Multiple continuous coverage of the earth based on multi-satellite systems with linear structure

A new and wider definition is given to multi-satellite systems with linear structure (SLS), and efficiency of their application to multiple continuous coverage of the Earth is substantiated. Owing to this widening, SLS have incorporated already well-recognized “polar systems” by L. Rider and W.S. Adams, “kinematically regular systems” by G.V. Mozhaev, and “delta-systems” by J.G. Walker, as well as “near-polar systems” by Yu.P. Ulybyshev, and some other satellite constellations unknown before. A universal method of SLS optimization is presented, valid for any values of coverage multiplicity and the number of satellites in a system. The method uses the criterion of minimum radius of a circle seen from a satellite on the surface of the globe. Among the best SLS found in this way there are both systems representing the well-known classes mentioned above and new orbit constellations of satellites.     

Multisatellite systems with linear structure and their application for continuous coverage of the earth

Multisatellite systems with linear structure (SLS) are defined, and their application for a continuous global or zonal coverage of the Earths surface is justified. It is demonstrated that in some cases these systems turned out to be better than usually recommended kinematically regular systems by G.V. Mozhaev, delta systems of J.G. Walker, and polar systems suggested by F.W. Gobets, L. Rider, and W.S. Adams. When a comparison is made using the criterion of a minimum radius of one-satellite coverage circle, the SLS beat the other systems for the majority of satellite numbers from the range 20–63, if the global continuous single coverage of the Earth is required. In the case of a zonal continuous single coverage of the latitude belt ±65°, the SLS are preferable at almost all numbers of satellites from 38 to 100, and further at any values up to 200 excluding 144.Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2005, pp. 36–53.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Saulskiy.     

面向飞行器自主导航的铱星/星链星座覆盖性及可见性分析

针对低轨星座机会信号导航中单星座构型和可见星数无法同时满足高精度、高可用性的难题,基于铱星、星链轨道参数,建立了单星座和混合星座模型,探究了各个星座覆盖重数、覆盖率及飞行器对上述星座的可见性。研究结果表明：飞行器可见星数随飞行高度增加而减少,随飞行器最小观测仰角增大而减少,星链和铱星的融合可显著增加纬度60°以上区域可见星数。铱星对全球不同纬度、不同时间具有100%全覆盖;星链目前覆盖区域向两极拓展,对全球覆盖重数最大为56,最小为0,未实现全球不同纬度、全时段100%的覆盖率,但中国区域星链覆盖率均优于美国区域。星链和铱星的混合星座使全球覆盖重数优于10,不同纬度、不同时间覆盖率达到100%,显著优于单星座。     

The use of Sun-synchronous orbits for a real-time global coverage satellite

This article describes a method for determining the parameters of a circular Sun-synchronous orbit and coverage characteristics of a satellite for real-time global coverage. Basic solutions for a single satellite have been obtained in the form of intervals of possible orbital parameters and coverage characteristics depending on a given interruption of observations of any given point on the Earth’s surface. The solutions have been used to choose orbital parameters and estimate coverage characteristics for different combinations of input data.     

Tropical Earth Resources Satellite: is the investment warranted?

All existing and planned Earth observation satellites have near-polar orbits (hence global coverage), but the Tropical Earth Resources Satellite (TERS) will have a true equatorial orbit at 1681 km. The TERS, conceived for the equatorial countries and Indonesia in particular, complements the existing and planned remote sensing satellites and will enable the monitoring of critical processes, such as food production, conservation of the national environment and land usage. The swath-width of the high resolution multispectral instrument can be pointed anywhere between latitude 10°N and 10°S, offering the tropical countries an opportunity to observe any part of their territory four times a day during daylight. A forward looking cloud sensor detects which areas are free of clouds and the pushbroom optical instrument will be pointed to specific clear areas. It is expected that the benefits of the monitoring capability warrant the investment in TERS.     

Design of satellite constellations with continuous coverage on elliptic orbits of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Molniya</Emphasis> type

New methods of choosing the structures of satellite constellations (SC) on elliptical orbits of the Molniya type are presented. The methods, using critical inclination and putting the orbit apogee in the Earth’s hemisphere with an area of continuous coverage, are based on geometrical analysis of two-dimensional representation of the coverage conditions and SC motion in the space of inertial longitude of the orbit ascending node and time. The coverage conditions are represented in the form of a certain region. Dynamics of all satellites in this space is represented by uniform motion along a straight line approximately parallel to the ordinate axis, while the satellite system forms a grid. The problem of choosing a minimal (as far as the number of satellites is concerned) SC configuration can be formulated as a search for the most sparse grid. The contemporary advanced methods of computational geometry serve as an algorithmic basis for the problem solution. Design of SC for continuous coverage of latitude belts with the use of kinematically regular systems is considered. A method of analyzing single-track systems for continuous coverage of arbitrary geographic regions is described, which makes a region at any time instant observable by at least one satellite of the system. As an example, SC on elliptical orbits are considered with periods of ～4, 12, and 24 hours.     

地球同步轨道卫星编队飞行的区域性导航系统方案

卫星编队飞行组成虚拟平台 ,这是当前一个完全崭新和开拓性的研究课题。根据与时俱进 ,开拓创新的精神 ,本文提出一个地球同步轨道卫星编队飞行组成的区域性导航系统方案。这是至今为止在相同精度和相同覆盖区条件下卫星数量最少的 ,也是投资经费最低的导航系统方案     

面向卫星通信系统的低成本超表面相控阵技术

低轨通信卫星系统因其传输延迟小、通信容量大、发射运营成本低等优势,受到了国内外的广泛关注。然而,低轨通信卫星技术的发展对星载天线系统提出了挑战。为提高卫星星座的通信容量以及实现对用户的跟踪覆盖,波束扫描、波束可重构及多波束覆盖不可或缺。在低成本建设运营的背景下,迫切地需要一种低成本的天线系统方案。作为一种低成本新型相控阵技术,综述了超表面相控阵天线技术及其在波束调控中的应用。首先对超表面天线波束形成的方法进行了简单的研究,之后介绍了超表面电磁调控的机理以及实现可重构的手段,最后介绍了超表面相控阵天线在波束形成、波束扫描、多波束产生中的应用。该技术相较于传统相控阵技术,大幅降低了成本,且在电磁波极化、频率调控中展现出巨大的灵活性。通过对该技术的综述,展望了超表面相控阵在低轨通信卫星中的应用。     

椭圆轨道卫星对地全球覆盖电推进控制

针对椭圆轨道卫星近/远地点的星下点对全球或特定纬度区域的访问问题，提出一种连续小推力下的对地覆盖控制策略。首先，推导了自然摄动对卫星拱线变化的影响，并探讨了进行小推力覆盖控制的必要性。然后，针对燃料消耗的优化问题，将控制方程展开成含傅里叶级数的形式，用以获得便于星上计算的解析形式的次优解，同时探讨了截取阶数与优化程度的关系。在进行拱线控制的同时，通过合理设置约束，对椭圆轨道的近地点高度进行保护，确保卫星安全运行。仿真结果表明，提出的方法能够以适当的燃料消耗代价实现椭圆轨道的近/远地点的全球覆盖控制或特定纬度区域的反复推扫，且控制力在可接受的范围内。     

The results of flight tests of an attitude control system for the Chibis-M microsatellite

The attitude control system of the Chibis-M microsatellite is described. Results of flight experiments on damping the initial angular velocity (made using magnetorquers) are considered, as well as stabilization in the orbital referece frame, and orientation of solar arrays toward the Sun using reaction wheels. The operation of algorithms of satellite attitude determination on sunlit and shadow segments of the orbit is also under study. The general logic of operation of the attitude control system in automatic mode is presented and discussed.     

Analysis of the orbital motion of the asteroid Apophis’ satellite

We have analyzed the orbital disturbed spacecraft motion near an asteroid. The equations of the asteroidocentric spacecraft motion have been used with regard to three perturbations from celestial bodies, the asteroid’s nonsphericity, and solar radiation pressure. It has been shown that the orbital parameters of the main spacecraft and a small satellite with a radio beacon can be selected such that the orbits are rather stable for a fairly long period of time, i.e., a few weeks for the main spacecraft with an orbit initial radius of ~0.5 km and a few years before approaching Apophis with the Earth in 2029, for a small satellite at an orbit initial radius of ~1.5 km. The initial orientation of the spacecraft orbital plane perpendicular to the sunward direction is optimal from the point of view of the stability of the spacecraft flight near an asteroid.     

Variation of the Satellite Orbit Altitude by the Light Pressure Force

The possibility of the uncontrolled increase of the altitude of an almost circular satellite orbit by the force of the light pressure is investigated. The satellite is equipped with a damper and a system of mirrors (solar batteries can serve as such a system). The flight of the satellite takes place in the mode of a single-axis gravitational orientation, the axis of its minimum principal central moment of inertia makes a small angle with the local vertical and the motion of the satellite around this axis constitutes forced oscillations under the impact of the moment of force of the light pressure. The form of the oscillations and the initial orbit are chosen so that the transverse component of the force of the light pressure acting upon the satellite be positive and the semimajor axis of the orbit would continuously increase. As this takes place, the orbit remains almost circular. We investigate the evolution of the orbit over an extended time interval by the method which employs separate integration of the equations of the orbital and rotational motions of the satellite. The method includes outer and inner cycles. The outer cycle involves the numerical integration of the averaged equations of motion of the satellite center of mass. The inner cycle serves to calculate the right-hand sides of these equations. It amounts to constructing an asymptotically stable periodic motion of the satellite in the mode of a single-axis gravitational orientation for current values of the orbit elements and to averaging the equations of the orbital motion along it. It is demonstrated that the monotone increase of the semimajor axis takes place during the first 15 years of motion. In actuality, the semimajor axis oscillates with a period of about 60 years. The eccentricity and inclination of the orbit remain close to their initial values.     

Modifying the atlas of low lunar orbits using inert tethers

For long enough tethers, the coupling of the attitude and orbital dynamics may show non-negligible effects in the orbital motion of a tethered satellite about a central body. In the case of fast rotating tethers the attitude remains constant, on average, up to second order effects. Besides, for a tether rotating in a plane parallel to the equatorial plane of the central body, the attitude–orbit coupling effect is formally equal to the perturbation of the Keplerian motion produced by the oblateness of the central body and, therefore, may have a stabilizing effect in the orbital dynamics. In the case of a tethered satellite in a low lunar orbit, it is demonstrated that feasible tether lengths can help in modifying the actual map of lunar frozen orbits.     

地球同步卫星轨道漂移对天线指向的影响分析

位于地球同步轨道的卫星由于受各种空间因素的影响，其运行轨道会随时间逐渐偏离地球赤道面．轨道倾角由0°逐渐增大。这种轨道倾角漂移会导致对地通信的固定波束天线指向偏离地面站，引起天线指向失配误差，造成通信质量下降甚至丧失。文章分析了轨道漂移对天线指向的影响，并给出了天线指向调整的策略。     

编队飞行卫星群的轨道动力学特性与构形设计

编队飞行卫星群由一些相对距离近的小卫星组成,在严格的条件下,若干颗伴随卫星环绕一颗中心卫星作相对运动,相对轨道为特别性质的椭圆,本文研究了编队飞行卫星群的轨道动力学特性,提出了编队飞行的轨道构形设计的原则和方法。     

电子侦察卫星的情报侦察能力分析

电子侦察卫星作为现代战争中情报侦察的重要手段之一,发挥着越来越重要的作用。首先概述了电子侦察卫星的工作过程,构建了电子侦察卫星的侦察模型,采用数据仿真的方法,从瞬时侦察覆盖范围、侦察覆盖区域、飞行周期、重复侦察周期、侦察有效时间等方面对电子侦察卫星的情报侦察能力进行分析,分析结果可为电子侦察卫星的作战使用研究提供一定的理论依据。     

区域覆盖混合星座设计

针对我国邻海海上运动目标探测的需求,提出一种由多种类型卫星构成的区域覆盖混合星座系统方案。选择了合适的轨道类型,利用轨道动力学特性保持不同高度卫星构成的星座的构形;提出了星座配置方案,确定了不同类型卫星的协同工作方式和顺序等;在此基础上给出了轨道设计方法。最后设计了一个由海洋监视卫星簇、光学成像卫星和SAR卫星组成的星座。仿真表明,该星座能够实现预定的设计目标,保持一定的空间和时间关系对给定地区进行一定时间间隔的重访。     

国外卫星星座自主运行技术发展综述

综述国外卫星星座自主运行技术的研究和发展情况,重点介绍了导航星座、移动通信星座和区域覆盖星座的自主导航和自主轨道控制技术的发展现状,并对实现星座自主控制的关键技术进行了分析。这为我国发展星座自主控制技术提供参考。     

非质心特征点相对位置和姿态估计方法研究

卫星编队飞行中,从星星体上偏离质心的任意特征点,其相对位置和相对姿态运动耦合。本文针对任意点的相对状态估计问题,推导了耦合相对轨道动力学方程和无陀螺相对姿态动力学方程,并且基于PSD敏感器对主星上点光源的视线测量值,提出了基于特征点耦合动力学和质心传统动力学的两种相对状态估计策略。针对每种策略分别设计了EKF和UKF两种滤波算法对相对状态进行估计。最后通过数学仿真对算法的有效性进行了验证,并对其计算量进行了分析。结果表明,四种算法均能对特征点的相对状态进行较高精度的估计。