Use of data from meteorological satellites in long-range weather forecasting

In the Soviet Union experiments on obtaining meteorological information by means of man-made Earth's satellites were initiated in 1966 (the “Meteor” meteorological system).Starting with 1975 the launches of the “Meteor-2” updated meteorological satellites of the second generation were carried out. The detailed information about the Soviet meteorological satellite system can be found in [9].Below, the problems concerning the use of satellite data in schemes of long-range weather forecasts are considered. Particular attention is paid to the role of external sources of energy. The role of cloud cover over the oceans is emphasized as a heat influx regulator in the process of absorption radiant solar heat by the ocean. The dynamic and statistical method of ocean heat memory parameterization is stated.     

Operation and Application of A, B Satellites for Environment and Disaster Monitoring and Forecasting

Environment and disaster monitoring and forecasting small satellite constellation A and B satellites (HJ-1-A, B) are called "environment and disaster reduction satellites A and B' for short. The constellation adopts a 10:30 LT sun-synchronous circular orbit, with orbit altitude of 649 km. HJ-1-A and HJ-1-B are distributed with a phase difference of 180o in the same orbital plane, so as to enhance the time resolution of earth observation. The satellites have orbit maintenance capability, the lifetime is 3 years. Both satellites adopt CAST968 platforms. Two wide-coverage multispectral CCD cameras with resolution 30 m and width 700 km, a super-spectral imager with resolution 100 m and width 50 km as well as a data transmission subsystem of 120 Mbit/s are deployed on HJ-1-A, which also carries Ka communication testing equipment of Thailand. HJ-1-B has two wide-coverage multispectral CCD cameras (the same as satellite A), one infrared camera with resolution 150 m and width 720 km and a data transmission subsystem of 60 Mbit/s. The coverage period of the wide-coverage multispectral CCD camera is 48 hours. The revisit period of super-spectral imager is 96 hours and the coverage period of infrared camera is 96 hours.      

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.     

A Brief Introduction and Recent Progress of the Geospace Double Star Program

The Geospace Double Star Project (DSP) consists of two small satellites operating in the near-earth equatorial and polar regions, respectively. The goals of DSP are: (1) to provide high-resolution field, particle, and wave measurements in some important near-earth active regions which have not been covered by current ISTP missions, such as the near-earth plasma sheet and its boundary layer, the ring current, the radiation belts, the dayside magnetopause boundary layer, and the polar region; (2) to investigate the trigger mechanisms of magnetic storms, magnetospheric substorms, and magnetospheric particle events,as well as the responses of geospace storms to solar activities and interplanetary disturbances; (3) to set up the models describing the spatial and temporal variations of the near-earth space environment.To realize the above goals, the equatorial satellite TC-1 and the polar satellite TC-2 will accommodate, respectively, eight instruments on board. TC-1was launched successfully in December 2003 while the polar satellite (TC-2)will be launched in July 2004. The orbit of the equatorial satellite TC-1 consists of a perigee at 550 km, an apogee at 60 000 km, and an inclination of about 28.5; while the orbit of the polar satellite will have a perigee of 700 km, an apogee of 40 000 km, and an inclination of about 90. The two satellites will take coordinated measurements with Cluster Ⅱ and will first form a "six-point exploration" in geospace.The operational status of TC-1 are introduced in this paper.     

星座的发射规划研究

卫星的组网发射规划就是确定从地面把多颗卫星发射到所需求的轨道平面的适当时间问题.在保证组网卫星之间相位要求和发射单颗卫星限制条件的情况下,给出了一个轨道高度为800km、轨道倾角为45°的12颗星Wallker星座的发射窗口.其研究思路可为确定卫星群发射窗口提供参考.      

Different space weather effects in anomalies of the high and low orbital satellites

Preliminary results of the EU INTAS Project 00810, which aims to improve the methods of safeguarding satellites in the Earth’s magnetosphere from the negative effects of the space environment, are presented. Anomaly data from the “Kosmos” series satellites in the period 1971–1999 are combined in one database, together with similar information on other spacecraft. This database contains, beyond the anomaly information, various characteristics of the space weather: geomagnetic activity indices (Ap, AE and Dst), fluxes and fluences of electrons and protons at different energies, high energy cosmic ray variations and other solar, interplanetary and solar wind data. A comparative analysis of the distribution of each of these parameters relative to satellite anomalies was carried out for the total number of anomalies (about 6000 events), and separately for high (5000 events) and low (about 800 events) altitude orbit satellites. No relation was found between low and high altitude satellite anomalies. Daily numbers of satellite anomalies, averaged by a superposed epoch method around sudden storm commencements and proton event onsets for high (>1500 km) and low (<1500 km) altitude orbits revealed a big difference in a behavior. Satellites were divided on several groups according to the orbital characteristics (altitude and inclination). The relation of satellite anomalies to the environmental parameters was found to be different for various orbits that should be taken into account under developing of the anomaly frequency models.     

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.     

In-orbit assessment of laser retro-reflector efficiency onboard high orbiting satellites

The navigation and geodetic satellites that orbit the Earth at altitudes of approximately 20,000 km are tracked routinely by many of the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) stations of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). In order to meet increasing demands on SLR stations for daytime and nighttime observations, any new mission needs to ensure a strong return signal so that the target is easily acquirable. The ILRS has therefore set a minimum effective cross-section of 100 million square metres for the on-board laser retro-reflector arrays (LRAs) and further recommends the use of ‘uncoated’ cubes in the arrays. Given the large number of GNSS satellites that are currently supported by SLR, it is informative to make an assessment of the relative efficiencies of the various LRAs employed. This paper uses the laser ranging observations themselves to deduce and then compare the efficiencies of the LRAs on the COMPASS-M1 navigation satellite, two satellites from the GPS and three from the GLONASS constellations, the two GIOVE test satellites from the upcoming Galileo constellation, the two Etalon geodetic spheres and the geosynchronous communications test satellite, ETS-8. All the LRAs on this set of satellites employ back-coated retro-reflector cubes, except those on the COMPASS-M1 and ETS-8 vehicles which are uncoated. A measure of return signal strength, and thus of LRA-efficiency, is calculated using the laser-range full-rate data archive from 2007 to 2010, scaled to remove the effects of variations in satellite range, atmospheric attenuation and retro-reflector target total surface area. Observations from five SLR stations are used in this study; they are Herstmonceux (UK), Yarragadee (Australia), Monument Peak and McDonald (USA) and Wettzell (Germany). Careful consideration is given to the treatment of the observations from each station in order to take account of local working practices and system upgrades. The results show that the uncoated retro-reflector cubes offer significant improvements in efficiency.     

Design and performances of laser retro-reflector arrays for Beidou navigation satellites and SLR observations

Beidou is the regional satellite navigation system in China, consisting of three kinds of orbiting satellites, MEO, GEO and IGSO, with the orbital altitudes of 21500–36000 km. For improving the accuracy of satellites orbit determination, calibrating microwave measuring techniques and providing better navigation service, all Beidou satellites are equipped with laser retro-reflector arrays (LRAs) to implement high precision laser ranging. The paper presents the design of LRAs for Beidou navigation satellites and the method of inclined installation of LRAs for GEO satellites to increase the effective reflective areas for the regional ground stations. By using the SLR system, the observations for Beidou satellites demonstrated a precision of centimeters. The performances of these LRAs on Beidou satellites are very excellent.     

Assessment of the consequences of the Fengyun-1C breakup in low Earth orbit

On 11 January 2007, the People’s Republic of China conducted a successful anti-satellite test against one of their defunct polar-orbiting weather satellites. The target satellite, called Fengyun-1C, had a mass of 880 kg and was orbiting at an altitude of about 863 km when the collision occurred. Struck by a direct-ascent interceptor at a speed of 9.36 km/s, the satellite disintegrated, spreading the cataloged fragments between 200 and 4000 km, with the highest concentration near the breakup height. By the end of April 2008, 2377 pieces of debris, including the original payload remnant, had officially been cataloged by the US Space Surveillance Network. Of these, nearly 1% had reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. This deliberate act is the largest debris-generating event on record, and its consequences will adversely affect circumterrestrial space for many years.     

Stereoscopic observations from meteorological satellites

The capability of making stereoscopic observations of clouds from meteorological satellites is a new basic analysis tool with a broad spectrum of applications. Stereoscopic observations from satellites were first made using the early vidicon tube weather satellites (e.g., Ondrejka and Conover [1]). However, the only high quality meteorological stereoscopy from low orbit has been done from Apollo and Skylab, (e.g., Shenk $\text{et al.}$ [2] and Black [3], [4]). Stereoscopy from geosynchronous satellites was proposed by Shenk [5] and Bristor and Pichel [6] in 1974 which allowed Minzner $\text{et al.}$ [7] to demonstrate the first quantitative cloud height analysis. In 1978 Bryson [8] and desJardins [9] independently developed digital processing techniques to remap stereo images which made possible precision height measurement and spectacular display of stereograms (Hasler $\text{et al.}$ [10], and Hasler [11]). In 1980 the Japanese Geosynchronous Satellite (GMS) and the U.S. GOES-West satellite were synchronized to obtain stereo over the central Pacific as described by Fujita and Dodge [12] and in this paper. Recently the authors have remapped images from a Low Earth Orbiter (LEO) to the coordinate system of a Geosynchronous Earth Orbiter (GEO) and obtained stereoscopic cloud height measurements which promise to have quality comparable to previous all GEO stereo. It has also been determined that the north-south imaging scan rate of some GEOs can be slowed or reversed. Therefore the feasibility of obtaining stereoscopic observations world wide from combinations of operational GEO and LEO satellites has been demonstrated.Stereoscopy from satellites has many advantages over infrared techniques for the observation of cloud structure because it depends only on basic geometric relationships. Digital remapping of GEO and LEO satellite images is imperative for precision stereo height measurement and high quality displays because of the curvature of the earth and the large angular separation of the two satellites. A general solution for accurate height computation depends on precise navigation of the two satellites. Validation of the geosynchronous satellite stereo using high altitude mountain lakes and vertically pointing aircraft lidar leads to a height accuracy estimate of ± 500 m for typical clouds which have been studied. Applications of the satellite stereo include: 1) cloud top and base height measurements, 2) cloud-wind height assignment, 3) vertical motion estimates for convective clouds (Mack $\text{et al.}$ [13], [14]), 4) temperature vs. height measurements when stereo is used together with infrared observations and 5) cloud emissivity measurements when stereo, infrared and temperature sounding are used together (see Szejwach $\text{et al.}$ [15]).When true satellite stereo image pairs are not available, synthetic stereo may be generated. The combination of multispectral satellite data using computer produced stereo image pairs is a dramatic example of synthetic stereoscopic display. The classic case uses the combination of infrared and visible data as first demonstrated by Pichel $\text{et al.}$ [16]. Hasler $\text{et at.}$ [17], Mosher and Young [18] and Lorenz [19], have expanded this concept to display many channels of data from various radiometers as well as real and simulated data fields.A future system of stereoscopic satellites would be comprised of both low orbiters (as suggested by Lorenz and Schmidt [20], [19]) and a global system of geosynchronous satellites. The low earth orbiters would provide stereo coverage day and night and include the poles. An optimum global system of stereoscopic geosynchronous satellites would require international standarization of scan rate and direction, and scan times (synchronization) and resolution of at least 1 km in all imaging channels. A stereoscopic satellite system as suggested here would make an extremely important contribution to the understanding and prediction of the atmosphere.     

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GEOSPACE DOUBLE STAR PROGRAM

The Geospace Double Star Exploration Project (DSP) contains two small satel lites operating in the near-earth equatorial and polar regions respectively. The tasks of DSP are: (1) to provide high-resolution field, particle and wave mea surements in several important near-earth active regions which have not been covered by existing ISTP missions, such as the near-earth plasma sheet and its boundary layer, the ring current, the radiation belts, the dayside magnetopause boundary layer, and the polar region; (2) to investigate he trigger mechanisms of magnetic storms, magnetospheric substorms, and magnetospheric particle storms, as well as the responses of geospace storms to solar activities and in terplanetary disturbances; (3) to set up the models describing the spatial and temporal variations of the near-earth space environment.To complete the mission, there are eight instruments on board the equatorial satellite and the polar satellite, respectively. The orbit of the equatorial satellite is proposed with a perigee at 550km and an apogee at 60 000km, and the inclination is about 28.5°; while the orbit of the polar satellite with a perigee at 700 km and an apogee at 40 000 km, as well as an inclination about 90°. The equatorial and polar satellites are planed to be launched into orbits in June 2003 and December 2003 respectively to take coordinating measurements with Cluster Ⅱ and other missions.     

基于剩余推进剂估算的卫星寿命预测方法

针对地球静止轨道卫星在轨寿命问题,提出了通过星上液体剩余推进剂计算分析卫星在轨寿命的方法,研究了工程中影响卫星在轨寿命的因素,给出了适用于工程的卫星寿命预测方法,并通过工程进行了验证.      

基于帝国竞争优化的双目标综合决策选星算法

全球卫星导航系统（GNSS）的应用前景已经得到世界各国的普遍承认,其应用领域也趋于多样化,在此背景下,卫星接收机也要求其具有更快的解算速度和可靠的精度。针对目前多数接收机的选星算法都是固定选星数目从而限制算法机动性的问题,提出基于帝国竞争优化算法（ICA）的双目标综合决策选星算法。为了更好获取几何构型较好的卫星星座,引入可见卫星的卫星仰角和方向角先验信息,进行先验性约束,通过构建几何精度因子（GDOP）以及选星数目2个目标,进行综合决策的快速选星,提高了选星的灵活度,并且在满足用户精度的要求下减轻了多星座卫星接收机的计算负担。通过仿真实验和实测数据对双目标综合决策选星算法验证的结果表明:所提算法在高度截止角5°下引入先验性约束条件后平均选星数目在仿真数据和实测数据中缩减率分别为51.8%和45.4%,平均GDOP值较无约束下分别减少0.209 2和0.248 4。同时,所提算法单次选星平均耗时分别为0.168 4 s和0.303 1 s,与遍历法的选星耗时4 s相比,提高了95.79%和92.42%。      

小卫星编队飞行及其轨道构成

由若干颗小卫星编队飞行组成一个分布式卫星 ,其功能相当或超过一颗大卫星 ,也称为虚拟卫星 ,这将开拓小卫星一个完全崭新的应用领域。文章首先论述编队飞行概念和轨道构成 ;其次讨论虚拟卫星可能的应用实例。     

以载荷为中心的暗物质探测卫星机电热一体化设计

暗物质粒子探测卫星是中国第一颗空间高能探测卫星,用于实现5GeV~10TeV大动态范围高能宇宙线（电子、正电子、伽马射线等）能谱测量.卫星有效载荷包括BGO量能器、硅阵列探测器、塑闪阵列探测器和中子探测器,是目前中国发射的载荷比最大的卫星.本文介绍了卫星相关技术方案,包括技术指标、轨道方案、工作模式及系统组成等,突出了其以载荷为中心的机电热一体化设计特点.      

“嫦娥4号”中继星使命轨道段定轨计算与分析

"嫦娥4号"中继星是"嫦娥4号"探测器实现月球背面着陆与巡视的关键,目前正稳定运行在地-月L2点使命轨道上,该使命轨道为平均周期约14天的南族Halo轨道。因任务的需要,中继星本体系+Z轴需调整指向,处于正对太阳和非正对太阳两种状态。太阳光压在中继星+Z轴对日的情况下会加速卫星的角动量累积,增加卫星卸载喷气频次。基于中继星使命轨道段测控支持条件,采用重叠弧段法对两种状态下的中继星定轨精度进行分析与评估。结果表明,在中继星+Z轴非对日运行状态下,重叠弧段位置误差为1.6 km,速度误差为8 mm/s;在中继星+Z轴对日运行状态下,重叠弧段位置误差为0.6 km,速度误差为3 mm/s,这对中继星的长期运行具有重要参考价值。     

The impact on tsunami detection from space using GNSS-reflectometry when combining GPS with GLONASS and Galileo

The devastating Sumatra tsunami in 2004 demonstrated the need for a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean. Such a system has been installed within the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) project. Tsunamis are a global phenomenon and for global observations satellites are predestined. Within the GITEWS project a feasibility study on a future tsunami detection system from space has therefore been carried out. The Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) is an innovative way of using GNSS signals for remote sensing. It uses ocean reflected GNSS signals for sea surface altimetry. With a dedicated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of satellites equipped with GNSS-R receivers, densely spaced sea surface height measurements could be established to detect tsunamis. Some general considerations on the geometry between LEO and GNSS are made in this simulation study. It exemplary analyzes the detection performance of a GNSS-R constellation at 900 km altitude and 60° inclination angle when applied to the Sumatra tsunami as it occurred in 2004. GPS is assumed as signal source and the combination with GLONASS and Galileo signals is investigated. It can be demonstrated, that the combination of GPS and Galileo is advantageous for constellations with few satellites while the combination with GLONASS is preferable for constellations with many satellites. If all three GNSS are combined, the best detection performance can be expected for all scenarios considered. In this case an 18 satellite constellation will detect the Sumatra tsunami within 17 min with certainty, while it takes 53 min if only GPS is considered.     

全球个人卫星移动通信系统

全球个人通信系统（ＰＣＳ）是一个发展中的新概念。１９９０年初开始提出利用静止轨道以外的其他轨道通信卫星的设想,最好是利用低轨道（ＬＥＯ）卫星。使用低轨道卫星就像把地面蜂窝网搬到天上,并能提供与之相仿的业务。文章评价了利用移动的和个人终端的通信卫星网;给出了未来低轨道卫星网的前景;对其中一些有关问题作了归纳。同时,描述了个人通信系统的功能性构成,并对一些网络的主要技术参数作表比较。     

Jitter reduction of a reaction wheel by management of angular momentum using magnetic torquers in nano- and micro-satellites

Nowadays, nano- and micro-satellites, which are smaller than conventional large satellites, provide access to space to many satellite developers, and they are attracting interest as an application of space development because development is possible over shorter time period at a lower cost. In most of these nano- and micro-satellite missions, the satellites generally must meet strict attitude requirements for obtaining scientific data under strict constraints of power consumption, space, and weight. In many satellite missions, the jitter of a reaction wheel degrades the performance of the mission detectors and attitude sensors; therefore, jitter should be controlled or isolated to reduce its effect on sensor devices. In conventional standard-sized satellites, tip-tilt mirrors (TTMs) and isolators are used for controlling or isolating the vibrations from reaction wheels; however, it is difficult to use these devices for nano- and micro-satellite missions under the strict power, space, and mass constraints. In this research, the jitter of reaction wheels is reduced by using accurate sensors, small reaction wheels, and slow rotation frequency reaction wheel instead of TTMs and isolators. The objective of a reaction wheel in many satellite missions is the management of the satellite’s angular momentum, which increases because of attitude disturbances. If the magnitude of the disturbance is reduced in orbit or on the ground, the magnitude of the angular momentum that the reaction wheels gain from attitude disturbances in orbit becomes smaller; therefore, satellites can stabilize their attitude using only smaller reaction wheels or slow rotation speed, which cause relatively smaller vibration. In nano- and micro-satellite missions, the dominant attitude disturbance is a magnetic torque, which can be cancelled by using magnetic actuators. With the magnetic compensation, the satellite reduces the angular momentum that the reaction wheels gain, and therefore, satellites do not require large reaction wheels and higher rotation speed, which cause jitter. As a result, the satellite can reduce the effect of jitter without using conventional isolators and TTMs. Hence, the satellites can achieve precise attitude control under low power, space, and mass constraints using this proposed method. Through the example of an astronomical observation mission using nano- and micro-satellites, it is demonstrated that the jitter reduction using small reaction wheels is feasible in nano- and micro-satellites.