COMMON-PERIOD FOUR-SATELLITE CONTINUOUS GLOBAL COVERAGE CONSTELLATIONS REVISITED

摘要

Global constellation coverage has been a topic of interest for many years. The Draim four-satellite continuous global coverage constellation offers improvement over traditional coverage constellations. We re-look at this constellation using new analytical search techniques, computational methods to assess the dynamic performance, and graphical depictions. Using the original orbits, we vary orbital parameters to determine how the constellation reacts to additional constraints. Evaluation criteria are expanded to include the number of satellites, distance from the earth, orbital regimes, conjunction probabilities, communication link margins, etc. Technical statistics of satellite access parameters and graphical depictions are also examined.