When analyses become stale¶
Keep using a completed run, or run it again
A completed analysis is a snapshot. ASTROLAB keeps those numbers until something they used actually changes. Then the study becomes stale: the plots and overlays are still there, but they no longer match the mission. Run it again.
Only studies that include the asset you edited go stale. A Coverage that never selected that satellite is left alone. Renaming something, changing a colour, or tweaking how the globe looks does not throw results away.
This page describes ASTROLAB Web. How to run a study: Running analyses. Catalogue: Analyses overview.
How you see it¶
flowchart LR
Edit["Edit and Apply"] --> Check{"Did physics or topology change?"}
Check -->|No| Keep["Results stay completed"]
Check -->|Yes| Stale["Studies that used it become stale"]
Stale --> Run["Run Analysis again"]| Status | In the tree | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Completed | Name only | Use Dashboard and Design overlays |
| Stale | Name plus * | Run Analysis — not only Apply Changes |
| Unapplied Properties edit | Name plus * | Apply Changes first |
The * on an analysis can mean either “you have not applied the editor yet” or “the last run is out of date”. If Apply Changes is idle and the status still says stale, the work left is a new run.
Power, Lifetime, Station keeping, and Latency have no globe overlay of their own. Their * is almost always the stale run, not a pending scene apply.
What never invalidates a run¶
These updates relabel the tree or the scene. Completed studies stay completed.
| You change… | What happens |
|---|---|
| Name or description of a satellite, sensor, facility, … | Connection Network and Link rows show the new label |
| Colour, 3D model, orbit line style, sensor-swath visibility | The globe updates; numbers do not |
| Link line colour / width | Overlay only |
| Latency message-flow playback | Overlay only |
| 3D / 2D Viewer toggles on the Scenario | Display only — Scenario |
If you just changed…¶
After Apply Changes, re-run the studies in the right-hand column when that asset is part of the study.
| You changed… | Re-run |
|---|---|
| Orbit, attitude, propagator, gravity / drag / SRP flags, mass, Cd, drag / SRP area, or area from Custom Assembly | Every study that includes that spacecraft (or vehicle) |
| Access constraints on a spacecraft, sensor, facility, or target | Coverage, Connection Network, Link, Latency that use it. Routing follows the network. |
| Sensor FOV, pointing, or mounting | Coverage, Connection Network, Link, Latency that use that sensor (including All Sensors) |
| Facility or target location | Coverage, Connection Network, Link, Latency that use it |
| COMM — MMFU, acquisition / downlink / ISL / uplink rates, Max. Concurrent ISL / Downlink Links, facility ingest / buffer / concurrent RX, or the sensor Acquisition data rate when that sensor is the acquirer | Latency only (Coverage All Satellites / bus-only does not use the sensor rate). Coverage ISL command ignores dump rates (the order is tiny). |
| Antenna, transmitter, or receiver | Link that selected that box, or a transmitter / receiver that uses that antenna |
| Solar array / battery (area, efficiency, mount, SOC, capacity, …) | Power studies that have that array or battery selected |
| Panel / bus geometry while area source is Custom Assembly | Every access / lifetime study that flies that spacecraft (projected drag / SRP). Power only if that panel is selected |
| Area of interest geometry | Coverage |
| One satellite in a constellation | Only studies that include that satellite (Coverage All Satellites does include it; a sibling satellite’s Coverage does not) |
| Rebuild Walker (N / P / F, membership) | Coverage and Connection Network that use the constellation or any member |
| Active off (or removing the asset) | Studies that listed it (including All Satellites / All Sensors if it was a member) |
| Scenario start / end / step | Coverage, Connection Network, Routing, Link, Latency, Power |
| Scenario start time (the epoch) | Also Lifetime and Station keeping |
| Scenario Environment (Sun / Moon, optical, ITU RF) | Coverage, Connection Network, Routing, Link, Latency, Power |
COMM is the data-plane: bytes, buffers, delays, and concurrent radios. It does not change who can see whom, so Coverage geometry, Connection Network, and Link stay valid. Details: Spacecraft — COMM.
If Coverage Command routing is ISL (CGR), re-run that Coverage after you change or re-run the linked Connection Network — the command planner reads the contact plan at Coverage run time.
Cd, area, SRP, propagator choice, and Custom Assembly are trajectory inputs. Anything that flies that spacecraft must be run again — including Coverage, not only Lifetime.
Constellations, sensors, and antennas¶
Coverage and Connection Network can pick All Satellites or All Sensors on a Walker. Connection Network can also pick {network} - All Stations for a created ground network. Those picks expand to the current members.
| You edit… | All Satellites | All Sensors | A Coverage / Link of another member |
|---|---|---|---|
| That member’s orbit, attitude, propagator, Cd, area | Stale | Stale (the sensors ride on that bus) | Stays completed |
| That member’s sensor FOV or sensor constraints | Stays completed | Stale | Stays completed |
| Rebuild the Walker | Stale | Stale | Stale (every member’s orbit is rewritten) |
Link does not use constellation aggregates. You pick a spacecraft, sensor, facility, transmitter, or receiver. An antenna pattern / pointing stales a Link only when that Link selected the antenna’s transmitter or receiver (budget), or a platform whose geometry you changed.
What each study listens to¶
| Study | Goes stale when… | Stays valid when… |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Orbit / attitude / propagator of an acquirer, sensor geometry, constraints, AOI, constellation used as a source, scenario window / environment | Rename, colour, COMM, RF boxes, arrays / battery, a sibling satellite you did not select |
| Connection Network | Orbit / attitude of a node, sensor or facility geometry, constraints on an edge, constellation used as a node, scenario window / environment | Rename (labels update), colour, COMM, RF boxes |
| Routing / Path | Its Connection Network becomes stale or is re-run | Direct asset edits — Routing follows the network, not the satellite form |
| Link | Orbit / attitude, access geometry, constraints, antenna / transmitter / receiver, scenario window / environment | Rename, colour, COMM, arrays / battery, AOI |
| Latency | COMM, orbit / attitude, access geometry, or its Coverage or Connection Network goes stale | Rename, colour, RF boxes, arrays / battery, AOI (unless Coverage itself went stale) |
| Power | Orbit / attitude of the bus, selected solar arrays / batteries, scenario window / environment | COMM, sensors, RF, AOI, a panel or battery this study did not select, Cd / area-only edits |
| Lifetime | Orbit / attitude / propagator, mass, Cd, area, SRP, Custom Assembly, scenario start | COMM, sensors, RF, arrays / battery, scenario end or step alone |
| Station keeping | Same trajectory inputs as Lifetime (it also copies the new orbit into its editor) | Same as Lifetime |
flowchart TD
Cov["Coverage"] --> Lat["Latency"]
CN["Connection Network"] --> Lat
CN --> Route["Routing"]
CN --> CovLatency always needs a fresh Coverage and a fresh Connection Network. If either of those is stale, Latency is stale too — even if you only changed an AOI or an ISL edge. Coverage ISL command also reads the CN: re-run Coverage after a new network if that policy is on.
Adding or removing something¶
| You… | Typical effect |
|---|---|
| Add a sensor under a spacecraft | Coverage / Connection Network / Link / Latency that include that sensor (or All Sensors) — not bus-only All Satellites |
| Add an antenna, transmitter, or receiver | Link that already points at that new box |
| Add a solar array or battery | Power only after you select it on that study (or Custom Assembly geometry on the bus) |
| Add a facility to a catalog network used as All Stations | Connection Network (and Latency / Routing that follow it) — the aggregate now includes the new station |
| Remove an asset, or turn Active off | Studies that listed it |
A new analysis starts empty — there is nothing to stale until the first completed run.
Changing the analysis itself¶
Edits on the study (who it points at, grid size, access sampling, payload model, …) also make that run stale. Graphics-only fields on the study do not — see What never invalidates a run.
What to do next¶
- Apply any pending Properties edits.
- Re-run the stale studies. Order matters when they chain: Coverage and Connection Network first, then Routing and Latency.
- Open Dashboard on the analysis (not only the spacecraft) and generate plots again.
Failed is different from stale: the last attempt did not finish. Read the message in Properties or the Activity Log — Troubleshooting.