SAR regional all-azimuth observation orbit design for target 3D reconstruction

Three-dimensional(3D) synthetic aperture radar(SAR)extends the conventional 2D images into 3D features by several acquisitions in different aspects. Compared with 3D techniques via multiple observations in elevation, e.g. SAR interferometry(InSAR) and SAR tomography(TomoSAR), holographic SAR can retrieve 3D structure by observations in azimuth. This paper focuses on designing a novel type of orbit to achieve SAR regional all-azimuth observation(AAO) for embedded targets detection and holographic 3D reconstruction. The ground tracks of the AAO orbit separate the earth surface into grids. Target in these grids can be accessed with an azimuth angle span of360°, which is similar to the flight path of airborne circular SAR(CSAR). Inspired from the successive coverage orbits of optical sensors, several optimizations are made in the proposed method to ensure favorable grazing angles, the performance of 3D reconstruction, and long-term supervision for SAR sensors. Simulation experiments show the regional AAO can be completed within five hours. In addition, a second AAO of the same area can be duplicated in two days. Finally, an airborne SAR data process result is presented to illustrate the significance of AAO in 3D reconstruction.

Design of Geodetic SVLBI Satellite Orbit and Its Tracking Network

SVLBI （space very long baseline interferometry） has some important potential applications in geodesy and geodynamics, for which one of the most difficult tasks is to precisely determine the orbit of an SVLBI satellite. This work studies several technologies that will possibly be able to determine the orbit of a space VLBI satellite. Then, according to the types and charac- teristics of the satellite and the requirements for geodetic study and the geometry of the GNSS （GPS, GALILEO） satellite to track the space VLBI satellite, the six Keplerian elements of the SVLBI satellite （TEST-SVLBI） are determined. A program is designed to analyze the coverage area of space of different altitudes by the stations of the network, with which the tracking network of TEST-SVLBI is designed. The efficiency of tracking TEST-SVLBI by the network is studied, and the results are presented.

NEW METHOD OF FORMATION DESIGN FOR BOTH GMTI AND INSAR USING DISTRIBUTED SATELLITES

This letter proposes a method for designing a specific formation of satellites where the flying motion only exists in a circle orbit plane of the reference satellite, which means that the orbit eccentricity is zero. This method combines the Hill equation, the Kepler equation, and the geometrical inea^ing of orbit elements. It creates the redundancy condition to simplify the deducing process, utilizes multiple conditions to solve the orbit elements for the satellite formation, and obtains the analytical relationship of the orbit elements for the formation satellites with the formation parameters and the orbit elements of the reference satellite. Using these formulations, the orbit elements and formation parameters for the formation satellites can be solved for the given orbit elements of the reference satellite. The letter describes the proposed double-ellipse formation for both GMTI and InSAR, and the validity of the formation is demonstrated via simulation.

Trajectory and Correction Maneuver During the Transfer from Earth to Halo Orbit

This article addresses the design of the trajectory transferring from Earth to Halo orbit, and proposes a timing closed-loop strategy of correction maneuver during the transfer in the frame of circular restricted three body problem （CR3BP）. The relation between the Floquet multipliers and the magnitudes of Halo orbit is established, so that the suitable magnitude for the aerospace mission is chosen in terms of the stability of Halo orbit. The stable manifold is investigated from the Poincar6 mapping defined which is different from the previous researches, and six types of single-impulse transfer trajectories are attained from the geometry of the invariant manifolds. Based on one of the trajectories of indirect transfer which are ignored in the most of literatures, the stochastic control theory for imperfect information of the discrete linear stochastic system is applied to design the trajectory correction maneuver. The statistical dispersion analysis is performed by Monte-Carlo simulation,

Free return orbit design and characteristics analysis for manned lunar mission

A circumlunar free return orbit design model that satisfies manned lunar mission constraints is established. By combining analytical method with numerical method,a serial orbit design strategy from initial value design to precision solution is proposed. A simulation example is given,and the conclusion indicates that the method has excellent convergence performance and precision. According to a great deal of simulation results solved by the method,the free return orbit characters such as accessible moon orbit parameters,return orbit parameters,transfer delta velocity,etc. are analyzed,which can supply references to constitute manned lunar mission orbit scheme.

Point return orbit design and characteristics analysis for manned lunar mission

Point return orbit(PRO) of manned lunar mission is constrained by both lunar parking orbit and reentry corridor associated with reentry position.Besides,the fuel consumption and flight time should be economy.The patched conic equations which are adaptive to PRO are derived first,the PRO is modeled with fuel and time constraints based on the design variables of orbit parameters with clear physical meaning.After that,by combining analytical method with numerical method,a serial orbit design strategy from initial value design to precision solution is proposed.Simulation example indicates that the method has excellent convergence performance and precision.According to a great deal of simulation results by the method,the PRO characteristics such as Moon centered orbit parameters,Earth centered orbit parameters,transfer velocity change,etc.are analyzed,which can supply references to the manned lunar mission orbit scheme.

Overview of China’s 2020 Mars mission design and navigation

Scheduled for an Earth-to-Mars launch opportunity in 2020,the China’s Mars probe will arrive on Mars in 2021 with the primary objective of injecting an orbiter and placing a lander and a rover on the surface of the Red Planet.For China’s 2020 Mars exploration mission to achieve success,many key technologies must be realized.In this paper,China’s 2020 Mars mission and the spacecraft architecture are first introduced.Then,the preliminary launch opportunity,Earth–Mars transfer,Mars capture,and mission orbits are described.Finally,the main navigation schemes are summarized.

Orbit design and mission planning for global observation of Jupiter

This paper presents the method created by the National University of Defense Technology(NUDT)team in the 10th China Trajectory Optimization Competition,which entails a 3-year observation mission of 180 regions on Jupiter.The proposed method can be divided into three steps.First,a preliminary analysis and evaluation via an analytical method is undertaken to decide whether the third subtask of the mission,i.e.,exploring the Galilean moons,should be ignored.Second,a near-optimal orbit for magnetic field observation is designed by solving an analytical equation.Third,a set of observation windows and their sequence are optimized using a customized genetic algorithm.The final index obtained is 354.505,ranking second out of all teams partaking in the competition.

A simple method to design non-collision relative orbits for close spacecraft formation flying

A set of linearized relative motion equations of spacecraft flying on unperturbed elliptical orbits are specialized for particular cases, where the leader orbit is circular or equatorial. Based on these extended equations, we are able to analyze the relative motion regulation between a pair of spacecraft flying on arbitrary unperturbed orbits with the same semi-major axis in close formation. Given the initial orbital elements of the leader, this paper presents a simple way to design initial relative orbital elements of close spacecraft with the same semi-major axis, thus preventing collision under non-perturbed conditions. Considering the mean influence of J_2 perturbation, namely secular J_2 perturbation, we derive the mean derivatives of orbital element differences, and then expand them to first order. Thus the first order expansion of orbital element differences can be added to the relative motion equations for further analysis. For a pair of spacecraft that will never collide under non-perturbed situations, we present a simple method to determine whether a collision will occur when J_2 perturbation is considered. Examples are given to prove the validity of the extended relative motion equations and to illustrate how the methods presented can be used. The simple method for designing initial relative orbital elements proposed here could be helpful to the preliminary design of the relative orbital elements between spacecraft in a close formation, when collision avoidance is necessary.

Necessary and sufficient conditions of the rendezvous between a single spacecraft and three non-coplanar Walker constellation satellites

The probability of the rendezvous between a single spacecraft and three non-coplanar constellation satellites is studied,and the necessary and sufficient conditions of the rendezvous without orbital maneuver are deduced.The rendezvous orbit design can be transformed into the patching of two spacecraft orbits,either of which can achieve the rendezvous with two satellites.Firstly,due to the precious quality of spherical geometry,the unique existence of the rendezvous orbit for two constellation satellites is proved.Then,according to the difference between equispaced and non-equispaced orbital planes of three satellites,the necessary and sufficient conditions are given respectively,and the calculating method of the spacecraft orbit is proposed.At last,the constraint conditions between two different rendezvous orbits is derived,while the relative position of two groups of objects are under specific distribution.The results can be applied to the rendezvous between a single spacecraft and multiple constellation satellites without orbital maneuver.

Stable periodic orbits for spacecraft around minor celestial bodies

We are interested in stable periodic orbits for spacecraft in the gravitational eld of minor celestial bodies.The stable periodic orbits around minor celestial bodies are useful not only for the mission design of the deep space exploration,but also for studying the long-time stability of small satellites in the large-size-ratio binary asteroids.The irregular shapes and gravitational elds of the minor celestial bodies are modeled by the polyhedral model.Using the topological classi cations of periodic orbits and the grid search method,the stable periodic orbits can be calculated and the topological cases can be determined.Furthermore,we nd ve di erent types of stable periodic orbits around minor celestial bodies:(1)stable periodic orbits generated from the stable equilibrium points outside the minor celestial body;(2)stable periodic orbits continued from the unstable periodic orbits around the unstable equilibrium points;(3)retrograde and nearly circular periodic orbits with zero-inclination around minor celestial bodies;(4)resonance periodic orbits;(5)near-surface inclined periodic orbits.We take asteroids 243 Ida,433 Eros,6489 Golevka,101955 Bennu,and the comet 1P/Halley for examples.