Spacecraft potential variations of the Swarm satellites at low Earth orbital altitudes

In this study, we provide the first detailed analysis of variations in the spacecraft potential (Vs) of the three Swarm satellites, which are flying at about 400-500 km. Unlike previous studies that have investigated extreme charging events, usually with spacecraft potentials as negative as −100 V, this study is focused on variations of Swarm Vs readings, which fall within a few negative volts. The Swarm observations show that spacecraft at low Earth orbital (LEO) altitudes are charged only slightly negatively, varying between −7 V and 0 V, with the majority of recorded potentials at these altitudes clustering close to −2 V. However, a second peak of Vs data is found at −5.5 V, though the event numbers for these more-negative observations are less, by an order of magnitude, than for incidents near the −2 V peak. These two distinct Vs peaks suggest two different causes. We have thus divided the Swarm spacecraft Vs data into two categories: less-negatively charged (−5 < Vs < 0 V) and more-negatively-charged (−6.5 < Vs < −5 V). These two Vs categories exhibit different spatial and temporal distributions. The Vs observations in the first category remain relatively closer to 0 V above the magnetic equator, but become much more negative at low and middle latitudes on the day side;at high latitudes, these first-category Vs readings are relatively more-negative during local summer. Second-category Vs events cluster into two bands at the middle latitudes (between ±20°-50° magnetic latitude), but with slightly more negative readings at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region;at high latitudes, these rarer but more-negative second-category Vs events exhibit relatively more-negative values during local winter, which is opposite to the seasonal pattern seen in the first category. By comparing Vs data to the distributions of background plasma density at Swarm altitudes, we find for the first category that more-negative Vs readings are recorded at regions with higher background plasma density, while for the second category the more-negative Vs data are observed at regions with lower background plasma density. This can be explained as follows: the electron and ion fluxes incident on Swarm surface, whose differences determine the potential of Swarm, are dominated by the background “cold” plasma (due to ionization) and “hot” plasma (due to precipitated particles from magnetosphere) for the two Vs categories, respectively.

Atmospheric Remnants in the Low Earth Orbit Region around 200 km Altitude

Study of atmospheric remnants in the low Earth orbit region (~200 km altitude) using Global Models, with application to electric thrusters of in situ resources utilization type.

GNSS rapid precise point positioning enhanced by low Earth orbit satellites

The Low Earth Orbit(LEO)satellites can be used to efectively speed up Precise Point Positioning(PPP)convergence.In this study,180 LEO satellites with a global distribution are simulated to evaluate their contribution to the PPP convergence.LEO satellites can give more redundant observations and improve satellite geometric distributions,particularly for a single Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS).The convergence speed of the PPP foat solution using the Global Positioning System(GPS,G)or BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS,C)single system as well as the G/C/Galileo navigation satellite system(Galileo,E)/GLObal NAvigation Satellite System(GLONASS,R)combined system with LEO satellites added is improved by 90.0%,91.0%,and 90.7%,respectively,with respect to the system without LEO satellites added.We introduced LEO observations to assist GNSS in PPP-AR(Ambiguity Resolution)and PPP-RTK(Real Time Kinematic).The success fx rate of a single system is signifcantly improved,and the Time-To-First-Fix(TTFF)of G and G/C/E is reduced by 86.4%and 82.8%,respectively,for the PPP-AR solution.We analyzed the positioning performance of LEO satellite assisted G/C/E PPP-RTK in the reference networks of diferent scales,namely diferent atmospheric delay interpolation accuracies.The success fx rate of the G/C/E combined system is improved from 86.8 to 94.9%,and the TTFF is reduced by 36.8%,with the addition of LEO satellites in the 57 km reference network.In the 110 km reference network,the success fx rate of the G/C/E combined system is improved from 64.0 to 88.6%,and the TTFF is reduced by 32.1%.GNSS PPP-RTK with adding the LEO satellites in the reference networks of diferent scales shows obvious improvement because the atmospheric correlation decreases with increasing distance from the reference networks.

Damage behavior of atomic oxygen on CVD SiC coating-modified carbon/carbon composite in low earth orbit environment

In this work, samples of carbon/carbon(C/C) and chemical vapor deposited(CVD) SiC-coated C/C samples were investigated to understand the AO damage mechanism in low Earth orbit(LEO) environment. The ground-based simulated atomic oxygen(AO) generator was employed. Results indicate that the CVD SiC coating exhibited improved radiation resistance properties against AO radiation as evidenced by a 16%better strength retention ratio, 60% less mass ablation, and increased strength stability. The magnitude of these influences affected the surface morphology, as observed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and surface resistance meter test results. The variations in the surface constituents were confirmed by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) results. The main products left on surface after AO exposure are SiO2 and SiCxOyfilm. Additionally, Si atoms are found to be the preferential reacting element in the SiC coating, and this process is accompanied by graphite precipitation, grain growth, and crack necking. Also, the damage mechanism of the AO-exposed SiC coating was revealed and is discussed.

Signal acquisition of Luojia-1A low earth orbit navigation augmentation system with software defined receiver

Low Earth Orbit(LEO)satellite navigation signal can be used as an opportunity signal in the case of a Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)outage,or as an enhancement by means of traditional GNSS positioning algorithms.No matter which service mode is used,signal acquisition is a prerequisite for providing enhanced LEO navigation services.Compared with the medium orbit satellite,the transit time of the LEO satellite is shorter.Thus,it is of great significance to expand the successful acquisition time range of the LEO signal.Previous studies on LEO signal acquisition are based on simulation data.However,signal acquisition research based on real data is crucial.In this work,the signal characteristics of LEO satellites:power space density in free space and the Doppler shift of LEO satellites are individually studied.The unified symbolic definitions of several integration algorithms based on the parallel search signal acquisition algorithm are given.To verify these algorithms for LEO signal acquisition,a Software Defined Receiver(SDR)is developed.The performance of these integration algorithms on expanding the successful acquisition time range is verified by the real data collected from the Luojia-1A satellite.The experimental results show that the integration strategy can expand the successful acquisition time range,and it will not expand indefinitely with the integration duration.The performance of the coherent integration and differential integration algorithms is better than the other two integration algorithms,so the two algorithms are recommended for LEO signal acquisition and a 20 ms integration duration is preferred.The detection threshold of 2.5 is not suitable for all integration algorithms and various integration durations,especially for the Maximum-to-Mean Ratio indicator.

Information gain based sensor search scheduling for low-earth orbit constellation estimation

This paper addresses the problem of sensor search scheduling in the complicated space environment faced by the low-earth orbit constellation.Several search scheduling methods based on the commonly used information gain are compared via simulations first.Then a novel search scheduling method in the scenarios of uncertainty observation is proposed based on the global Shannon information gain and beta density based uncertainty model.Simulation results indicate that the beta density model serves a good option for solving the problem of target acquisition in the complicated space environments.

Design of low-energy transfer from lunar orbit to asteroid in the Sun-Earth-Moon system

Asteroid exploration trajectories which start from a lunar orbit are investigated in this work.It is assumed that the probe departs from lunar orbit and returns to the vicinity of Earth,then escapes from the Earth by performing a perigee maneuver.A low-energy transfer in Sun-EarthMoon system is adopted.First,the feasible region of lowenergy transfer from lunar orbit to perigee within 5 000 km height above the Earth surface in Sun-Earth-Moon system is calculated and analyzed.Three transfer types are found,i.e.,large maneuver and fast transfers,small maneuver and fast transfers,and disordered and slow transfers.Most of feasibility trajectories belong to the first two types.Then,the lowenergy trajectory leg from lunar orbit to perigee and a heliocentric trajectory leg from perigee to asteroid are patched by a perigee maneuver.The optimal full-transfer trajectory is obtained by exploiting the differential evolution algorithm.Finally,taking 4179 Toutatis asteroid as the target,some low-energy transfer trajectories are obtained and analyzed.

Low Altitude Satellite Constellation for Futuristic Aerial-Ground Communications

This paper discusses the significance and prospects of low altitude small satellite aerial vehicles to ensure smooth aerial-ground communications for next-generation broadband networks.To achieve the generic goals of fifthgeneration and beyondwireless networks,the existing aerial network architecture needs to be revisited.The detailed architecture of low altitude aerial networks and the challenges in resource management have been illustrated in this paper.Moreover,we have studied the coordination between promising communication technologies and low altitude aerial networks to provide robust network coverage.We talk about the techniques that can ensure userfriendly control and monitoring of the low altitude aerial networks to bring forth wireless broadband connectivity to a new dimension.In the end,we highlight the future research directions of aerial-ground communications in terms of access technologies,machine learning,compressed sensing,and quantum communications.

广播星历旋转误差对低轨星载BDS-3/GPS实时精密定轨影响分析

基于LT-01A卫星星载BDS-3/GPS观测值进行了星载实时精密定轨研究,并重点分析了广播星历旋转误差对实时定轨精度的影响。通过赫尔默特转换评估了所选时段内GPS和BDS-3广播星历轨道旋转误差,显示BDS-3广播星历旋转误差可达-8.7 mas,平均量级较GPS大约2.5倍。BDS-3广播星历经旋转改正后,轨道切向、法向均方根(RMS)误差从25 cm左右提升至10 cm量级,提升幅度超过50%。因此,基于星载BDS-3以及BDS-3/GPS联合的实时定轨精度受BDS-3星历旋转误差影响严重,且主要作用于切向和法向。经过旋转改正后,单独BDS-3实时定轨在切向、法向、径向RMS分别为21.0 cm、10.7 cm及11.2 cm,其切向和法向精度比改正前分别提升15.0%和31.8%;BDS-3与GPS联合定轨进一步提升切向精度至19.4 cm。得益于BDS-3广播星历较高的精度,单BDS-3以及BDS-3/GPS联合的实时定轨在旋转改正前的三维RMS分别为31.9 cm和29.2 cm,较单GPS实时定轨分别提升9.1%和16.8%;添加旋转改正后,其定轨精度分别提升至26.7 cm和25.0 cm,较单GPS实时定轨分别提升22.6%和27.5%。

手机直连低轨卫星的应用场景及业务需求分析

手机直连卫星是低轨(low earth orbiting,LEO)星座系统的重要应用方向之一。概述了手机直连卫星的主要技术路线、应用场景及业务类型;分析了低轨星座的建设成本、承载能力、运营收入;提出了我国手机直连卫星通信的主要应用应以广覆盖、海量连接为主,而卫星大流量宽带上网应用存在商业闭环的风险;最后探讨了结合应用需求的技术发展建议。

HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响

通常使用无电离层(IF)线性组合(LC)消除低地球轨道(LEO)卫星简化动力学精密定轨(POD)一阶电离层延迟误差,忽略了高阶电离层(HOI)延迟误差。随着LEO卫星POD技术的发展,计算不同轨道高度的HOI延迟并探索其变化已成为进一步提高POD精度的重要手段。首先,使用国际参考电离层-2016(IRI-2016)和国际地磁参考场第13代(IGRF-13)模型,计算电离层穿刺点(IPP)位置和地磁场强度。其次,使用平滑星载GNSS数据计算电离层斜路径总电子含量(STEC)。然后,分别计算GOCE、GRACE-A和SWARM-A/B卫星的二阶和三阶电离层延迟。最后,评估了HOI延迟对LEO卫星重叠轨道分析、卫星激光测距(SLR)检核和精密科学轨道(PSO)比较结果的影响。实验结果表明:HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响大约在毫米至厘米的数量级上;HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD外符合精度的影响分别达到0.92,0.22,0.21和0.18 mm;随着LEO卫星轨道高度的增加,HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响减小。

面向用户需求的低轨卫星资源分配算法

低轨(LEO)卫星多波束通信场景下,传统固定资源分配算法无法满足不同用户对信道容量的差异需求。以适应用户需求分配为主要目标,建立联合信道分配、带宽分配和功率分配的最小供需差优化模型,并引入图样分割多址接入技术(PDMA)提升信道资源的利用率。针对该模型的非凸特性,通过Q-learning算法学习资源分配最优策略为每个用户分配适合的信道容量,并引入奖励阈值进一步改进算法,加快算法的收敛,且使算法达到收敛时供需差异更小。仿真结果表明,改进后的算法收敛速度约是改进前的3.33倍:改进算法能满足更大的用户需求,比改进前Qlearning算法提升14%,是传统固定算法的2.14倍。

面向低轨卫星的星地信道模型综述

低轨卫星(LEO)具备通信时延低、部署成本低、覆盖范围广的特点,已经成为了建设未来空天地一体化网络的重要组成部分。然而卫星通信中端到端传播距离长、经历衰落复杂、终端移动速度快,其信道特性与地面蜂窝网络信道具有很大差异。基于此,为了对低轨卫星星地信道特性以及信道模型有较为全面的认识,该文总结了目前国际标准组织对星地信道的标准化进展,讨论了星地信道在不同传播位置处的衰落特性,根据建模方法对已有的重要信道模型进行了划分与阐述,最后对未来的工作提出了展望。

近地轨道质子和α粒子入射InP产生的位移损伤模拟

磷化铟(InP)材料具有禁带宽度大、电子迁移率高、耐高温、抗辐照等优点,是制备航天器电子器件的优良材料.近地轨道内的质子和α粒子对近地卫星威胁巨大,其在InP电子器件中产生的位移损失效应是导致InP电子器件电学性能下降的主要因素.本文使用蒙特卡罗软件Geant4研究近地轨道的质子与α粒子分别经过150μm二氧化硅和2.54 mm铝层屏蔽后,在500/1000/5000μm InP材料中产生的非电离能量损失(non-ionizing energy loss,NIEL)、平均非电离损伤能随深度分布以及年总非电离损伤能.研究发现:低能质子射程短且较易发生非电离反应,入射粒子能谱中低能粒子占比越大,材料厚度越小,NIEL值越大;计算质子和α粒子年总非电离损伤能,质子的年总非电离损伤能占比达98%,表明质子是近地轨道内产生位移损伤的主要因素;α粒子年总非电离损伤能占比小,但其在InP中的NIEL约为质子的2-10倍,应关注α粒子在InP中产生的单粒子位移损伤效应.本文计算为InP材料在空间辐射环境的应用提供了参考依据.

面向导航增强的低轨卫星钟差确定及预报方法研究

低轨导航增强是未来导航发展的重要趋势,而高精度低轨卫星钟差是实现低轨导航增强的必要条件。基于Sentinel-6A卫星,对低轨卫星钟差特性进行了分析,给出了钟差确定方法及影响因素,介绍了顾及钟差特性的低轨卫星钟差预报方法。实验表明,低轨卫星钟差含有多个周期项,给低轨卫星建模和预报带来了困难。与使用运动学定轨模型相比,基于简化动力学的定轨模型可显著提升低轨卫星钟差精度;当基于运动学模型确定低轨卫星钟差时,相较于使用GPS单系统数据,多GNSS观测数据可提升低轨卫星钟差精度。研究表明,基于GPS和Galileo观测的Sen-tinel-6A卫星钟差精度相较于GPS单系统钟差精度改善了36%,同时,所使用的GNSS产品精度与低轨卫星钟差精度密切相关。利用顾及卫星钟差特性的低轨卫星钟差预报方法,当预报时长小于1min,低轨卫星钟差预报精度(预报与解算值之差的RMSE)在0.1ns之内,当预报时长小于5min,预报精度在0.3ns之内,随着预报时长的增长,预报精度显著下降。

手机直连低轨卫星通信:架构、关键技术和未来展望

借助低轨卫星星座全时全域覆盖优势,手机直连卫星通信预期成为6G重要特征之一。首先介绍了手机直连卫星的测试验证、标准化与商业项目发展现状。其次,介绍了基于透明转发、部分可再生处理、完全可再生处理、集成接入和回传的四种手机直连低轨卫星网络架构及组网方式。通过分析手机直连低轨卫星网络场景下高移动性与大传输时延等带来的接入与传输问题,提出对地面移动通信体制进行适应性改进的关键技术方案。最后,探讨了未来手机直连低轨卫星发展发向和潜在思路。通过上述阐述与分析,提供未来发展手机直连低轨卫星通信的可行路径。

低轨卫星与5G-R融合网络架构设计

由于地面网络覆盖不均匀,信号质量不够稳定,无法实现铁路交通网络的全程、快速、实时监测,阻碍了我国铁路交通网络的快速发展。同时,低轨卫星通信与地面5G的融合成为热点,二者的融合能够使卫星网络作为地面网络的有效补充。当前星地融合较少用于5G-R技术场景中。本文梳理了铁路卫星通信以及星地融合网络的研究现状与发展趋势;分析了铁路通信系统中各业务的通信需求。在此基础上,提出低轨卫星与5G-R融合网络架构。在弥补铁路通信网络覆盖盲区的同时,提供大容量的信息回传,有效保障铁路交通的安全运行,实现铁路交通的信息化、智能化管理。

一种基于Madgwick-EKF融合算法的卫星姿态测量方法

针对低地球轨道卫星姿态测量时,传感器易受噪声干扰、陀螺仪漂移等问题,提出一种基于Madgwick扩展卡尔曼滤波合算法(EKF)的卫星姿态测量方法。该方法采用陀螺仪、加速度计、磁强计等多传感器数据进行融合,并结合Madgwick算法和EKF算法的优点,实现姿态测量。首先,通过Madgwick算法,利用多个传感器测量数据计算初始姿态。然后,基于初始姿态和实际测量数据,应用EKF算法进行数据融合和噪声滤除,以获得最终准确的姿态估计。实验结果表明:相较Madgwick算法,本算法在测量精度上提升了65.8%,且具有较高的鲁棒性,为低地球轨道卫星姿态测量提供了一种有效的方案。

巨型星座路由技术综述

针对当前卫星星座巨型化趋势,分析巨型星座的特点,从组网传输和业务需求两方面总结巨型星座路由的能力要求,包含信令开销、负载均衡、故障处理、QoS保障等4个方面,并针对性地分析适用于巨型星座的路由方法、典型算法及其表现。展望软件定义网络、区域划分、人工智能、算力路由等4种支撑巨型星座路由的相关技术方向,以期对6G卫星互联网建设提供参考。

低轨卫星网络服务质量保障路由方法综述

随着无线电和卫星小型化技术的进一步成熟,大规模低轨卫星网络得到了长足发展,面对网络传输业务的时延、带宽、丢包率等服务质量的差异化需求,如何在低轨卫星网络中实现服务质量保障路由,成为了研究关注的关键问题。通过介绍低轨卫星网络服务质量保障路由的场景与需求,总结并分析了当前的研究成果。首先,针对传统网络中的服务质量保障路由算法,总结了三类经典的路由计算方法。然后,对于软件定义网络和确定性网络中的服务质量保障路由算法,结合各自的网络特点,分析总结了各自场景下的路由算法。