TITLE

satpass2 - Script to wrap Astro::App::Satpass2 satellite prediction functionality.

SYNOPSIS

satpass2
satpass2 'spacetrack stations' 'choose 25544' pass exit
satpass2 <canned_commands.txt
satpass2 -help
satpass2 -version

OPTIONS

The available options are those of the Astro::App::Satpass2 run() method. Briefly and non-definitively,

-filter

This option asserts that satpass2 is being run as a Unix filter, and suppresses the front matter. It can be negated by specifying -nofilter. It is asserted by default if STDIN is not an interactive terminal.

-initialization_file filename

This option specifies an alternative initialization file. The synonym -initfile can also be used.

-gmt

This option specifies that times are to be displayed in GMT.

-help

This option causes the Astro::App::Satpass2 help() method to be run. The script then exits.

-version

This option causes the front matter (version and copyright) to be displayed. The script then exits.

DETAILS

This script is a wrapper for the Astro::App::Satpass2 package. All it really does is to load the Astro::App::Satpass2 package and then call its run() method.

What you get is an application similar to the satpass script packaged with Astro::Coord::ECI, but (hopefully!) more flexible and easier to maintain.

The core functionality is the prediction of satellite passes over a given location, plus the prediction of Iridium flares.

There are also a number of support functions. You can download orbital data (via Astro::SpaceTrack) from a number of sources, or you can load it from a file or store it in a file. You can define your own commands in terms of the existing ones. In the United States, you can geocode observing locations to latitude and longitude, and download your height above sea level from the U. S. Geological Survey via module Geo::WebService::Elevation::USGS.

Besides the restructuring of the code into an object, the largest change from satpass is the extremely flexible templating system used to produce output. This should allow broad customization of output to meet personal needs. See Astro::App::Satpass2::Format::Template for the (unfortunately) gory details.

AUTHOR

Thomas R. Wyant, III wyant at cpan dot org

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright (C) 2010-2024 by Thomas R. Wyant, III

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl 5.10.0. For more details, see the full text of the licenses in the directory LICENSES.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.