Setting up Orekit in Anaconda

Orekit Python Wrapper usage
1

I am very new to the Orekit community! I am trying to use Orekit with Basemap and Tkinter in Python. I am having a lot of trouble getting the wrapper to function in Spyder.

I used the commands to download Orekit to my virtual environment on the conda-forge channel, and I have the JCC_JDK=C:/Directory path in existence. Now, Python doesn’t have an issue importing the orekit library with the command ‘import orekit’, but as soon as I insert the next line, vm = orekit.initVM(), the following error is output: ‘AttributeError: module ‘orekit’ has no attribute ‘initVM’’. Or when I try to import from orekit.pyhelpers the error is as follows: ‘ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘orekit.pyhelpers’; ‘orekit’ is not a package.’

I am a beginner to programming, too. So I am having issues trouble-shooting this on my own. Please let me know other information you might need to help me resolve this issue. I am looking forward to working with Orekit! My theory is that I do not have the transition from Java to Python properly configured on my computer… I really have no clue though. Thanks for your help!

2

Hi,

First, check that you are not doing this in a place where you already have a directory called orekit. The python does not find any module somehow. I don’t think this is the activation of the environment, this is likely some installation / directory problem.

Regarding activation, which is likely a second step, if you use the anaconda navigator to launch spyder or ipython it will set the environment prior to launching it.

3

Thanks for the reply! So now, I have all of the dependent libraries and orekit and the proper versions installed to my environment and no directories with the name orekit. But I get this error:

import orekit

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘orekit’

Any ideas?? I have no idea why Spyder wouldn’t be able to read this if I have all of the libraries and the environment activated in the console.

4

Another interesting point is that in Visual Studio Code I do not have this error. Instead it states the following:

from . import _orekit
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

5

Hi hard to tell. it really sounds like something is wrong with the installation / activation.

If you co to a command prompt, activate your environment “conda activate myenv” where orekit is installed. Then run python from the comand line and import orekit?

6

I have done this and I have made sure that all of the dependencies are in the right environment. I think it may have to do with Java DLL… I’ve also looked at many of the other forums you’ve replied to where users have similar issues and I still cannot get it to run!

Questions: in the conda prompt, it says

set "JAVA_HOME=C:\Users\irste\Anaconda3\envs\MAPS\Library"
set "JCC_JDK=C:\Users\irste\Anaconda3\envs\MAPS\Library"

In my Windows Environment Variables settings, the JAVA_HOME path points to

C:\Program Files\AdoptOpenJDK\jdk-11.0.7.10-hotspot\

And there is no path for JCC_JDK. I did set both equal to what the conda prompt said, (by making JCC_JDK manually) but this didn’t do anything.

Do you think there is an issue here? That Java isn’t set up properly?

Thank you so much again for taking this time!

7

Now, when I run from the command line in the environment like you said, the error is:

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'orekit'

But it is definitely installed in the environment!

8

I have resolved the issue. You are right (of course!). Specifically I used this forum conversation to solve my issue:

Thank you so much, Petrus! It was such a simple fix. I was activating Spyder from Windows Start, not within Anaconda Navigator or Anaconda Prompt.