component of the Vehicle's position vector, referenced to the ICRF.	Type: Variable Access: Read/Write Units: km

Name	Description
AddSensor	Creates a new Sensor object and adds it as hardware to the Vehicle.
Azimuth	Returns the azimuth angle of the argument as seen from the reference object. The definition of azimuth depends on the reference object and the passed arguments.
CelestialObjectWidth	Returns the angular width of the provided CelestialObject as observed from the Vehicle position.
ClearSavedStates	Clears previous saved states for this object.
ClearThreeDModel	Clears any ThreeDModel object that has been associated with the Vehicle using the SetThreeDModel method.
Elevation	Returns the elevation angle of the argument as seen from the reference object.
FixedVectorToObject	Returns an Array containing the components of the vector originating at the location of the prefix object and terminating at the location of the argument object, in the body fixed coordinate frame of the prefix object.
GetFromFile	Load the object state from the specified FreeFlyer object file.
GetFromString	Load the object state from the specified string.
GetHeight	Returns the bodydetic height. Objects below the surface will return a negative height.
InShadow	Returns an integer value indicating whether the Vehicle is in shadow. A value of 1 is returned when the Vehicle is in shadow, and a 0 is returned if it is not.
PutToFile	Convert the object state to FreeFlyer object xml and write to a file.
PutToString	Convert the object state to FreeFlyer object xml and return as a string.
Range	Returns the distance between two Vehicles, a Vehicle and a GroundStation, or a Vehicle and a CelestialObject. The Range method requires a single argument, either a Vehicle, a CelestialObject, a CelestialObject BodyID, or a GroundStation object.
ReferenceEquals	Returns 1 if the argument refers to the calling object and 0 otherwise.
RelativeAngle	Returns the angle measured between any two celestial objects, Stars, or Vehicles, with the calling Vehicle as the vertex.
ResetMethodStates	Resets any method states associated with the calling object.
Restore	Restore an object's state from a previously saved state.
Save	Save the object's state so that it can be restored later.
SetCentralBody	Sets the body of the calling object.
SetFixedPosition	Sets the object's position components (X, Y, Z) referenced to the Body Fixed coordinate system of its central body.
SetThreeDModel	Associates a ThreeDModel object to the specified Vehicle.
Step	Steps the Vehicle using the current propagator step size.
StepToEpoch	Steps the Vehicle to the specified epoch.
VectorToObject	Returns an Array containing the components of the vector originating at the location of the prefix object and terminating at the location of the argument object, in the ICRF.

Vehicle Object

Description

Available In Editions:

Timing Precision Mode