NetSim Astra

Satellite Planning & RF Coverage Studio

Overview

NetSim Astra is a web-based tool for satellite constellation visualization, link budget analysis, and coverage prediction. Built on a CesiumJS 3D globe, it lets you design synthetic constellations, track live satellites, and evaluate RF coverage with detailed link budgets — all from your browser.

Whether you are designing a new LEO constellation, evaluating GEO broadcast coverage, or analyzing multibeam frequency reuse, NetSim Astra provides the analysis tools you need with interactive 3D visualization and CSV data export.

NetSim Astra coverage heatmap on 3D globe
Coverage heatmap showing received power across a region

Key Capabilities

3D Globe Visualization

Interactive CesiumJS globe with satellite orbits, ground station markers, heatmap overlays, and footprint polygons. Playback controls for animated time-series results.

Link Budget Analysis

Full link budget calculation including EIRP, free space path loss, antenna pattern gain, clutter loss, polarization loss, and ITU-R P.618 atmospheric propagation losses.

Coverage Prediction

Generate animated coverage heatmaps over geographic regions with configurable grid resolution. Click any point for a detailed link budget breakdown.

Point Analysis

Analyze received signal strength at a specific ground location over time. View satellite pass events and received power time-series with CSV export.

Satellite Footprint

Visualize per-satellite coverage boundary polygons on the globe, showing instantaneous service areas based on a configurable Rx power threshold.

Multibeam CINR

Evaluate multi-beam GEO satellite systems with frequency reuse (FR1–FR4). CINR heatmaps show co-channel interference and signal quality across the service area.

Constellation Sources

NetSim Astra supports four constellation sources, each compatible with all three analysis types:

  • Synthetic Constellation — Generate Walker Delta or Star constellations with configurable planes, satellites per plane, altitude, and inclination.
  • Live Satellites — Track real satellites (Starlink, OneWeb, GPS, etc.) using TLE data from CelesTrak or N2YO with configurable polling intervals.
  • Single Fixed Satellite — Place a stationary satellite at any position for antenna pattern testing and deterministic coverage analysis.
  • GEO/IGSO Satellites — Analyze geostationary and inclined geosynchronous orbit satellites via manual entry, presets (INSAT/GSAT), or live TLEs.

Analysis Modes

Six primary operating modes based on constellation source and analysis type:

Point Analysis Coverage Prediction Satellite Footprint
Synthetic Rx power time-series, "what-if" scenarios Animated heatmap with playback controls Per-satellite coverage polygons
Live Real-time satellite pass tracking Live updating coverage heatmap Real-time footprint boundaries

Fixed Satellite and GEO/IGSO modes work with all three analysis types. GEO mode additionally supports Multibeam CINR analysis for evaluating multi-beam satellite payloads.

NetSim Astra configuration form
Constellation configuration with orbital parameters

RF Parameters

  • Configurable TX power, antenna gain, EIRP, RX gain, and frequency (L / S / X / Ku / K / Ka / Q/V bands)
  • Additional losses, polarization loss, and system margin
  • Terrain-based clutter loss using ESA WorldCover land classification
  • ITU-R P.618 atmospheric propagation: rain fade, gaseous absorption, cloud attenuation, and tropospheric scintillation

Antenna Pattern Models

Four antenna models with interactive pattern visualization:

  • Gaussian — Simplified analytical model for general coverage analysis
  • Bessel (3GPP TR 38.811) — Physically-based circular aperture model for LEO/MEO NTN analysis
  • ITU-R S.672-4 — ITU reference pattern for Fixed Satellite Service spacecraft, regulatory compliance
  • Phased Array (URA) — Uniform Rectangular Array model for beam shaping and 5G NTN systems

Output & Results

  • Interactive 3D globe with heatmaps, footprint polygons, satellite markers, and ground station links
  • Click any heatmap point for a detailed link budget breakdown (satellite ID, Rx power, elevation, distance, antenna gain, losses)
  • Playback controls for synthetic modes: play/pause, restart, speed (1x–50x), timeline scrubbing
  • Recording controls for live modes: elapsed/total time, stop recording, blinking indicator
  • CSV export of all analysis results: point_analysis.csv, coverage_grid.csv, satellite_footprint.csv, multibeam_cinr.csv
NetSim Astra point analysis viewer
Point analysis showing satellite tracking on the 3D globe
NetSim Astra satellite footprint visualization
Live satellite footprint visualization with per-satellite coverage polygons
NetSim Astra access report metrics
Access report with detailed link budget metrics

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