Startup File

Startup File — The gmat_startup_file.txt configuration file

Description

The GMAT startup file (gmat_startup_file.txt) contains basic configuration settings for the GMAT application. This includes the locations of data files and plugins, search paths for user-defined functions, and various options that control execution.

The startup file must be located in the same location as the GMAT executable, and must be named gmat_startup_file.txt. GMAT loads the startup file once during program initialization.

File Format

Basic Syntax

The startup file is a text file containing characters from the 7-bit US-ASCII character set. The startup file is case-sensitive.

Lines are terminated by any of the following ASCII character sequences:

line feed (hex: 0A)
carriage return (hex: 0D)
carriage return followed by line feed (hex: 0D0A)

White space can appear above or below any line and before or after any key or value. The following characters are recognized as white space:

space (hex: 20)
horizontal tab (hex: 09)

Comments begin with the number sign (“#”) and must appear on their own line. Inline comments are not allowed.

Setting Properties

Properties are specified via key-value pairs, with the following syntax:

PROPERTY = VALUE

Properties are one word, with no spaces. Values extend from the first non-whitespace character after the equal sign to the end of the line. At least one whitespace character is required on both sides of the equal sign.

Properties are named according to the following conventions:

Properties that accept directory paths end with “_PATH”.
Properties that accept file paths end with “_FILE”.

The behavior of duplicate property entries is dependent on the individual property. In general:

Multiple PLUGIN entries cause GMAT to load each named plugin.
Multiple identical *_FUNCTION_PATH entries add each path to the search path, starting with the first.
Multiple identical *_FILE entries are ignored; the last value is used.

Accessing Property Values

The value of any property ending in “_PATH” (including custom ones) can be referenced by other values. To reference a value, include the property name as part of the value. Repeated slash characters are collapsed. For example:

ROOT_PATH = ../
OUTPUT_PATH = ROOT_PATH/output/

sets OUTPUT_PATH to a value of "../output/".

File Paths

Forward slashes and backslashes can be used interchangeably, and can be mixed in a single path. The following three paths are considered identical:

data/planetary_ephem/spk/de421.bsp
data\planetary_ephem\spk\de421.bsp
data\planetary_ephem/spk\de421.bsp

Absolute paths are passed to the underlying operating system as-is, aside from normalizing the slashes.

Relative paths are relative to the location of the GMAT executable.

Properties

The available properties are shown here, with default values where appropriate.

System

ROOT_PATH=../: Path to GMAT root directory.

Plugins

PLUGIN: Path to plugin library, without extension. Multiple PLUGIN properties are allowed, one per plugin.

User Functions

GMAT_FUNCTION_PATH: Search path for GMAT function files (.gmf files). May occur multiple times to add multiple paths.
MATLAB_FUNCTION_PATH: Search path for MATLAB function files (.m files). May occur multiple times to add multiple paths.
PYTHON_MODULE_PATH: Search path for Python modules. May occur multiple times to add multiple paths.

Output

LOG_FILE=OUTPUT_PATH/GmatLog.txt: Path of application log file
MEASUREMENT_PATH=OUTPUT_PATH/: Path of simulated measurement data files. Only used with the libGmatEstimation plugin.
OUTPUT_PATH=../output/: Output directory path for ReportFile resources.
SCREENSHOT_FILE=OUTPUT_PATH/OUTPUT_PATH: Output path and base filename for screenshots. The base filename is appended with “_###.png”, where “###” is a number sequence starting from 001. If the base filename is missing, it defaults to “SCREEN_SHOT”.
VEHICLE_EPHEM_PATH=OUTPUT_PATH/: Default output directory path for EphemerisFile resources.

Data Files

Note this section only discusses the paths that can be set via the startup file. See Configuring Data Files or a discussion of file contents of data files that are regularly updated and how to maintain those files.

CELESTIALBODY_POT_PATH=DATA_PATH/gravity/celestialbody/

Search path for gravity potential files for CELESTIALBODY. CELESTIALBODY is the name of any celestial body defined in a given GMAT mission. This property has no default for user-defined celestial bodies.

ATMOSPHERE_PATH

Path to directory containing atmosphere model data.

BODY_3D_MODEL_PATH

Path to directory containing CelestialBody 3D model files.

CSSI_FLUX_FILE

Path to default CSSI solar flux file.

DATA_PATH=ROOT_PATH/data/

Path to directory containing data files.

DE405_FILE=DE_PATH/leDE1941.405

Path to DE405 DE-file ephemeris file.

DE421_FILE

Path to DE421 DE-file ephemeris file.

DE424_FILE

Path to DE424 DE-file ephemeris file.

EGM96_FILE=EARTH_POT_PATH/EGM96.cof

Path to EGM-96 Earth gravity potential file.

EOP_FILE

Path to IERS “EOP 08 C04 (IAU1980)” Earth orientation parameters file.

ICRF_FILE

Path to data required for computing rotation matrix from FK5 to ICRF (ICRF_Table.txt).

JGM2_FILE=EARTH_POT_PATH/JGM2.cof

Path to JGM-2 Earth gravity potential file.

JGM3_FILE=EARTH_POT_PATH/JGM3.cof

Path to JGM-3 Earth gravity potential file.

LEAP_SECS_FILE=TIME_PATH/tai-utc.dat

Path to cumulative leap seconds file from http://maia.usno.navy.mil.

LP165P_FILE=LUNA_POT_PATH/LP165P.cof

Path to LP165P Moon gravity potential file.

LSK_FILE

Path to SPICE leap second kernel.

MARINI_TROPO_FILE

Path to file containing location specific atmospheric data needed for the Marini tropospheric model.

MARS50C_FILE=MARS_POT_PATH/Mars50c.cof

Path to Mars50c Mars gravity potential file.

MGNP180U_FILE=VENUS_POT_PATH/MGNP180U.cof

Path to MGNP180U Venus gravity potential file.

NUTATION_COEFF_FILE=PLANETARY_COEFF_PATH/NUTATION.DAT

Path to nutation series data for FK5 reduction (NUTATION.DAT).

PLANETARY_COEFF_PATH=DATA_PATH/planetary_coeff/

Path to directory containing planetary coefficient files.

PLANETARY_EPHEM_DE_PATH

Path to directory containing DE ephemeris files.

PLANETARY_EPHEM_SPK_PATH

Path to directory containing SPICE planetary ephemeris files.

PLANETARY_PCK_FILE

Path to SPICE planetary constants kernel for default celestial bodies.

PLANETARY_SPK_FILE

Path to SPICE ephemeris kernel for default celestial bodies.

SCHATTEN_FILE

Path to default Schatten solar flux predict file.

SPACECRAFT_MODEL_FILE

Default spacecraft 3D model file.

SPAD_PATH

Path to directory containing SPAD data files.

SPAD_SRP_FILE

Path to default SPAD SRP model.

TIME_PATH=DATA_PATH/time/

Path to directory containing leap-second files.

VEHICLE_EPHEM_CCSDS_PATH

Path to directory containing spacecraft CCSDS-OEM ephemeris files.

VEHICLE_EPHEM_SPK_PATH

Path to directory containing spacecraft SPK ephemeris files.

VEHICLE_MODEL_PATH

Path to directory containing 3D spacecraft models.

Application Files

CELESTIALBODY_TEXTURE_FILE=TEXTURE_PATH/DefaultTextureFile.jpg

Path to texture file for CELESTIALBODY. CELESTIALBODY is the name of any of the built-in celestial bodies in GMAT. DefaultTextureFile is the default texture file defined for that celestial body.

BORDER_FILE

Path to constellation border catalog.

CONSTELLATION_FILE=STAR_PATH/inp_Constellation.txt

Path to constellation catalog.

GUI_CONFIG_PATH=DATA_PATH/gui_config/

Path to directory containing GUI configuration files.

HELP_FILE

Path to help file.

ICON_PATH=DATA_PATH/graphics/icons/

Path to directory containing application icons.

MAIN_ICON_FILE

Path to GUI icon.

PERSONALIZATION_FILE=DATA_PATH/gui_config/MyGmat.ini

Path to GUI configuration and history file.

SPACECRAFT_MODEL_FILE=MODEL_PATH/aura.3ds

Path to default Spacecraft 3D model file.

SPLASH_FILE=SPLASH_PATH/GMATSplashScreen.tif

Path to GUI splash image.

SPLASH_PATH=DATA_PATH/graphics/splash/

Path to directory containing splash file.

STAR_FILE=STAR_PATH/inp_StarCatalog.txt

Path to star catalog.

STAR_PATH=DATA_PATH/graphics/stars/

Path to directory containing star and constellation catalogs.

TEXTURE_PATH=DATA_PATH/graphics/texture/

Path to directory containing celestial body texture files.

Program Settings

MATLAB_APP_PATH

[OS X only] Path to MATLAB app (.app).

MATLAB_MODE=SHARED

MATLAB interface connection mode. The available options are:

NO_MATLAB

Disables the MATLAB interface.

SHARED

Each GMAT instance shares a single MATLAB connection. Default.

SINGLE

Each GMAT instance uses its own MATLAB connection.

WRITE_GMAT_KEYWORD=ON

Write “GMAT “ prefix before assignment lines when saving a GMAT script file. Accepted values are ON and OFF.

WRITE_PERSONALIZATION_FILE=ON

Write data on window locations and other local configuration settings to the GMAT.ini file. Setting to OFF avoids issues encountered when simultaneous instances of GMAT try to write to the user config file at the same time, resulting in a system error. Accepted values are ON and OFF.

Debug Settings

DEBUG_FILE_PATH=OFF

Debug file path handling. Accepted values are ON and OFF.

DEBUG_MATLAB=OFF

Debug MATLAB Interface connection. Accepted values are ON and OFF.

DEBUG_PARAMETERS=OFF

Write table of available parameters to log file on startup. Accepted values are ON and OFF.

HIDE_SAVEMISSION=TRUE

Hide the SaveMission command from the GUI. Accepted values are TRUE and FALSE.

PLOT_MODE

XYPlot window placement mode. The only accepted value is TILE, which will cause GMAT to ignore plot window placement fields and tile the windows.

RUN_MODE

GMAT execution mode. The available options are:

EXIT_AFTER_RUN

When GMAT is called with the -r or --run command-line argument, automatically exit after the run is finished.

TESTING

Shows testing options in the GUI.

TESTING_NO_PLOTS

Same as TESTING, but also disables all graphical output in the GUI.

ECHO_COMMANDS

Write commands to log file as they are executed. Accepted values are TRUE and FALSE.

NO_SPLASH

Skip showing the splash screen on GMAT startup. Accepted values are TRUE and FALSE.