Welcome, and thank you for using GMAT! This User Guide contains a wealth of material to introduce you to GMAT and how it works. It also provides an extensive Reference Guide that contains data on every Resource, Command, and major subcomponent in the system.
The Using GMAT chapter contains high level and introductory information on the sytem. If you need information on how to install and run the system, would like a tour of the system, want know how to configure data files, or how GMAT is organized, start here.
The Using GMAT section provides general information on GMAT and how to use the software.
The Welcome to GMAT contains a brief project and software overview, including project status, licensing, and contributors.
The Getting Started section describes how to get and install GMAT, how to run the provided samples, and where to turn for further help.
The Tour of GMAT is an in-depth guide through some of the key interface features, including the Resources tree, Mission tree, Command Summary, and Script Editor.
Note
We consider the User Interfaces Overview section to be essential reading, as it describes some fundamental aspects of how GMAT works.
The Tutorials section contains in-depth tutorials that show you how to use GMAT for end-to-end analysis. The tutorials are designed to teach you how to use GMAT in the context of performing real-world analysis and are intended to take between 30 minutes and several hours to complete. Each tutorial has a difficulty level and an approximate duration listed with any prerequisites in its introduction, and are arranged in a general order of difficulty.
Here is a summary of selected Tutorials. For a complete list of tutorials see the Tutorials chapter.
The Simulating an Orbit tutorial is the first tutorial you should take to learn how to use GMAT to solve mission design problems. You will learn how to specify an orbit and propagate to orbit periapsis.
The Mars B-Plane Targeting tutorial shows how to perform targeting by application to a Mars transfer trajectory where you will target desired B-plane conditions at Mars.
The Target Finite Burn to Raise Apogee tutorial shows how to use finite maneuvers with an application to orbit apogee raising.
The Finding Eclipses and Station Contacts tutorial shows how to use GMAT to locate elipses and station contacts.
The Electric Propulsion tutorial shows how to configure GMAT to model electric propulsion systems.
The Mars B-Plane Targeting Using GMAT Functions tutorial shows how to use GMAT functions to extend your analysis.
The Reference Guide contains individual topics that describe each of GMAT's resources and commands. When you need detailed information on syntax or application-specific examples for specific features, go here. It also includes system-level references that describe the script language syntax, parameter listings, external interfaces, and configuration files.
The Resources section provides general information on GMAT Resources such as Spacecraft, Propagators, Coordinate Systems, and EphemerisFiles to name just a few. Go here for details regarding syntax, options, variable ranges and data types, defaults, and expected behavior. Each section contains detailed, copy-and-paste ready examples.
The Commands section provides general information on GMAT Commands such as Maneuver, Assignment, Optimize, and Propagate to name just a few. Go here for details regarding syntax, options, variable ranges and data types, defaults, and expected behavior. Each section contains detailed, copy-and-paste ready examples.
The System section provides information on system configuration, external interfaces, the script language, and the command line interface.
Note
This document uses two typographical conventions throughout:
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Graphical user interface (GUI) elements and resource and command names are presented in bold.
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Filenames, script examples, and user input are presented in
monospace.