GNSS radio tomography of the ionosphere: The problem with essentially incomplete data

We discuss the specific features of the spatiotemporal radio tomography of ionospheric electron density based on the data from high orbiting global navigational satellite system (GNSS). The main peculiarities are four-dimensionality of the problem and essential incompleteness of input data. The approach suggested for the solution of this problem is based on the search for the solution with minimal Sobolev’s norm (the most smooth solution), which provides, in particular, smooth extension of the solution to the area where no input data is available. Methods and algorithms for the solution of the problem are developed, and the resolution of the proposed technique is estimated. Examples of global and regional radio tomographic imaging based on GNSS data are presented. The obtained results are compared with the data of ionosondes and with the results of radio tomography based on the radio transmissions from low-orbiting satellites.     

GNSS water vapour tomography – Expected improvements by combining GPS,GLONASS and Galileo observations

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) operates a GNSS water vapour tomography system using about 350 German GNSS stations. The GNSS data processing at the GFZ works in near real-time and provides zenith total delays, integrated water vapour and slant delay data operationally. This large data set of more than 50,000 slant delays per hour is used to reconstruct spatially resolved humidity fields by means of tomographic techniques. It can be expected that additional observations from the future Galileo system provide more information with improved quality. A simulation study covering 12 h at 14 July 2009 was therefore started to estimate the impact of GPS, Galileo and GLONASS data on the GNSS tomography. It is shown that the spatial coverage of the atmosphere with slant paths is highly improved by combining observations from two or three satellite systems. Equally important for a reliable tomographic reconstruction is the distribution of slant path intersections as they are required to locate the integrated delay information. The number of intersection points can be increased by a factor of 4 or 8 if two or three systems are combined and their distribution will cover larger regions of the atmosphere. The combined data sets can be used to increase the spatiotemporal resolution of the reconstructed humidity fields up to 30 km horizontally, 300 m vertically and 15 min. The reconstruction quality could not be improved considerably using the currently available techniques.     

敏捷遥感卫星工作模式研究

综述了国外商业遥感卫星发展情况,归纳总结了高分辨率商业卫星的主要技术指标和特点。在充分调研国外敏捷遥感卫星的基础上,从成像目标需求、分辨率与幅宽关系、立体成像三方面总结出此类卫星的技术特点,阐述了发展敏捷遥感卫星的重要意义和作用,并深入分析了实现姿态敏捷控制的技术途径。利用姿态的敏捷控制能力,研究提出了多点目标成像、立体成像、宽幅拼接成像、动态扫描成像等4种典型工作模式,完成了敏捷卫星主要工作模式的分析与设计,并基于此工作模式要求,提出了敏捷卫星工程实现的技术途径。     

THE APPLICATION OF SATELLITE POSITIONING TECHNOLOGY AND ITS INDUSTRIALIZATION IN CHINA

Satellite positioning technology has been widely used in all kinds of military and civil land, marine, space and aeronautical target positioning tasks, naviga tion activities and accurate surveying measurements since 90 s in the last cen tury due to its advantage in providing all-weather, real-time, three dimensional and high precision positioning information, as well as speed and accurate timing information. By now, it has already formed a new hi-tech industry basically.This paper briefly reviews the development of the global satellite positioning and navigation technologies including the basic information of China's "Plough navigation system", introduces the history of satellite positioning technology and its major application fields as well as the status quo of this being industri alized trade in China, gives an account of the writers' vision for the application and prospect of the satellite positioning technologies in China, and approaches the tactics and stresses of the satellite positioning technology's application and its industrialization future in China.     

Introduction to Meridian Space Weather Monitoring Project

The Meridian Project is a ground- based network program to monitor solar-terrestrial space environment, which consists of a chain of ground-based observatories with multiple instruments including magnetometers, ionosondes, HF and VHF radar, Lidar, IPS monitors, sounding rockets etc. The chain is mainly located in the neighborhood of 120°E meridian, and is thus named the Meridian Project. It has officially been approved by the Chinese government and will be finished by 2009. This talk will give an overview of the Meridian Project and the proposed International Space Weather Meridian Circle Program.     

Space Weather Research in China

Recent progress in space weather research are briefly presented here from three aspects: establishment or improvement in observation systems, such as extra-soft X-ray detector and γ-ray detector onboard the spacecraft ‘Shen Zhou 2’, new solar radio broad-band spectrometer, magnetometer-chain, ionosonde and digisonde–chain, laser-lidar system and VHF radar; partial topic progresses included in CMEs, multi-streamer structures, evolution of interplanetary magnetic field B _z component, regional properties of traveling ionospheric disturbances, a fully-nonlinear global dynamical model for the middle and upper atmosphere, and a combined prediction method for geomagnetic disturbances; and space weather activity, such as ‘Meridian Project’ — a national major scientific project, ‘International Space Weather Meridian Circle Program’ — a suggestion of internationalization of ‘Meridian Project’, ‘Space Weather Research Plan’ — a major research plan from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) and other space weather activities. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dynamical Simulations of Plasmapause Deformations

Dynamical simulations have been developed at IASB-BIRA to model the deformations of the plasmasphere during geomagnetic substorms and other variations in the level of geomagnetic activity. The simulations are based on the mechanism of plasma instability and use the empirical Kp-dependent electric field E5D. The results of the simulations are compared with IMAGE observations that provide the first global comprehensive images of the Earth’s plasmasphere. The predicted plasmapause positions correspond generally rather satisfactorily with the EUV observations. The plasmasphere is rather extended in all MLT sectors during quiet periods. During or just after geomagnetic substorms, the plasmaspause is sharper and becomes closer to the Earth in the night sector. Periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity are associated to the formation of plumes that rotate with the plasmasphere. The simulations reproduce the formation and the motion of these plumes, as well as the development of other structures like shoulders observed at the plasmapause by EUV on IMAGE.     

GBAS在终端区的应用

地基增强系统（GBAS）是一个基于卫星导航技术,并且综合了地面、空中、机载三部分设备的集成系统。它是GNSS的增强系统。本文详细分析了GBAS的系统组成、功能、优点以及GBAS在终端区的应用。     

旋转失效卫星的运动观测及消旋接触方案设计

以旋转失效卫星的消旋为研究背景,提出一种双重光流约束的特征点运动跟踪识别方法。该方法利用双目视觉,可实现对非合作旋转失效卫星的运动观测,并为机械臂消旋操作提供接触方案。首先,跟踪识别序列图像中稳定存在的特征点并记录其轨迹,采用频域分析的方法检测特征点轨迹的变化频率,从而获取目标旋转角速度,通过地面物理实验,验证所提目标运动观测的有效性;随后,利用特征点轨迹分析目标的运动包络与适宜接触区域,并根据目标运动特性和接触消旋的时间约束,给出完成消旋的接触强度约束,继而得到机械臂的操作性能需求,为接触式消旋的工程实践提供参考。     

四维黎曼时空下脉冲星导航模型精度分析

考虑深空探测中广义相对论的影响,以适应纳秒量级的计时精度要求,本文针对航天器绕飞轨道,建立四维黎曼时空下带有时间转换项的脉冲星导航系统轨道动力学模型和四维观测模型,并基于无迹卡尔曼滤波方法设计脉冲星导航算法,针对模型中的时延项对导航精度的影响进行分析。分析结果表明:在时间转换模型中引力时延、航天器偏轨时延以及绕飞行星曲率时延等因素远大于航天器曲率时延对导航精度的影响,在量测模型中太阳系的引力远大于周年视差效应和脉冲星自行对导航精度的影响。