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Geometrical approach for an optimal inter-satellite visibility

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A Correction to this article was published on 11 February 2022

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Abstract

In the field of satellite constellations, an important requirement is often represented by the possibility to exchange data among the satellites or exploit mutual visibility to carry out measurements on the parameters of the Earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, recursive and routing algorithms are usually implemented to evaluate inter-satellite visibility intervals. However, to design the configuration of the constellation, it is important to consider the orbital conditions that guarantee the mutual visibility between couples of satellites. Thus, in this study, a geometric analysis was performed to identify the optimal inter-satellite visibility conditions, expressed in terms of the difference in the true anomaly between satellites characterized by different orbital configurations. This approach allows a handy constellation design, without performing a numerical analysis. It is particularly useful in the case of a high number of satellites, when numerical techniques require significant computational effort. Therefore, it is possible to considerably simplify the design of a constellation in which the mutual visibility between couples of satellites is always guaranteed. This type of constellation, usually referred to as satellite chain, can be exploited in several network services and remote sensing systems devoted to enhancing the knowledge of atmospheric parameters.

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Acknowledgements

M.C. was supported by INdAM (Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica) via F46C18000040005 grant “HERMES Technological Pathfinder — HTP”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, 00133, Italy

    Marco Cinelli

  2. Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00138, Italy

    Emiliano Ortore & Christian Circi

  3. Scuola di Ingegneria Aerospaziale, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00138, Italy

    Giovanni Laneve

Authors
  1. Marco Cinelli
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  2. Emiliano Ortore
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  3. Giovanni Laneve
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  4. Christian Circi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emiliano Ortore.

Additional information

Marco Cinelli received his Ph.D. degree in 2017 at Sapienza University of Rome. He is a research fellow at the Department of Mathematics in Tor Vergata University of Rome for the Italian National Institute of High Mathematics (INdAM). He is currently involved in the High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) project: a mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for the realisation of a nano-satellite constellation.

Emiliano Ortore graduated in aerospace engineering (M.S. degree) and in astronautical engineering (M.S. degree) and pursued his Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. Since 2004, he has been working as a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome. Research fields: celestial mechanics; orbits and satellite constellations for Earth observation, telecommunication, and navigation; orbits for the observation of planets, moons, and asteroids; remote sensing applications.

Giovanni Laneve received the laurea degree in aeronautic engineering from the Università di Napoli, Naples, Italy, in 1985, and the laurea degree in aerospace engineering from the Università di Roma “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy, in 1988. From 1987 to 1991, he was a consultant at the Centro di Ricerca Progetto San Marco, where he was involved in the San Marco 5 satellite mission control and data analysis. At present, he is an associate professor at the School of Aerospace Engineering of the Sapienza University of Rome, and where, since 1998 he has been teaching the course of “Satellites remote sensing: Acquisition system and data processing methods”. He has produced more than 190 scientific papers. His past research activities include: aeronomy, satellite thermal control, and mission design. Currently, his main research interest concerns new algorithms for the exploitation of satellite images, satellite remote sensing applications for fire management, applications of satellite data for African regions, and studies on environmental and disaster monitoring. He is the scientist responsible for the Earth Observation Satellite Images Applications Lab (EOSIAL). The lab is devoted to developing applications based on the exploitation of satellite images.

Christian Circi is currently an associate professor in flight mechanics at the Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome. He received his M.S. degrees in aeronautical engineering and aerospace engineering, and pursued his Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. He worked as a researcher at the Grupo de Mecanica of Vuelo-Madrid (GMV), and a research assistant at the Department of Aerospace Engineering. He lecturers “Interplanetary trajectories” and “Flight mechanics of launcher” in the master’s degree course of space and astronautical engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. His principal research fields are as follows: third-body and solar perturbations, interplanetary and lunar trajectories, solar sail, orbits for planetary observation, and ascent trajectory of Launcher. He is an associate editor for the journals of Aerospace Science and Technology and the International Journal of Aerospace Engineering.

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Cinelli, M., Ortore, E., Laneve, G. et al. Geometrical approach for an optimal inter-satellite visibility. Astrodyn 5, 237–248 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-020-0099-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-020-0099-0

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