CSPICE(7)

NAME
cspice - contents summary of the CSPICE Toolkit utilities

DESCRIPTION
This documentation summarizes the different utilities comprising the CSPICE Toolkit and a brief description of the various files where SPICE stores its data, often called "kernels" or "kernel files".

TOOLKIT UTILITIES

BRIEF
    A command-line utility program that displays a contents and time coverage summary for one or more binary SPK or binary PCK files. See cspice-brief(1).

CHRONOS
    A command-line program that converts between several time systems and time formats, e.g. UTC to ET, ET to SCLK, etc. See cspice-chronos(1).

CKBRIEF
    A command-line utility program that displays a contents and time coverage summary for one or more binary CK files. See cspice-ckbrief(1).

COMMNT
    A command-line program that reads, adds, extracts, or deletes comments from SPICE binary kernel files. See cspice-commnt(1).

DSKBRIEF
    A command-line utility program that displays a summary of the spatial coverage and additional attributes of one or more binary Digital Shape Kernel (DSK) files. See cspice-dskbrief(1).

DSKEXP
    A command-line program that exports data from DSK files to text files. See cspice-dskexp(1).

FRMDIFF
    A program that samples orientation of a reference frame known to SPICE or computes differences between orientations of two reference frames known to SPICE, and either displays this orientation or these differences, or shows statistics about it or them. See cspice-frmdiff(1).

INSPEKT
    An interactive program that examines the contents of an events component (ESQ) of an E-kernel. See cspice-inspekt(1).

MKDSK
    A utility program that creates a SPICE Digital Shape Kernel (DSK) file from a text file containing shape data for an extended object. See cspice-mkdsk(1).

MKSPK
    A program that creates an SPK file from a text file containing trajectory information. See cspice-mkspk(1).

MSOPCK
    A command-line program that converts attitude data provided in a text file as UTC, SCLK, or ET-tagged quaternions, Euler angles, or matrices, optionally accompanied by angular velocities, into a type 1, 2, or 3 SPICE C-kernel. See cspice-msopck(1).

SPACIT
    An interactive program that converts kernels in transfer format to binary format, converts binary kernels to transfer format, and summarizes the contents of binary kernels. See cspice-spacit(1).

SPKDIFF
    Provides means for comparing the trajectories of two bodies or sampling the trajectory of a single body using data from SPICE kernels. See cspice-spkdiff(1).

SPKMERGE
    A program that subsets or merges one or more SPK files into a single SPK file. See cspice-spkmerge(1).

TOBIN
    A command-line program that converts transfer format SPK, CK, PCK, DSK and EK files to binary format. See cspice-tobin(1).

TOXFR
    A command-line program that converts binary format SPK, CK, PCK, DSK and EK files to transfer format. See cspice-toxfr(1).

VERSION
    A command line utility used to display the current version number of the SPICE Toolkit. See cspice-version(1).

SPICE KERNELS
SPICE kernels are composed of navigation and other ancillary information that has been structured and formatted for easy access and correct use by the planetary science and engineering communities. A kernel may store data in either text (ASCII) or binary format. SPICE kernel file contents are summarized below:

•   Spacecraft and Planet Kernel (SPK): Spacecraft, planet, satellite, comet, or asteroid ephemerides, or more generally, location of any target body, given as a function of time.

•   Planetary Constants Kernel (PCK): Physical, dynamical and cartographic constants for target bodies, such as size and shape specifications, and orientation of the spin axis and prime meridian.

•   Instrument Kernel (IK): Description kernel, containing descriptive data peculiar to a particular scientific instrument, such as field-of-view size, shape and orientation parameters.

•   C-matrix Kernel (CK): Pointing kernel, containing a transformation, traditionally called the "C-matrix," which provides time-tagged pointing (orientation) angles for a spacecraft bus or a spacecraft structure upon which science instruments are mounted. A C-kernel may also include angular rate data for that structure.

•   Events Kernel (EK): Kernel summarizing mission activities - both planned and unanticipated. Events data consists of three components: science plans, sequences, and notes.

•   Frames Kernel (FK): Contains specifications for the assortment of reference frames that are typically used by flight projects. This file also includes mounting alignment information for instruments, antennas and perhaps other structures of interest.

•   Spacecraft CLock Kernel (SCLK): Spacecraft's clock correlation data.

•   Leap Seconds Kernel (LSK)

•   Digital Shape Kernel (DSK): Digital shape model for both small, irregularly shaped bodies such as asteroids and comet nuclei, and for large, more uniformly shaped bodies such as the moon, earth and Mars.

SEE ALSO
Full documentation is provided by package cspice-doc on /usr/share/doc/cspice or it can be obtained online on https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/naif/toolkit_docs/C/.