sim3d.vehicle.space.SmallSatSpacecraft

R2026b

Implement SmallSat spacecraft in Unreal Engine 3D visualization environment

Since R2025a

Description

Use the sim3d.vehicle.space.SmallSatSpacecraft object to implement a SmallSat (Aerospace Blockset) spacecraft in a 3D visualization environment using translation and rotation to place the spacecraft.

Creation

Description

smallsat = sim3d.vehicle.space.SmallSatSpacecraft() creates a spacecraft object in the 3D environment in the Unreal Engine^® with a default name.

Properties

These properties can be specified as name-value arguments.

ActorName — Spacecraft name

SmallSatSpacecraft (default) | character vector

Spacecraft name, specified as a character vector.

Data Types: char

Mesh — Path to SmallSat mesh

/MathWorksAerospaceContent/Vehicles/Spacecraft/SmallSat/Mesh/SK_SmallSat.SK_SmallSat' (default) | character vector

Path to SmallSat mesh, specified as a character vector.

Translation (m) — Initial translation of spacecraft

zeros(20,3) (default) | 20-by-3 array

Initial translation of spacecraft, specified as an 20-by-3 array. Each row corresponds to a bone of the spacecraft.

Bone	Index
BODY	1
ANTENNA1	2
ANTENNA2	3
ANTENNA3	4
ANTENNA4	5
SENSOR1	6
SENSOR2	7
SENSOR3	8
SENSOR4	9
SOLAR_ARRAY1	10
SOLAR_ARRAY1_1	11
SOLAR_ARRAY1_1_1	12
SOLAR_ARRAY1_1_1_1	13
SOLAR_ARRAY1_1_1_1_1	14
SOLAR_ARRAY2	15
SOLAR_ARRAY2_2	16
SOLAR_ARRAY2_2_2	17
SOLAR_ARRAY2_2_2_2	18
SOLAR_ARRAY2_2_2_2_2	19
THRUSTER	20

Data Types: single | double

Rotation (rad) — Initial rotation of spacecraft

zeros(20,3) (default) | 20-by-3 array

Initial rotation of spacecraft, specified as a 20-by-3 array.

Data Types: single | double

Scale — Initial scale of spacecraft

ones(20,3) (default) | 20-by-3 array

Initial scale of spacecraft, specified as a 20-by-3 array.

Data Types: single | double

Object Functions

Algorithms

The sim3d.vehicle.space.SmallSatSpacecraft object input uses the aircraft north-east-down (NED) right-handed (RH) Cartesian coordinate system.

• X-axis — Along aircraft longitudinal axis, points forward

• Y-axis — Along aircraft lateral axis, points to the right

• Z-axis — Points downward

For more information, see Coordinate Systems for Navigation.

Unreal^® uses a skeleton, bones, and mesh to define a 3D model. A skeleton is comprised of a set of bones. A mesh is the outer covering of the skeleton. Aircraft parts are sections of the mesh, such as ailerons or wheels, which are linked to the bones. For more information, see https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/skeleton-assets?application_version=4.27 and Aerospace Skeletons.

Version History

Introduced in R2025a