基于仅光学观测的短弧关联分析方法

初始轨道确定是空间目标编目的一个重要部分，尤其在光学仅角度观测下是极具挑战性的。光学观测在短弧的情况下很难进行有效的初轨确定，解决短弧问题的一个重要手段是将不同时刻获取到的短弧数据进行关联匹配，找到属于同一个目标的观测数据。以容许域的方法为基础，通过找到拟合多组观测数据的最优轨道的方式来确定角度预测值和角度测量真实值之间的最小误差。其次，根据对观测误差统计特性的研究，从理论上验证了线性化误差传播方式在短弧数据应用上的可行性，并给出合理的误差限，通过卡方检验的方式确定弧段之间的关联性。同时，给出了所提出的短弧关联分析方法应用于LEO，HEO，MEO，GEO轨道的结果，并描述了应用于长间隔低轨道目标观测数据上的困难，提出了用角度预报值的误差特性规律对低轨目标关联进行改进的方法，结果表明对于LEO观测短弧的关联性识别的成功率由原来的87%提升到99%。     

基于正弦拟合的空间目标短弧关联算法

星敏感器是一种高精度姿态传感器，具有断续拍摄空间目标的能力，可作为空间目标监视平台。将星敏感器断续观测的短弧准确关联是实现空间目标精确定轨的前提。通过对空间目标的大量观测数据统计发现，空间目标的赤纬随赤经的变化始终满足一条周期为360°的正弦曲线且峰值与轨道倾角有关。对新旧航迹的赤经赤纬变化规律进行研究，提出一种基于正弦拟合的空间目标短弧关联算法，避免了空间目标初定轨的步骤，节约了算法运行时间。仿真中观测时长最短为50s，通过对目标密集的GEO带增加额外约束，可区分倾角相差0.01°的轨道。当航迹段间隔3h时，3组噪声水平目标关联的准确率均达90%以上。     

LEO空间碎片甚短弧角度数据初轨确定方法对比

光学观测是空间目标观测中最常见的一种观测方式。采用扫描模式工作时光学观测得到的观测弧段弧长通常很短,有时甚至不到被观测空间目标运行周期的1%,这样的角度数据被称为甚短弧角度数据。基于近圆LEO空间碎片地基实测场景,研究比较仅利用角度数据进行初始轨道确定常用方法的性能差异,分析观测弧长对不同初轨确定算法的定轨成功率和误差的影响,为初轨确定工作提供参考。对比分析了常用的几种方法,包括Laplace方法、Gauss方法、Gooding方法和近几年提出的距离搜索算法等。大规模实测数据处理结果显示,距离搜索算法的成功率高于90%,初轨半长轴统计误差仅为25 km。初轨结果表明,距离搜索算法定轨成功率高于其他算法。研究成果可为解决空间碎片初轨确定问题提供参考。      

天基光学监视的GEO空间目标短弧段定轨方法

利用两个短弧段的天基测角资料实现对GEO空间目标的轨道确定是天基空间目标监视系统需解决的重要问题之一.将短弧段的主要测量信息表示为弧段属性,构造约束空间目标距离和径向速度的容许域,采用桁架平衡法对第一个短弧段的容许域三角剖分采样,以这些采样点的轨道预报第二个短弧段的弧段属性,通过分析预报值与实际值的差异,优先选取多个采样点的轨道作为初轨,分别对各初轨进行轨道改进.仿真结果表明,该方法能成功解算最小二乘轨道.     

基于Gooding算法的天基光学目标跟踪定轨

开展了基于Gooding算法的400km天基平台光学目标监测的轨道确定研究，当测量误差为3”和6”时，分别对800，1500及36000km轨道高度目标进行初始轨道确定及轨道改进分析.仿真结果表明，利用400km轨道高度平台对800~1500km轨道高度目标进行初定轨，测量数据误差为3”~6”时，4~15min弧段的初定轨精度约在10km量级，1~2min弧段的初定轨精度约在100km量级；15min初定轨弧段轨道改进后误差在100m量级，弧段小于10min时轨道改进误差精度在km量级.利用400km轨道高度平台对36000km轨道高度目标进行初定轨，测量数据误差为3”时，15~20min弧段的初定轨精度约在数十km量级，8~10min弧段的初定轨精度在100km量级；轨道改进后误差在km量级.测量数据误差为6”时，20min弧段初定轨精度在10km量级，8~15min弧段初定轨精度在100km量级，轨道改进后误差精度在10km量级.      

钟差和动力学参数联合约束下的北斗卫星轨道快速确定

受地球非球形引力、第三体摄动和太阳光压等摄动因素的影响,导航卫星位置存在长周期变化趋势,需要定期对导航卫星进行轨道机动,以保持卫星轨位和导航服务区.导航卫星机动后的定轨,特别是GEO卫星,其频繁轨控后的轨道快速确定问题,是制约卫星可用度和导航系统服务性能的重要因素.在基于伪距相位数据的轨道测定中,轨道与钟差的统计相关是制约卫星轨道快速确定的关键因素,特别是在观测弧段短的情况下,待估参数之间的相关性更强,动力学参数估计结果严重失真会导致轨道预报精度衰减明显.当卫星钟差与测站钟差通过外部手段高精度测定后,可以减少待估参数的估计,同时利用长弧定轨的动力学与运动学参数先验信息,对短弧定轨模式进行参数约束,卫星定轨精度将有很大的提升空间.通过钟差与力学参数的联合约束,实现了北斗卫星短弧快速定轨,解决了卫星机动后的轨道快速确定问题,SLR评估的卫星机动后4 h定轨外符视向精度优于0.71 m,比常规方法提高了3倍,预报1 h轨道视向精度为1.89 m,用户等效距离误差(UERE)精度达到1.85 m.     

基于单站CCD漂移扫描光电设备的同步轨道目标测定轨

地基光电观测在同步轨道目标监测领域具有重要作用.为评估单站光电设备对同步轨道目标的实际测定轨能力,利用上海天文台佘山站1.56m望远镜,采用CCD漂移扫描光电技术,对3颗北斗同步卫星开展试验观测,基于卫星精密星历评估目标的测定轨外符精度.结果表明:同步轨道目标的天文定位在方位和俯仰方向上的外符精度均好于0.3";在单圈次观测情况下,尽管轨道预报精度较低,约为数千米量级,但是观测弧段内定轨精度可优于百米;在多圈次观测情况下,轨道改进效果显著,定轨精度优于50m,外推至4d的轨道预报精度为百米量级.此外,定量评估了每晚不同观测时间跨度下同步轨道目标的测定轨精度,为单站光电设备实际应用提供了参考.      

空间引力波探测器轨道确定及仿真分析

针对空间引力波探测器的精密轨道确定问题,选取LISA(Laser Interferometer Space Antenna)作为研究对象,建立了探测器的目标仿真环境,模拟生成美国深空网(Deep Space Network,DSN)和中国深空网(China Deep Space Network,CDSN)在不同测站下的测距测速数据,采用非线性加权最小二乘(Weighted Least Squares,WLS)和蒙特卡洛方法(Monte Carlo,MC)分析跟踪弧长、测轨数据类型、测站数量及其分布等因素对LISA探测器定轨精度的影响。仿真结果表明:①增加测站的定轨弧长,可有效提高轨道确定精度,当跟踪弧段达到20 d时,探测器位置确定精度可达92 m;②在现有测量精度条件下,测距信息对定轨精度的贡献较大,测距/测速组合定轨方式与仅利用测距、测速定轨相比,估计的位置精度分别提高了32.23%、99.52%;③采用多测控网定轨模式可以提高多站共视比率,有利于提高定轨精度和收敛速度,DSN/CDSN联合定轨比仅采用DSN定轨的平均位置精度提高43.73%。     

天基可见光传感器卫星监视地球同步带目标的轨道设计

在分析地球同步轨道目标光学特性和位置特性的基础上, 确定了天基可见光(Space-Based Visible, SBV)传感器监视整个地球同步带目标的搜索栅栏位置以及搜索策略, 导出搜索栅栏与观测时间和观测次数之间的关系. 根据航天任务需求和SBV传感器特性, 确定了监视轨道的类型和参数约束条件, 给出了约束条件下监视轨道的选取范围, 并对其轨道观测效能进行仿真分析. 仿真结果表明, 通过适当选取监视轨道参数, 监视轨道对地球同步带的覆盖率均可达到90%以上. 如果SBV传感器视场达到4°×4°以上或搜索栅栏宽度大于40°, 其覆盖率高达95%以上.      

基于光学测角数据的风云四号同步轨道卫星精密定轨

针对风云四号同步卫星的精密定轨和精度评估需求，首先利用地面光学测角数据对FY-4A卫星进行精密定轨，定轨后方位角和高度角的残差rms分别为0.25＂和0.45＂。与基于测距数据的轨道相比，位置精度在有测角数据的弧段内小于50m。进一步联合测角数据和测距数据对FY-4A卫星进行联合定轨，定轨后轨道重叠精度优于15m。利用联合定轨结果评估了基于测距数据的实时轨道产品精度，可以明显发现轨道精度随着测距数据的积累而逐步提高。     

Analysis of laser ranges and angular measurements data fusion for space debris orbit determination

In the framework of space debris, the orbit determination process is a fundamental step, both, for researchers and for satellite operators. The accurate knowledge of the orbit of space debris objects is needed to allow space debris characterization studies and to avoid unnecessary collision avoidance maneuvers.The accuracy of the results of an orbit determination process depends on several factors as the number, the accuracy, the kind of processed measurements, their distribution along the orbit, and the object-observer relative geometry. When the observation coverage of the target orbit is not homogeneous, the accuracy of the orbit determination can be improved processing different kind of observables. Recent studies showed that the satellite laser ranging technique can be successfully applied to space debris.In this paper, we will investigate the benefits of using laser ranges and angular measurements for the orbit determination process. We will analyze the influence of the number of used observations, of the covered arc of orbit, of each observable, and of the observation geometry on the estimated parameters. Finally, using data acquired on short observation arcs, we analyze the achievable accuracies for the orbital regimes with the highest space debris density, and to the consequences of the data fusion on catalog maintenance operations. The results shown are obtained using only real data (both angular and laser measurements) provided by sensors of the Swiss Optical Ground Station and Geodynamics Observatory Zimmerwald owned by the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB) and for some studies also using ranges provided from other stations of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).     

A genetic algorithm for Initial Orbit Determination from a too short arc optical observation

Optical observations constitute a source of angular measurements of a satellite pass. Commonly, these observations have short durations with respect to the satellite orbit period. As a consequence, the use of classical orbit determination algorithms, as Laplace, Gauss or Escobal methods, give very poor results. The present work faces with the problem of estimating the orbital parameters of an orbiting object using its optical streak acquired by a telescope or a high accuracy camera. In the paper a new technique is developed for the Initial Orbit Determination from optical data by exploiting the genetic algorithms. The algorithm works without restrictions on the observer location. A recent challenging problem is the Initial Orbit Determination with space-based observations. This work focuses on the problem of determinating the orbital parameters of a satellite from an orbiting observer in LEO, using short time observations. We present the results based on a simulation with the observer on a sun-synchronous orbit with a single observation of just 60 s. Monte Carlo simulations are presented with different levels of sensor accuracy to show the reliability of the algorithm. The algorithm is able to yield a candidate solution for each observation. The coplanar case is analyzed and discussed as well.     

Performance of GPS-based accelerometry: A simulation experiment

Recent studies have shown that with the availability of high-quality CHAMP and GRACE gravity field models, it is feasible to determine accurate non-gravitational accelerations for low Earth orbiting satellites indirectly from precise GPS satellite-to-satellite observations. Possible applications of this so-called GPS-based accelerometry approach consist of accelerometer calibration and atmospheric density and wind computations. With the growing number of high-quality space-borne GPS receivers, this method could be applied to a large range of satellites. In this paper an extensive simulation study has been carried out, based on real accelerometer data from the GRACE mission, in order to determine the optimal processing strategy and the resulting accuracy of the estimated non-gravitational accelerations. It is shown that the optimal processing strategy consists of a piecewise linear parameterization of the estimated empirical accelerations, together with short 6-h orbit arcs. The GPS-based accelerometry approach makes use of triple-differenced GPS observations and the impact of considering the correlated observation noise was found to be marginal in the presence of other error sources such as GPS ephemeris errors. Using a priori non-gravitational force models improves the recovery of low temporal resolution accelerations, except during huge geomagnetic storms. With this strategy, non-gravitational accelerations can be recovered during high solar activity with an accuracy of better than 10% of the total signal in along-track direction and around 25–40% in cross-track direction, at time resolutions of around 8–20 min. During solar minimum conditions, the relative recovery error will increase to approximately 50% in along-track direction and around 60–70% in cross-track direction, due to the reduced atmospheric drag signal. Unfortunately, GPS-based accelerometry is hardly sensitive in the radial direction.     

多星近距离绕飞观测任务姿轨耦合控制研究

针对多星近距离绕飞观测任务,建立了相对姿态轨道动力学模型,分别考虑了在椭圆、空间圆绕飞轨道上观测卫星的两种期望三角形编队构型,以观测卫星视线始终指向目标为期望姿态,采用基于四元数和角速度误差反馈的比例 微分控制律以及一种改进的基于人工势场法的制导方法相结合,对相对姿态及轨道进行控制。仿真结果表明：在控制律的作用下,绕飞过程中各观测卫星均能够有效地跟踪期望相对姿态和期望相对轨道;在空间圆绕飞轨道构型中,各观测卫星从初始同一位置出发后,在任意时刻3颗观测卫星构成的编队构型始终为正三角形,且正三角形的边长从零逐渐增大,最终等于期望正三角形构型的边长。     

Feasibility of performing space surveillance tasks with a proposed space-based optical architecture

Under ESA contract an industrial consortium including Aboa Space Research Oy (ASRO), the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB), and the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), proposed the observation concept, developed a suitable sensor architecture, and assessed the performance of a space-based optical (SBO) telescope in 2005. The goal of the SBO study was to analyse how the existing knowledge gap in the space debris population in the millimetre and centimetre regime may be closed by means of a passive optical instrument. The SBO instrument was requested to provide statistical information on the space debris population in terms of number of objects and size distribution. The SBO instrument was considered to be a cost-efficient with 20 cm aperture and 6° field-of-view and having flexible integration requirements. It should be possible to integrate the SBO instrument easily as a secondary payload on satellites launched into low-Earth orbits (LEO), or into geostationary orbit (GEO). Thus the selected mission concept only allowed for fix-mounted telescopes, and the pointing direction could be requested freely. Since 2007 ESA focuses space surveillance and tracking activities in the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) preparatory program. Ground-based radars and optical telescopes are studied for the build-up and maintenance of a catalogue of objects. In this paper we analyse how the proposed SBO architecture could contribute to the space surveillance tasks survey and tracking. We assume that the SBO instrumentation is placed into a circular sun-synchronous orbit at 800 km altitude. We discuss the observation conditions of objects at higher altitude, and select an orbit close to the terminator plane. A pointing of the sensor orthogonal to the orbital plane with optimal elevation slightly in positive direction (0° and +5°) is found optimal for accessing the entire GEO regime within one day, implying a very good coverage of controlled objects in GEO, too. Simulations using ESA’s Program for Radar and Optical Observation Forecasting (PROOF) in the version 2005 and a GEO reference population extracted from DISCOS revealed that the proposed pointing scenario provides low phase angles together with low angular velocities of the objects crossing the field-of-view. Radiometric simulations show that the optimal exposure time is 1–2 s, and that spherical objects in GEO with a diameter of below 1 m can be detected. The GEO population can be covered under proper illumination nearly completely, but seasonal drops of the coverage are possible. Subsequent observations of objects are on average at least every 1.5 days, not exceeding 3 days at maximum. A single observation arc spans 3° to 5° on average. Using a simulation environment that connects PROOF to AIUB’s program system CelMech we verify the consistency of the initial orbit determination for five selected test objects on subsequent days as a function of realistic astrometric noise levels. The initial orbit determination is possible. We define requirements for a correlator process essential for catalogue build-up and maintenance. Each single observation should provide an astrometric accuracy of at least 1”–1.5” so that the initially determined orbits are consistent within a few hundred kilometres for the semi-major axis, 0.01 for the eccentricity, and 0.1° for the inclination.     

Comparative analysis of global optical observability of satellites in LEO

With a growing number of resident space objects (RSOs), the facilities for near-Earth space surveillance have to cope with increasing workload. It also applies to low-cost small optical surveillance facilities which may present regional, national and global networks. Improved methods of planning and scheduling optical telescopes are required to use these instruments efficiently. Today, optical observations are only feasible if the following quite stringent requirements are met: the object should be illuminated by sunlight, and it should be above while the Sun is below the observer’s horizon. For different orbits, these preconditions result in varying degrees of the space object observability at various ground-based sites. Certainly, satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) are particularly difficult to observe. This study aims at developing a new technique for assessing observability of a satellite in different types of orbits – namely, low, medium and high Earth orbits, imaging of the opportunity for its visibility in respective diagrams and their analysing for the existing near-Earth population of RSOs. Unlike other researches, wherein one or several observational stations have been chosen as target sites for in-depth analyses of visibility of all the satellites or just the selected ones, the present study focuses on examining the probability of optical surveillance of satellites in a certain orbit from any locations worldwide. It offers considerable scope for automation of surveillance planning and scheduling optical surveillance networks.