Effects of space weather on the ionosphere and LEO satellites’ orbital trajectory in equatorial,low and middle latitude

We study the effects of space weather on the ionosphere and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites’ orbital trajectory in equatorial, low- and mid-latitude (EQL, LLT and MLT) regions during (and around) the notable storms of October/November, 2003. We briefly review space weather effects on the thermosphere and ionosphere to demonstrate that such effects are also latitude-dependent and well established. Following the review we simulate the trend in variation of satellite’s orbital radius (r), mean height (h) and orbit decay rate (ODR) during 15 October–14 November 2003 in EQL, LLT and MLT. Nominal atmospheric drag on LEO satellite is usually enhanced by space weather or solar-induced variations in thermospheric temperature and density profile. To separate nominal orbit decay from solar-induced accelerated orbit decay, we compute $r\text{,}h$ and ODR in three regimes viz. (i) excluding solar indices (or effect), where $r=r_0\text{,}h=h_0$ and $\mathit{ODR}={\mathit{ODR}}_0$ (ii) with mean value of solar indices for the interval, where $r=r_m\text{,}h=h_m$ and $\mathit{ODR}={\mathit{ODR}}_m$ and (iii) with actual daily values of solar indices for the interval ($r\text{,}h$ and ODR). For a typical LEO satellite at h?=?450?km, we show that the total decay in r during the period is about 4.20?km, 3.90?km and 3.20?km in EQL, LLT and MLT respectively; the respective nominal decay ($r_0$) is 0.40?km, 0.34?km and 0.22?km, while solar-induced orbital decay ($r_m$) is about 3.80?km, 3.55?km and 2.95?km. h also varied in like manner. The respective nominal ${\mathit{ODR}}_0$ is about 13.5?m/day, 11.2?m/day and 7.2?m/day, while solar-induced ${\mathit{ODR}}_m$ is about 124.3?m/day, 116.9?m/day and 97.3?m/day. We also show that severe geomagnetic storms can increase ODR by up to 117% (from daily mean value). However, the extent of space weather effects on LEO Satellite’s trajectory significantly depends on the ballistic co-efficient and orbit of the satellite, and phase of solar cycles, intensity and duration of driving (or influencing) solar event.     

一种改进的LEO卫星网络路由策略

文章结合LEO卫星网络的拓扑结构和运行规律,提出了一种时延受限的最小耗费（DCLC）路由算法。仿真结果显示,相对于最短路由算法,该算法具有较低的呼叫阻塞率和切换失败率,以及更好的服务质量。同时能够平衡各链路负载,使整个卫星网络更稳定。     

基于局部洪泛优化的低轨星座分布式路由算法

针对传统分布式路由算法应用于大型低轨星座时拥塞控制能力有限的问题,提出了基于局部洪泛优化的分布式路由算法。该算法通过局部洪泛的机制收集星间链路的拥塞信息,以应对局部通信需求密集所导致的常见拥塞现象;通过局部路径优化,以较低运行开销实现了流量疏导和网络负载均衡。并且该算法可适用于多层低轨卫星网络结构,不会产生路由环路,对卫星随机故障具有宽适应性。仿真实验表明:该算法在通信需求分布不均的高网络负载情况下能降低2%~10%的丢包率,并对网络随机故障具有鲁棒的表现。     

面向导航增强的低轨星座设计与应用

随着传统产业升级和新兴技术的发展,社会生产和生活对分米级、厘米级的实时精准定位需求日益凸显。低轨卫星轨道高度低、信号强度大、短时间内几何构型变化快,因此应用低轨卫星开展导航增强服务成为研究热点。低轨卫星的增强服务性能依赖于星座的快速组网和设计,低轨卫星星座构型、轨道高度、轨道倾角等是影响其覆盖性能和增强性能的关键因素。全面分析了低轨星座设计的关键要素,包括轨道高度、轨道倾角和单星覆盖性、地面人口密度、空间环境等,在此基础上设计了单构型和复合构型低轨导航增强星座,并进一步分析低轨星座的覆盖性能。结果显示:复合低轨导航增强星座可以实现对全球的连续覆盖,同时满足极地高密度覆盖和低纬度的连续覆盖需求,对北斗导航系统的增强效果明显。     

载人航天天基测控通信探析

梳理了国内外空间站天基测控通信应用的概况,针对近地载人航天对测控通信系统的高要求,分析提出中继卫星系统的发展建议,以及导航卫星和低轨卫星星座系统的特点优势。调整中继卫星轨位、增加中继激光链路、采用全景波束全时监控模式,以及导航卫星和低轨卫星星座作为必要补充等途径,可为载人航天测控通信提供更好的灵活性、可用性和效费比。为载人航天天基测控通信发展提供了参考依据。     

适于低轨卫星IP网络的单核共享树组播算法(英文)

为了解决低轨卫星IP网络中现有典型源组播算法的信道资源浪费问题,本文提出了一套单核共享树组播算法,即核心群合并共享树(CCST)和加权核心群合并共享树(w-CCST)算法。CCST 算法包括动态近似中心(DAC)选核方法和核心群合并组播路径构建方法。DAC方法专为周期、规律运动的低轨卫星网络提出,不需要复杂的星上计算。在核心群合并方法中,以核节点作为初始核心群,通过核心群和剩余组成员的最短路径方法逐步扩展直至整棵组播树构建完成,从而使得组播树的树代价最小,大大提高了网络的带宽利用率和组播传输效率。w-CCST 算法中所提出的加权因子可以调整树代价和端到端传播时延之间的折衷程度,因此,可以通过调整加权因子来适度增大树代价、降低端到端传播时延以支持某些端到端时延要求苛刻的实时组播业务。最后,与低轨卫星 IP 网络中典型算法进行了性能比较,仿真结果说明,CCST 算法的平均树代价比其它算法显著降低,w-CCST 算法的平均端到端传播时延小于 CCST 算法。     

Core-based Shared Tree Multicast Routing Algorithms for LEO Satellite IP Networks

A new core-based shared tree algorithm, viz core-cluster combination-based shared tree （CCST） algorithm and the weighted version （i.e. w-CCST algorithm） are proposed in order to resolve the channel resources waste problem in typical source-based multicast routing algorithms in low earth orbit （LEO） satellite IP networks. The CCST algorithm includes the dynamic approximate center （DAC） core selection method and the core-cluster combination multicast route construction scheme. Without complicated onboard computation, the DAC method is uniquely developed for highly dynamic networks of periodical and regular movement. The core-cluster combination method takes core node as the initial core-cluster, and expands it stepwise to construct an entire multicast tree at the lowest tree cost by a shortest path scheme between the newly-generated core-cluster and surplus group members, which results in great bandwidth utilization. Moreover, the w-CCST algorithm is able to strike a balance between performance of tree cost and that of end-to-end propagation delay by adjusting the weighted factor to meet strict end-to-end delay requirements of some real-time multicast services at the expense of a slight increase in tree cost. Finally, performance comparison is conducted between the proposed algorithms and typical algorithms in LEO satellite IP networks. Simulation results show that the CCST algorithm significantly decreases the average tree cost against to the others, and also the average end-to-end propagation delay ofw-CCST algorithm is lower than that of the CCST algorithm.     

重力梯度力矩作用下近地卫星自旋运动规律分析

为研究近地卫星自旋运动规律，建立了近地卫星在受摄动影响的轨道上运行并受重力梯度力矩作用下的姿态运动模型，推导了自旋角速率满足一定条件下自旋运动的进动角、章动角、自旋角的解析解，对重力梯度作用下的自旋姿态运动规律进行了仿真分析，并用仿真计算结果验证了解析解的正确性。在轨道面缓慢进动情况下，当卫星绕最大主惯量轴自旋时，给出了自旋角速率取值范围表达式，在该取值范围内卫星自旋运动能够跟随轨道面一起进动，自旋轴以恒定的平均角速率进动，章动角在小范围内波动。建立的自旋姿态运动模型和分析结论可用于近地卫星姿态失控后的姿态确定和预测、在轨姿态设计及在轨备份等。     

Measuring atmospheric density using GPS–LEO tracking data

We present a method to estimate the total neutral atmospheric density from precise orbit determination of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. We derive the total atmospheric density by determining the drag force acting on the LEOs through centimeter-level reduced-dynamic precise orbit determination (POD) using onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking data. The precision of the estimated drag accelerations is assessed using various metrics, including differences between estimated along-track accelerations from consecutive 30-h POD solutions which overlap by 6 h, comparison of the resulting accelerations with accelerometer measurements, and comparison against an existing atmospheric density model, DTM-2000. We apply the method to GPS tracking data from CHAMP, GRACE, SAC-C, Jason-2, TerraSAR-X and COSMIC satellites, spanning 12 years (2001–2012) and covering orbital heights from 400 km to 1300 km. Errors in the estimates, including those introduced by deficiencies in other modeled forces (such as solar radiation pressure and Earth radiation pressure), are evaluated and the signal and noise levels for each satellite are analyzed. The estimated density data from CHAMP, GRACE, SAC-C and TerraSAR-X are identified as having high signal and low noise levels. These data all have high correlations with anominal atmospheric density model and show common features in relative residuals with respect to the nominal model in related parameter space. On the contrary, the estimated density data from COSMIC and Jason-2 show errors larger than the actual signal at corresponding altitudes thus having little practical value for this study. The results demonstrate that this method is applicable to data from a variety of missions and can provide useful total neutral density measurements for atmospheric study up to altitude as high as 715 km, with precision and resolution between those derived from traditional special orbital perturbation analysis and those obtained from onboard accelerometers.     

基于混合粒子滤波的载波估计算法

针对粒子滤波载波估计算法的高复杂度、粒子退化及贫化问题,提出了一种基于混合粒子滤波的载波估计方法.该方法引入多阶马尔科夫模型,采用多个非零均值高斯分布的加权和来近似重要性函数的最佳选择,并根据最大后验概率准则规范粒子的迭代计算.仿真结果表明,在非高斯噪声环境下,低轨卫星通信TDMA/DEQPSK(Time Division Multiple Address/Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying)数据帧非合作接收载波估计时,与基于经典粒子滤波的载波估计算法相比,提高了粒子"效率",在误码性能相当的情况下,有效降低了计算复杂度.