Fundamentals of Basilisk Simulations

This chapter covers the fundamental principles of setting up and running a spacecaft simulation by writing a python script.

• What is Basilisk
  • Motivation
  • From Modules to Spacecraft
  • Module Behavior Testing
• Basilisk Process and Task Creation
• Adding Basilisk Modules
• Execution of Basilisk Modules
• Seeing the Order of Process, Task and Module Execution
• Connecting Messages
• Recording Messages
  • Adding a Message Recorder
  • Pulling the Recorded Message Data
  • Clearing the Message Recorder Data Log
  • Reading the Current Value of a Message
• Creating Stand-Alone Messages
  • Basics of Stand-Alone Messages
  • Retaining Message Objects in Memory
• Visualizing Message Connections
  • Creating the Figure
  • Reading the Figure
  • Creating and Showing a Graphviz Diagram
  • Extracting the Graph
• Setting and Recording Module Variables
  • Clearing the Data Log
  • Advanced Data Logging
• Importing External Data Sources
• Advanced: Redirecting Module Output to Stand-Alone Message
• Advanced: Enabling and Disabling Tasks
• Advanced: Using DynamicObject Basilisk Modules
  • Lifetime of Synchronized Objects
• Advanced: Handling BasiliskError in Simulations
• Advanced: Effector Module Branching
  • Allowable Configurations
  • Setup
  • Examples
• Advanced: Stochastic Integration
  • What is stochastic integration?
  • Convergence order: strong vs. weak
  • Supported methods in Basilisk
  • How to choose an integrator
  • Using a stochastic integrator
• Advanced: Multithreaded Simulations
  • Processes and worker threads
  • Choosing independent work
  • Two independent spacecraft
  • Assigning processes explicitly
  • Reinitialization, ownership, and shutdown
  • Custom C++ scheduling code
• Advanced: Naming Effector States
  • Which Names Identify States?
  • Automatic Names and Object Lifetimes
  • Creating New Simulations in One Python Process
  • Choosing Repeatable Custom Names
  • Recording Data and Connecting Modules
  • Running the Example