NAME¶

kep_reload - Update Predict's Keplerian elements

SYNOPSIS¶

kep_reload

DESCRIPTION¶

KEP_RELOAD is a simple utility that forces an immediate reload of PREDICT's Keplerian database through a socket connection while PREDICT is running in server mode. It is especially useful in environments where PREDICT runs continuously, and periodic Keplerian element updates are made outside of PREDICT, such as through scripts run through a crontab.

The "kepupdate" script found in this directory is an example of a Keplerian element update script that can be run on an automated basis through a crontab. It is designed to be placed in your home directory under a subdirectory called "cronjobs". It downloads Keplerian orbital data from www.celestrak.com using the HTTP protocol. (The "wget" utility, available from the Free Software Foundation, is required, and is included in many Linux distrubutions.)

Type crontab -e to edit your crontab. Simply add the following entry:

0 8 * * * kepupdate

and your orbital database will update each morning at 8:00 AM (provided you have a network connection at that time).

See the crontab man page for more information on editing your crontab.

AUTHOR¶

This man page was written by A. Maitland Bottoms, AA4HS, for Debian GNU/Linux.