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High-precision repeat-groundtrack orbit design and maintenance for Earth observation missions

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Abstract

The focus of this paper is the design and station keeping of repeat-groundtrack orbits for Sun-synchronous satellites. A method to compute the semimajor axis of the orbit is presented together with a station-keeping strategy to compensate for the perturbation due to the atmospheric drag. The results show that the nodal period converges gradually with the increase of the order used in the zonal perturbations up to \(J_{15}\). A differential correction algorithm is performed to obtain the nominal semimajor axis of the reference orbit from the inputs of the desired nodal period, eccentricity, inclination and argument of perigee. To keep the satellite in the proximity of the repeat-groundtrack condition, a practical orbit maintenance strategy is proposed in the presence of errors in the orbital measurements and control, as well as in the estimation of the semimajor axis decay rate. The performance of the maintenance strategy is assessed via the Monte Carlo simulation and the validation in a high fidelity model. Numerical simulations substantiate the validity of proposed mean-elements-based orbit maintenance strategy for repeat-groundtrack orbits.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the editor and reviewers for their valuable suggestions to improve this manuscript. They are grateful to Dr. Martin Lara for providing his works and instructive overview on repeat-groundtrack orbit design, and to Laura Pirovano of the Universidad de La Rioja for her helpful discussion. The work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11172020), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (4153060), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Academic Excellence Foundation of BUAA for Ph.D. Students.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Astronautics, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Yanchao He, Ming Xu & Xianghua Jia

  2. Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom

    Roberto Armellin

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  1. Yanchao He
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  2. Ming Xu
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  3. Xianghua Jia
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  4. Roberto Armellin
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Correspondence to Ming Xu.

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He, Y., Xu, M., Jia, X. et al. High-precision repeat-groundtrack orbit design and maintenance for Earth observation missions. Celest Mech Dyn Astr 128, 275–294 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-017-9753-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-017-9753-0

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