40 × 40 km
An assumed square footprint aligned with the ground track.
ASSUMPTIONS · LIMITS · PROVENANCE
AKSAM Trust
What the model knows. What it assumes. What it does not claim.
From a question to modeled insight
- Select
- Propagate
- Analyse
- Understand
You select the satellite and the target. AKSAM propagates the satellite through the chosen time window, analyses when it reaches the area of interest, and presents what the model observes — so you do not have to work through the orbital prediction yourself.
READING THE RESULT
What the model shows
Potential pass
A visible pass where the generic imaging model applies, whether or not its pointing rule is satisfied.
Qualified image opportunity
A modeled interval within a Potential pass where the generic footprint-centre pointing requirement is ≤30°.
Qualified image point
The modeled best-geometry point within that opportunity. It is not confirmed collection, a tasking instruction or an image-quality score.
Nadir image opportunity
A separate condition: the visible target lies inside the assumed 40 × 40 km ground-track-aligned square centred directly below the satellite. It is not another name for the Qualified image point.
THE PLANNING MODEL
Assumptions, made visible
These are generic planning assumptions, not payload-specific capabilities.
≤30° pointing
The modeled footprint-centre pointing rule for a Qualified image opportunity.
Approximate Sun elevation
Illumination context at the target, not precision solar analysis.
Separate GEO-like treatment
GEO-like visibility is treated separately; the generic imaging model is not applied to those trajectories.
THE BOUNDARY
Modeled access is not actual collection
AKSAM does not confirm:
- Operator tasking or actual collection
- Payload operation
- Payload-specific resolution or swath
- Verified agility or sensor mode
- Image quality
- A real mission merely from satellite identity or orbit
A communications satellite may still be evaluated using the same generic access and imaging assumptions where the model applies. The result describes modeled geometry, not verified real-world imaging capability.
TRACEABLE CONTEXT
Sources and provenance
- CelesTrak
- Supported satellite identity and status context.
- Space-Track
- Orbital GP data used for propagation.
- AKSAM model
- The declared generic planning assumptions, including the 40 × 40 km footprint and ≤30° pointing rule.
Pass timing, modeled pointing, approximate target Sun elevation, event spacing and longest no-access provide context for interpreting a result. They do not establish a payload's real-world capability.