Julian Date

Orbital propagators (SGP4 or J2) are using Julian date for their computation.

It is then important to set the correct date for your simulation.

 

This is done in the Scenario property window:

 

The Julian Date can be directly entered into the text field to update the current date and time using button.

Using Apply on the window, the satellite positions on the map are automatically updated (also on the globe).

 

Julian Date can be changed using a slider where the step and the unit can be specified. Small changed (seconds) to big jumps (days) can be used to move the satellite in the future (or past) for a specific position (over the earth) or configuration (between several satellites on different orbits), without running the simulation (at this stage, it is only maths)

 

If the simulation must run in real-time synchronized with the wall clock (to have the exact position of actual satellites), set the Wall Clock option and use the UTC option also.