Continuous Coverage of Fixed Location on Earth by LEO Satellite Constellation

摘要

Continuous coverage of a fixed location on Earth with the constellation of LEO satellite is considered. Target's relative velocity on Earth with respect to the satellite is analyzed for different orbit altitudes and inclinations. Characteristics of footprint with respect to central angle, footprint overlap, and coverage area are analyzed. A closed-form solution for the selection of true anomaly and RAAN separations is obtained. Time period and access time are analyzed with respect to the ground location of the target for different inclinations in order to obtain maximum possible access time of the satellite. Effects of RAAN rate and orbit inclinations are analyzed with respect to the Earth relative velocity for continuously covering certain latitude zones of the Earth. The geometry of footprint overlap is analyzed, and a closed-form expression for the maximum effective coverage angle is obtained.