Satellite constellation design for complex missions
- Paper number
IAC-06-C1.P.8.03
- Author
Dr. Yuri Ulybyshev, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, Russia
- Year
2006
- Abstract
Most of the traditionally satellite constellation design methods are based, as a rule, on a consideration of a multiple zonal or global, continuous or discontinuous coverage associated with a visibility of points on the Earth surface. A new approach to design of satellite constellations for a given continuous or discontinuous target function is proposed. In the general case, the target function may be not related with the point coverage. For a specified circular orbit altitude and inclination, maps of the target function and a satellite constellation in a two-dimensional space can be presented. The dimensions of the space are longitude of ascending node and argument of latitude (or time). The map of a target function is a simply or multiple connected area and for a satellite constellation it is a moving grid. The area map can be generally non-convex in the space. An optimal satellite constellation configuration is corresponds to the maximum sparse grid for which, at any time (for a continuous case) or for a revisit time (for a discontinuous case), there is, at minimum, a grid vertex belongs to the area. The grid should be satisfying to integer-value constraints ( numbers of orbit planes and satellites per planes). Possibilities and complexity of use for the technique are shortly discussed. Computational geometry algorithms for Walker-type satellite constellations and simply connected, convex areas of target functions are described. Examples of satellite constellations for some complex missions are presented.
- Abstract document