A Novel Location-Awareness Method Using CubeSats for Locating the Spot Beam Emitters of Geostationary Communications Satellites

摘要

As more spacecraft are launched into the Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) belt, the possibility of fatal collisions or unnecessary interference between spacecraft increases. In this paper, a new location-awareness method that uses CubeSats is proposed to assist with radiofrequency (RF) domain verification by means of awareness and identification of the positions of the spot beam emitters of communications satellites in geostationary orbit. By flying a CubeSat (or a constellation of CubeSats) through the coverage area of a spot beam, the spot beam emitter's position is identified and the spot beam's pattern knowledge is characterized. The geometry, the equations of motion of the spacecraft, the measurement process, and the filtering equations in a location system are addressed with respect to the location methods investigated in this study. A realistic scenario in which a CubeSat receives signals from GEO communications satellites is simulated using the Systems Tool Kit (STK). The results of the simulation and the analysis presented in this study provide a thorough verification of the performance of the location-awareness method.