单个航天器对Walker星座中多卫星的近距离接近

通过设计航天器轨道,可使航天器发射入轨后无需机动即实现对Walker星座中非共轨的多颗卫星的快速、近距离接近.给出了该轨道的搜索方法以及基于星座特性的代换法,并给出了仿真示例.      

Analysis on navigation accuracy of high orbit spacecraft based on BDS GEO and IGSO satellites

To make up for the insufficiency of earth-based TT&C systems, the use of GNSS technology for high-orbit spacecraft navigation and orbit determination has become a new technology. It is of great value to applying Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) and Inclined GeoStationary Orbit (IGSO) navigation satellites for supporting the navigation of high-orbit spacecraft since there are three different types of navigation satellites in BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS): Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), GEO and IGSO. This paper conducts simulation experiments based on Two-Line Orbital Element (TLE) data to analyze and demonstrate the role of these satellites in the navigation of high-orbit spacecraft. Firstly, the spacecraft in GEO was used as the target satellite to conduct navigation experiments. Experiments show that for the spacecraft on the GEO orbit, after adding GEO and IGSO respectively on the basis of receiving MEO navigation satellite signals, the accuracies were improved by 7.22 % and 6.06 % respectively. When adding both GEO and IGSO navigation satellites at the same time, the accuracy can reach 16 m. In the second place, navigation and positioning experiments were carried out on three high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites with different semimajor axis (32037.2 km, 42385.9 km, 67509.6 km). The experiments show that the number of visible satellites has been improved significantly after adding GEO and IGSO navigation satellites at the same time. The visible satellites in these three orbits were improved by 32.84 %, 41.12 % and 37.68 %, respectively compared with only observing MEO satellites.The RMS values of the navigation positioning errors of these three orbits are 25.59 m, 87.58 m and 712.48 m, respectively.     

Collision probability and spacecraft disposition in the geostationary orbit

Since 1963 approximately 300 satellites have been launched into the geostationary orbit, followed possibly by another additional 200 satellites up to the year 2000. Ground surveillance with radar and optical sensors able to detect objects of 1 m minimum size in the geostationary ring indicates a total population of several hundred which includes active and defunct satellites and spent upper stages. In addition, a population of untrackable objects is conjectured, whose size can only be estimated, possibly several thousand of smaller objects.

The purpose of this paper is to review the long-term evolution of orbits in the geostationary ring and at higher altitude, the collision probabilities and disposition options.

The major perturbations are considered including attitude-orbit cross-coupling effects which could cause secular orbit perturbations.

Collision probabilities for current and projected populations are reviewed considering different approaches, such as a deterministic treatment of the uncontrolled population and a stochastic modeling for the controlled satellites. Also, colocation, that is sharing of the same longitude slot by several operational satellites, is a potential source for collision, if no preventive measures are taken.

As regards spacecraft disposition options, the conclusion is that reorbiting is currently the only practical measure to safeguard the geostationary orbit. In this recommended procedure the defunct satellites are inserted into a so-called graveyard orbit, located suffieciently high above the geostationary orbit.     

上行离子源区卫星探测的轨道需求分析

极区从电离层到磁层的上行粒子流探测研究是空间天气建模中的重要问题,其起源和加速机制是磁层-电离层-热层耦合小卫星星座计划的主要科学目标. 磁层-电离层-热层耦合小卫星星座计划拟定由两颗磁层星和两颗电离层/热层星组成星座对极区进行联合观测. 其中,上行粒子源区附近的就位探测是电离层-热层耦合机制研究的重点,也是电离层/热层星轨道设计的关键. 根据相关空间探测计划和卫星观测结果,通过比较圆轨道和椭圆轨道两种方案,确定电离层/热层星采用椭圆轨道.      

Tetrahedral satellite formation: Geomagnetic measurements exchange and interpolation

This note presents a study of a four-satellite tetrahedral formation to collect, process, and exchange multipoint measurements of geomagnetic field in a near-polar orbit. The study is conducted as a series of numerical experiments based on simulated spacecraft orbits and corresponding geomagnetic field models output. The four satellites are assumed to move in near-circular orbits specifically chosen to maintain the tetrahedron quality. The satellites exchange their simulated magnetometers readings and the collected multipoint measurements are processed on board of any of them thus creating an instantaneous interpolated map of the geomagnetic field in the interior of the tetrahedron. Interpolation is carried out with the use of Kriging algorithms, known in geostatistics for capturing spatial correlation of the data and taking into account statistical properties of the interpolated variables. We propose a concept of a servicing formation, and analyze interpolation accuracy for different formation sizes. It is then discussed how the processed multipoint measurements can be provided as a service to other nearby satellites. Finally, we show that using the existing COTS magnetometers it is possible to obtain real-time interpolation data, which are more precise at a given point and time than a conventional onboard magnetic field model, thus ensuring better attitude determination routines performance in the serviced spacecraft.     

Designing planetary protection into the Mars Observer mission.

Planetary protection has been an important consideration during the process of designing the Mars Observer mission. It affected trajectory design of both the interplanetary transfer and the orbits at Mars; these in turn affected the observation strategies developed for the mission. The Project relied mainly on the strategy of collision avoidance to prevent contamination of Mars. Conservative estimates of spacecraft reliability and Martian atmosphere density were used to evaluate decisions concerning the interplanetary trajectory, the orbit insertion phase at Mars, and operations in orbit at Mars and afterwards. Changes in the trajectory design, especially in the orbit insertion phase, required a refinement of those estimates.     

近地轨道集群航天器电磁编队飞行非线性反馈控制方法

针对近地轨道集群航天器电磁编队飞行的动力学和控制问题, 提出了一种非线性反馈控制方法. 基于电磁力模型和地磁场模型, 分析了地磁场对近地轨道电磁编队的影响; 建立了集群航天器电磁编队高精度相对轨道动力学模型; 基于Lyapunov稳定性理论设计了一种非线性反馈控制律, 利用该方法对两星电磁编队维持控制进行了仿真验证. 仿真结果表明, 地磁场引起的电磁干扰力可以忽略, 但是电磁干扰力矩的影响必须考虑; 近地轨道集群航天器电磁编队是可控的, 所设计的控制方法是可行的.      

Planned observation of Phobos/Deimos by Mars imaging camera (MIC) on NOZOMI

The large elongated orbit planned for NOZOMI around Mars, i.e. a periapsis of 150 km and an apoapsis of 15 R_M (R_M denotes the radius of Mars), will provide many occasions for encounters of NOZOMI with two Martian satellites, Phobos and Deimos, where NOZOMI is the former Planet-B meaning “Hope” in Japanese. We present a plan for imaging the two satellites by the Mars Imaging Camera (MIC) on board NOZOMI at such encounters during the mission lifetime of two years from October 1999. An Autonomous Tracking Mode is available for fly-by imaging of satellites. MIC scans the azimuth direction (orthogonal to the CCD line arrays) using the spacecraft spin at a rotation rate of 7.5 rpm, and has an image resolution of 80 arc second in both elevation and azimuth directions.The main science objectives of MIC, related to the two satellites, are (i) to study the size/spatial distributions of craters on both satellites, (ii) to examine the groove structure on Phobos, (iii) to image areas not yet seen areas of Deimos, and (iv) to derive its whole shape. We will, furthermore, search for the dust rings along the orbits of these two satellites in the forward scattering region of sunlight. The capability of MIC to execute these objectives are briefly summarized.     

A new algorithm for optical observations of space debris with the TAROT telescopes

Since 2004, we observe satellites in the geostationary orbit with a network of robotic ground based fully automated telescopes called TAROT. One of them is located in France and the second at ESO, La Silla, Chile. The system processes the data in real time. Its wide field of view is useful for the discovery, the systematic survey and for the tracking of both catalogued and un-catalogued objects. We present a new source extraction algorithm based on morphological mathematic, which has been tested and is currently under implementation in the standard pipeline. Using this method, the observation strategy will correlate the measurements of the same object on successive images and give better detection rate and false alarm rate than the previous one. The overall efficiency and quality of the survey of the geostationary orbit has drastically improved and we can now detect satellites and debris in different orbits like Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). Results obtained in real conditions with TAROT are presented.     

The adjusted optical properties for Galileo/BeiDou-2/QZS-1 satellites and initial results on BeiDou-3e and QZS-2 satellites

Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) is the dominant non-gravitational perturbation for GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites. In the absence of precise surface models, the Empirical CODE Orbit Models (ECOM, ECOM2) are widely used in GNSS satellite orbit determination. Based on previous studies, the use of an a priori box-wing model enhances the ECOM model, especially if the spacecraft is a stretched body satellite. However, so far not all the GNSS system providers have published their metadata. To ensure a precise use of the a priori box-wing model, we estimate the optical parameters of all the Galileo, BeiDou-2, and QZS-1 (Quasi Zenith Satellite System) satellites based on the physical processes from SRP to acceleration. Validation using orbit prediction proves that the adjusted parameters of Galileo and QZS-1 satellites exhibit almost the same performance as the corresponding published and “best guess” values. Whereas, the estimated parameters of BeiDou-2 satellites demonstrate an improvement of more than 60% over the initial “guess” values. The resulting optical parameters of all the satellites are introduced into an a priori box-wing model, which is jointly used with ECOM and ECOM2 model in the orbit determination. Results show that the pure ECOM2 model exhibits better performance than the pure ECOM model for Galileo, BeiDou-2 GEO and QZS-1 orbits. Combined with the a priori box-wing model the ECOM model (ECOM+BW) results in the best Galileo, BeiDou-2 GEO and QZS-1 orbits. The standard deviation (STD) of satellite laser ranging residuals reduce by about 20% and 5% with respect to the pure ECOM2 model for Galileo and BeiDou-2 GEO orbits, while the reductions are about 40% and 60% for QZS-1 orbits in yaw-steering and orbit-normal mode respectively. BeiDou-2 IGSO and MEO satellite orbits do not benefit much from the a priori box-wing model. In summary, we suggest setting up a unified SRP model of ECOM+BW for Galileo, QZS-1, and BeiDou-2 orbits based on the adjusted metadata. In addition, we estimate the optical parameters of BeiDou-3e and QZS-2 satellites using a limited number of tracking stations. Results regarding the unified SRP model indicate the same advantages, the STD of satellite laser ranging residuals reduces by about 30% and 20% for QZS-2 and BeiDou-3e orbits respectively over orbit products without a priori model. The estimation procedure is effective and easy to apply to the new emerging satellites in the future.     

小行星远距离抵近轨道

讨论了小行星引力一阶项可被忽略情况下的小行星远距离轨道设计及动力学。此时,航天器的运动受太阳引力和太阳光压的影响。航天器和小行星的加速度之差在这两者之间形成的独特的相对动力学,为航天器在小行星附近停驻与观测提供特定轨道。完整解决了小行星处于圆形日心轨道这一较简单情况,也考虑和阐述了椭圆轨道情况,并取得了一些初步结果。     

脉冲推力轨道拦截可达性描述及求解方法

针对航天器单脉冲轨道拦截可达性分析问题,基于共面变轨、逆轨拦截假设,考虑能量、时间和交会角约束,提出了拦截航天器可拦截区和可发射区的概念。在航天器单脉冲空间可达范围的基础上,进一步考虑了目标轨道的约束,建立了目标轨道命中区的计算策略,对异面轨道交叉点为燃料最省点做出了解释。把拦截可达性相关的问题归纳为8个基本拦截问题,通过这8个问题的组合,描述了考虑能量、时间和交会角约束下拦截问题的可拦截区和可发射区的计算方法。采用圆轨道共面变轨、逆轨拦截场景进行了仿真验证,结果表明该方法能够快速有效地计算出约束条件下航天器的拦截可达范围,能够用于分析特定任务情况下的拦截可达性。     

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.     

Orbit Design for Responsive Space Using Multiple-objective Evolutionary Computation

Responsive orbits have exhibited advantages in emergencies for their excellent responsiveness and coverage to targets. Generally, there are several conflicting metrics to trade in the orbit design for responsive space. A special multiple-objective genetic algorithm, namely the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm Ⅱ (NSGAⅡ), is used to design responsive orbits. This algorithm has considered the conflicting metrics of orbits to achieve the optimal solution, including the orbital elements and launch programs of responsive vehicles. Low-Earth fast access orbits and low-Earth repeat coverage orbits, two subtypes of responsive orbits, can be designed using NSGAⅡ under given metric tradeoffs, number of vehicles, and launch mode. By selecting the optimal solution from the obtained Pareto fronts, a designer can process the metric tradeoffs conveniently in orbit design. Recurring to the flexibility of the algorithm, the NSGAⅡ promotes the responsive orbit design further.      

考虑太阳摄动的小行星附近轨道动力学

本文研究了艳后星(216 Kleopatra)和爱神星(433 Eros)附近的周期轨道,在考虑太阳引力摄动的情况下,发现了以往所遗漏的216 Kleopatra轨道族和环绕433 Eros的12族周期轨道,并且给出了它们的特性。研究结果表明,太阳引力对小行星平衡点位置的影响很小,但是对平衡点上航天器运动的影响较大。同族不稳定轨道中,大Jacobi常数轨道更容易在摄动后保持轨道原来特性,这很好地解释了小行星卫星在较远轨道上长期存在的可能性。     

地月L2点周期轨道的月球背面覆盖分析

地月L2点附近轨道具备独特的动力学和运动学特性,是月球背面探测任务的中继卫星首选布设位置。面向未来月球背面探测任务的中继通信需求,分析并研究了地月L2点周期轨道(halo轨道)对月球背面的覆盖。在圆型限制性三体问题模型下,研究并给出了halo轨道族延拓计算方法,基于延拓法设计了地月系大范围南北halo轨道族;给出了中继卫星的月球背面覆盖计算模型,定义了相应的时间覆盖因子;数值仿真了地月系南北halo轨道族的月球背面覆盖情况。研究结果表明:地月L2点周期轨道幅值和类型决定其对月面的覆盖性,幅值较小的轨道的月面整体覆盖性较好,幅值较大的轨道对月球南北极覆盖较好,南北族轨道分别有利于月球南北半球的覆盖。文章研究可为我国"嫦娥4号"月球背面探测任务的中继星轨道设计提供有益参考和借鉴。     

Mapping orbits around the asteroid 2001SN263

The present paper has the goal of mapping orbits, with respect to the perturbations, for a spacecraft traveling around the asteroid 2001SN₂₆₃. This asteroid is a triple system, which center of mass is in an elliptic orbit around the Sun. The perturbations considered in the present model are the ones due to the oblateness of the central body, the gravity field of the two satellite bodies (Beta and Gamma), the Sun, the Moon, the asteroids Vesta, Pallas and Ceres and all the planets of the Solar System. This mapping is important, because it shows the relative importance of each force for a given orbit for the spacecraft, helping to make a decision about which forces need to be included in the model for a given accuracy and nominal orbit. Another important application of this type of mapping is to find orbits that are less perturbed, since it is expected that those orbits have good potential to require a smaller number of station-keeping maneuvers. Simulations under different conditions are made to find those orbits. The main reason to study those trajectories is that, currently, there are several institutions in Brazil studying the possibility to make a mission to send a spacecraft to this asteroid (the so-called ASTER mission), because there are many important scientific studies that can be performed in that system. The results showed that Gamma is the main perturbing body, followed by Beta (10 times smaller) and the group Sun–Mars-oblateness of Alpha, with perturbations 1000 times weaker than the effects of Gamma. The other bodies have perturbations 10⁷ times smaller. The results also showed that circular and polar orbits are less perturbed, when compared to elliptical and equatorial orbits. Regarding the semi-major axis, an internal orbit is the best choice, followed by a larger external orbit. The inclination of the orbit plays an important role, and there are values for the inclination where the perturbations show minimum and maximum values, so it is important to make a good decision on those values.     

Direct comparison of transient radiation belt topology and dynamics in 1991 based on measurements onboard Mir space station and NOAA satellite.

In March 1991 the CRRES spacecraft measured a new transient radiation belt resulting from a solar proton event and subsequent geomagnetic disturbance. The presence of this belt was also noted by dosimeter-radiometers aboard the Mir space station (approx. 400 km, 51 degrees orbit) and by particle telescopes on the NOAA-10 spacecraft (850 km, 98 degrees). This event provides a unique opportunity to compare particle flux and dose measurements made by different instruments in different orbits under changing conditions. We present here a comparison of the measurements made by the different detectors. We discuss the topology and dynamics of the transient radiation belt over a period of more than one year.     

遗传算法在星座多星接近轨道优化中的应用

以三颗非共轨的Walker星座卫星为研究对象, 对航天器无需变轨与其接近的可能性进行研究. 将Lambert方法得到的航天器轨道作为初始轨道, 利用遗传算法对初始轨道进行优化. 对初始轨道在参考时刻位置和速度的改变量进行编码,形成对应的种群. 以航天器与星座卫星之间的最近距离为适应度函数, 通过种群的繁殖得到优化结果. 结合仿真算例, 分析了最小二乘算法和遗传算法在轨道优化中的优劣以及接近过程中轨道摄动的影响. 结果表明, 遗传算法适用于所提出的轨道改进问题. 研究结果可为单航天器无需变轨对星座多星接近问题提供理论依据.      

Precise orbit determination and baseline consistency assessment for Swarm constellation

Precise orbit determination (POD) and precise baseline determination (PBD) of Swarm satellites with 4 years of data are investigated. Ambiguity resolution (AR) plays a crucial role in achieving the best orbit accuracy. Swarm POD and PBD based on single difference (SD) AR and traditional double difference (DD) AR methods are explored separately. Swarm antenna phase center variation (PCV) corrections are developed to further improve the orbit determination accuracy. The code multipath of C1C, C1W and C2W observations is first evaluated and clear variations in code noise related to different receiver settings are observed. Carrier phase residuals of different time periods and different loop tracking settings of receiver are studied to explore the effect of ionospheric scintillation on POD. The reduction of residuals in the polar and geomagnetic equator regions confirms the positive impact of the updated carrier tracking loops (TLs) on POD performance. The SD AR orbits and orbits with float ambiguity (FA) are compared with the Swarm precise science orbits (PSOs). An average improvement of 27 %, 4 % and 16 % is gained in along-track, cross-track and radial directions by fixing the ambiguity to integer. For Swarm-A/B and Swarm-B/C formations, specific days are selected to perform the DD AR-based POD during which the average distance of the formation satellites is less than 5000 km. Satellite laser ranging (SLR) observations are employed to validate the performance of FA, SD AR and DD AR orbits. The consistency between the SD AR orbits and SLR data is at a level of 10 mm which shows an improvement of 25 % when comparing with the FA results. An SLR residuals reduction of 15 % is also achieved by the DD AR solution for the selected days. Precise relative navigation is also an essential aspect for spacecraft formation flying missions. The closure error method is proposed to evaluate the baseline precision in three dimensions. A baseline precision of 1–3 mm for Swarm-A/C formation and 3–5 mm for Swarm-A/B and Swarm-B/C satellite pairs is verified by both the consistency check and closure error method.