Coverage Time Variation in a Near-Earth Data Relay Satellite System
- Paper number
IAC-06-B3.1.01
- Author
Mr. Robert Lundin, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The objectives of this paper are to understand the coverage time variation for a data relay satellite system (DRSS) due to different circular low-Earth orbits (LEO) defined by inclination and right-ascension of the ascending node (RAAN). It is of importance to understand this variation when designing a communications system for tele-presence (TP) in order to achieve real-time Earth observation or to use TP operations to replace human beings with robots in space. In order to analyze the coverage time variation for a DRSS an orbit analysis model has been developed and implemented in MATLAB to scan all possible circular orbits around Earth. The coverage time variation for a 500 km circular orbit is presented as well as the results for a 1000 km orbit. A comparison of the results for these two orbit altitudes shows a decrease in mean coverage time from 70-86 min for a 1000 km orbit to 56-72 min for a 500 km orbit. The upper value for the coverage time is for high inclined orbits and it decreases when going to a lower inclined orbit. The analysis shows that there are certain revolutions in high inclined orbits that will never experience any eclipses in the DRSS and these are the time slots to be used when optimizing the system to the coverage time.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B3.1.01.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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