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Ansys STK
Software for Digital Mission Engineering and Systems Analysis

Ansys Systems Tool Kit (STK) provides a physics-based modeling environment for analyzing platforms and payloads in a realistic mission context.

Modeling and Simulating Complex Systems in Their Operational Environments

With Systems Tool Kit (STK), you model complex systems inside a realistic and time-dynamic three-dimensional simulation that includes high-resolution terrain, imagery, RF environments, and more. Select, build, or import precise models of ground, sea, air, and space assets and combine them to represent existing or proposed systems. Simulate the entire system-of-systems in action, at any location and at any time, to gain a clear understanding of its behavior and mission performance.

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    Multidomain, time-dynamic modeling environment
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    Specialized aviation and space mission capabilities
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    Customizable reports and compelling visualizations
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    Robust, open APIs
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Quick Specs

Ansys STK enables you to create multidomain scenarios that extend simulation beyond systems to an interactive model of the operational environment. Define and understand complex relationships between objects and analyze their performance over time.

  • Space Mission Systems Design
  • Space Operations
  • Air Mission Systems Design
  • Advanced RF Systems Design
  • Multidomain Concept of Operations
  • Telecommunications Network
  • Electro-optical and Infrared Sensor Systems
  • Defensive System Evaluation

Transform Your Digital Engineering with Mission Modeling

For over 30 years, STK has brought the mission — the operational environment — into systems engineering. Here’s how, in four easy steps:
  1. Start with a scenario. The scenario is the sandbox of STK's digital mission engineering environment.
  2. Add models of your systems. Your models can range from low-fidelity stand-ins to full-fidelity simulators. Use your STK scenario to continually evaluate all your models and their interactions throughout the program life cycle.
  3. Analyze your systems in their full mission context. Evaluate all their characteristics — from the position and orientation of individual objects (in any reference frame) to the relative geometry between objects — and their physics-based interactions.
  4. Communicate and decide. Prepare reports and graphs from tens of thousands of measurements in STK. Put it all on display with compelling, precise, 2D and 3D renderings and animations. Leave nothing to the imagination.
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Flexible Access From Anywhere!

STK Cloud – Available Wherever Your Work Takes You

STK Cloud

Enjoy the full features of Ansys Systems Tool Kit from any internet connected computer, on any OS platform, without the overhead of managing and maintaining software licenses or hardware configurations.  STK Cloud brings the full power of STK’s dynamic systems modeling capabilities directly through a web browser. 

Simply login with your STK Cloud account and start leveraging Ansys Systems Tool Kit directly from your web browser.  This makes it easier than ever to create, analyze, and share your digital mission simulations, and is just another example of the Ansys commitment to enable pervasive digital systems modeling solutions to today’s systems engineers and their organizations.

STK CAPABILITIES

Ansys STK Puts True Digital Transformation Within Your Reach

Ansys STK extends digital engineering to the mission — the operational environment in which your systems and systems of systems must succeed.

This is digital mission engineering. And while it feels like something that comes at the end of your project's life cycle — once your system is designed — it’s more than that. Digital mission engineering should be applied early and often, from design through development, test, operations, and sustainment. Uncover problems sooner rather than later and you'll have a design that excels against your adversaries, ready to deploy far quicker than your competition. 

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Key Features

Ansys STK boasts an unrivaled collection of multidomain, physics-based analysis capabilities for the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, and other industries.

  • Model Based Engineering
  • Communications Modeling
  • Radar Modeling
  • Electro-optical and Infrared (EOIR) Modeling
  • Astrogator
  • Conjunction Analysis
  • Aviator
  • Test and Evaluation
  • Coverage
  • Analysis Workbench
  • Integration and Customization
  • Parallel Computing
  • Reporting and Visualization
  • Automated Trade Studies

STK provides a framework for representing system of systems architectures by utilizing digital system models to accurately predict mission outcomes and assess a system’s performance and capabilities.  With the ability to incorporate models of varying fidelity throughout the engineering lifecycle, STK’s mission simulations and analysis supports the various phases of design, test, and operations as your models mature and evolve. 

With STK’s communications capability, you can model all the physical components of a system, including the RF environment. Assess the impacts of a wide variety of conditions and interference. Conduct comprehensive link budget analyses.

STK's radar capability simulates system performance in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) or search/track modes. You can model monostatic, bistatic, and multifunction radars in the context of your mission to account for the participation of every asset. Assess the impacts of various conditions and interference on your radar system.

STK's EOIR capability models electro-optical and infrared sensors' detection, tracking, and imaging performance. You can use EOIR to support concept development, design, field-testing, and operations. STK takes this modeling to the big picture by considering electro-optical and infrared performance in conjunction with sensor platform dynamics, communications, and other mission architecture elements to assess integrated performance.

Space professionals have used STK's Astrogator capability for over two decades to model spacecraft trajectories and reveal mission-critical insights about them. You can use Astrogator to develop, refine, and validate solutions, then return to update subsequent mission stages in response to flight performance. Astrogator's versatile and modular architecture provides a framework for addressing most spaceflight trajectory problems.

STK's conjunction analysis capability​ comprises four collision threat analysis tools that enable you to detect and assess potential collisions in space and determine blackout times in launch windows and firing time windows for ground-based lasers.

With STK's Aviator capability, you can model aircraft performance, accounting for variations in airframe performance characteristics, wind, and atmospheric effects. Aviator uses realistic maneuvering and flight paths that reflect true flight operations. These operations can be complex — such as a search pattern — or singular, like a barrel roll. With this flexibility, you decide the level of complexity.

Test and Evaluation Tool Kit (TETK) improves the efficiency and effectiveness of test and evaluation activities across the digital engineering product life cycle. With TETK, you can build and validate detailed test plans, monitor test execution, and rapidly analyze post-test results.

With STK’s coverage capability, you can extend visibility analysis to discretized, distributed areas, as seen from a collection of assets. Summarize your analysis in terms of traditional metrics such as response and revisit times and abundant customizable qualitative measures.

STK's Analysis Workbench capability comprises four application-wide tools that you can use to create custom functions and calculations relative to times, positions, and reference frames. It also provides numerous predefined components that can add complexity to your scenarios to help solve your most complex problems.

STK includes to two APIs — the Object Model and Connect — that enable you to automate repetitive tasks from outside STK, integrate other applications with STK, access STK’s capabilities from other applications, and develop custom applications. All interfaces are fully documented, and AGI maintains a GitHub repository of code samples to help you get started with the Object Model.

STK's parallel computing capability enables STK to distribute many of its most computationally complex analysis tasks across multiple computing cores on the computer where it’s installed.

The Parallel computing capability also includes software development kits (SDK) for .NET, Java, and Python. These SDKs make it easy to parallelize the execution of custom models and algorithms.

With STK, it’s easy to communicate your results with customizable reports and graphs, and stunning 3D animations. Visualize entire scenarios in a time-dynamic 3D environment, from geometric components such as pointing vectors and volume grids to 3D models of platforms with dynamic articulations.

LIVE WEBINAR
October 24, 2024 11 AM EDT
Space Mission Analysis and Design Webinar Series
Digital Engineering for Space Mission Analysis and Design: Launch to Orbit

In this webinar we will discuss trajectories from launch to orbit. We’ll discuss where and when high-fidelity modeling is necessary and how the orbit will impact the overall mission. 

LIVE WEBINAR
November 07, 2024 11 AM EDT
Space Mission Analysis and Design Webinar Series
Digital Engineering for Space Mission Analysis and Design: Vehicle Design

We'll explore the design of space vehicles and how it necessitates a comprehensive understanding of thermal, fluid, and structural domains to evaluate mission success criteria. Learn how high-fidelity computer simulation can impact these physics domains and their interactions on vehicle design – critical for achieving operational mission success.

LIVE WEBINAR
November 21, 2024 11 AM EST
Space Mission Analysis and Design Webinar Series
Digital Engineering for Space Mission Analysis and Design: Space Operations

The operations phase of the space mission life cycle is the culmination of the mission team’s efforts in designing and building the required hardware and software. We will reveal how digital engineering techniques and artifacts from previous life cycle phases can support operations and the desire for automated and interactive workflows.

LIVE WEBINAR
June 20, 2024 11 AM EDT
Accelerate Spacecraft Design with STK SOLIS and Virtual Prototypes

As the satellite industry continues to grow, it is becoming even more critical to design and plan successful missions quickly. Explore how STK SOLIS and Digital Twin Prototypes can accelerate the spacecraft design process in this upcoming webinar.

Live Webinar
June 14, 2024 11 AM EDT
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Accelerate Digital Engineering and MBSE - Satellite Imaging Demo

Join us for an insightful webinar where we dive deeper into how Ansys STK, ModelCenter and the Systems Architect Model (SAM) revolutionize digital engineering and MBSE practices. Discover how these powerful tools can significantly reduce design time and optimize tradeoffs.

On Demand
March 21, 2024 11 AM EDT
Cislunar
Multibody Cislunar Design: A Tour of Concepts (Part 2)

Join us for Part 2 of the Multibody Cislunar Design: A Tour of Concepts webinar, where we’ll review dynamical systems concepts, including fixed point solutions (i.e., libration/Lagrange points) and periodic orbits.

On Demand
March 19, 2024 11 AM EDT
RF Channel
Wireless Channel Modeling for Dynamic Terrestrial Environments

As wireless systems continue to grow in complexity and reach for more spectrum, RF engineers must rely on high fidelity simulation solutions to effectively model and test their proposed new networks. We offer a suite of tools to address these challenges and to enable network architects and mission planners the ability to digitally model and simulate dynamic wireless networks within an accurate systems simulation environment.

On Demand
March 13, 2024 11 AM EDT
STK Chains
Improved Data Routing and Optimization for Large Satellite Constellation Designs

In this upcoming webinar, learn how chains and constellation objects model groups of satellites or other space objects that operate together. You’ll understand how the constellation object represents a group of satellites or space vehicles that follow specific orbits and configurations. 

On Demand
February 22, 2024 11 AM EST
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Multibody Cislunar Design: A Tour of Concepts (Part 1)

The trajectory and mission design process in cislunar space can benefit from multibody dynamical systems approaches. This two-part webinar will explore such concepts and discussion focused on the first Earth-Moon libration point mission, ARTEMIS (the follow-up to THEMIS), followed by introducing a rapid prototyping tool.

On Demand
October 19, 2023 11 AM EDT
Fire
Digital Engineering Enabled with Ansys – Wildfire Detection

Learn how Ansys Minerva, ModelCenter, Systems Tool Kit (STK), and other digital engineering tools can be utilized throughout an entire wildfire detection mission design process, connecting multiple engineering workflows and teams.

On Demand
October 06, 2023 10 AM EDT
Drone simulation
Air Systems and Subsystems: ISR Mission Development

This webinar will highlight mission development, sensor system modeling, and performance assessment against mission requirements.

On Demand
October 04, 2023 11 AM EDT
Drone simulation
5G Communications System Digitally Engineered with Simulation

Join us for a demonstration of a digital engineering framework that integrates various software tools across model-based engineering, model-based systems engineering, and modeling simulation and analysis abstractions layers. Engage your complete team to solve complex microelectronics problems in the context of a scenario.

Brochures & E-Books

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Brochure

Behavior Execution Engine

Simulate the impact of system behaviors on mission success.


Videos

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Build Customized Workflows and Deploy Applications with STK

STK Engine provides an Application Programming Interface (API) for incorporating STK’s analytical,mapping, and visualization capabilities into custom applications. Engineers and systems integrators utilize STK’s robust object model and command-driven interfaces to streamline workflows, automate repetitive routines, or even deploy stand-alone solutions to end users. This provides endless possibilitiesfor developers to bring STK’s industry-leading systems modeling, simulation, and analysis capabilities to their applications.


Flexible Development Options

Ansys STK enables you to create multidomain scenarios that extend simulation beyond systems to an interactive model of the operational environment. Define and understand complex relationships between objects and analyze their performance over time.

  • Frameworks
  • .NET
  • Java
  • C/C++
  • Scripting
  • MATLAB
  • Python
  • VBScript/Perl
  • Embedded Visualization
  • 2D/Map - ActiveX Control
  • 3D/Globe - ActiveX Control

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Leverage Dynamic Systems Modeling and Simulation Capabilities

Extend the analytical depth of your applications with the same industry-leading functionality available throughout STK’s desktop solution. Developers now have the option to bring communications link analysis, radar analysis, trajectory design, dynamic coverage, attitude analysis, and other fundamental STK capabilities to their deployed applications.

  • Create and manage high-level objects (satellites, aircraft, and facilities) 
  • Generate vehicle routes and attitude/orientation profiles
  • Analyze relationships between objects 
  • Visualize objects in 2D and 3D
  • Import industry standard imagery and terrain formats 
  • Animate in real or simulated time 
  • Include any of the other computations and visualizations available in STK

Deploying Applications – Ansys STK Engine Runtime Licensing

Developing a custom application and putting it into the hands of other users couldn’t be easier. STK Engine includes deployment packages, instructions, and other resources to help you build installers and widely distribute your customized solution. This option permits engineers and systems integrators to fully license and deploy their custom applications in a stand-alone format to their end-users or additional customers — with nothing more than an Ansys STK Engine Runtime License

Stk Engine Application