spacevlbi 1.1.0

Python package to simulate and optimise space-based VLBI missions

spacevlbi

Python package for simulating and optimising a space-based VLBI mission. This package enables multiple space telescopes to be modelled by propagating their orbital and attitude state. Elements of the spacecraft design that impact when observations can be performed can also be included in the simulation to assess and mitigate their impact on the science return of the mission (e.g. source visibility including Sun/Earth/Moon avoidance, star trackers, radiators, solar panels, ground station access times, etc.).

A ground-based array of radio antenna can also be modelled, enabling the (u,v) coverage that the full interferometer can achieve of a given source(s) to be calculated.

Although the package has been developed specifically for space VLBI applications, it can also be used more generally for modelling other types of astronomy mission and assessing the impact of the spacecraft design on the science return.

Please email [e-mail] if you have any questions.

Installation

The latest version is available on PyPi. Ensure that pip is installed and run the following command:

pip install spacevlbi

Installing with pip will install/update all of the required libraries automatically (numpy, poliastro, matplotlib, astropy).

Documentation

More detailed documentation for the package is available here.

Provided in the Examples folder is the script ExampleSetup.py. This script shows how the package can be used to model a VLBI array with a single space element. This example is based upon the preliminary concept for the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) mission. The script ExampleSpaceTelescope.py shows how an object of the SpaceTelescope class can be defined.

License

spacevlbi is licensed under GPLv3. See LICENSE.txt for more details.

Citation

If you use spacevlbi in your publication, please cite: