An Introduction to Mission Design for Geostationary Satellites

236 Pages·1987·5.045 MB·English

by  J. J. Pocha (auth.)

An Introduction to Mission Design
for Geostationary Satellites
SPACE TECHNOLOGY LIBRARY
Editorial Board
Editor-in-chief: JAMES R. WERTZ, Microcosm Inc., Torrance, CA
Editors: LANDIS MARKLEY, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center
HAROLD RHOADS, United States Air Force Academy
RAINER E. MUNCH, European Space Operations Center
DAVID CRISWELL, San Diego State University
An Introduction
to Mission Design for
Geostationary Satellites
by
J.J. Pocha
British Aerospace, Space and Communications Division,
Steven age, u.K.
D. Reidel Publishing Company
A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP
Dordrecht / Boston / Lancaster / Tokyo
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Pocha, J. J. (Jehangir. J.), 1945-
An introduction to mission design for geostationary satellites.
(Space technology library)
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Geostationary satellites. 2. Artificial satellites in telecommunica
tion. I. Title II. Series.
TK5104.P63 1987 621.38'0423 87-4909
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-8215-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-3857-1
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-3857-1
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company,
P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland.
Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada
by Kluwer Academic Publishers,
101 Philip Drive, Assinippi Park, Norwell, MA 02061, U.S.A.
In all other countries, sold and distributed
by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group,
P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, Holland.
All Rights Reserved
© 1987 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1987
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
This work is dedicated to my wife, Meher,
and to my children, Cyrus and Shirin.
Foreword
James R. Wertz
Managing Editor, Space Technology Library
In 1945 Arthur C. Clarke first proposed the use of satellites in geostationary
orbits as a means of achieving advanced communications. That concept has proved
remarkably successful and now the geostationary ring is the single most common
orbit for unmanned spacecraft. It is the cornerstone of a major communications
revolution which has seen the cost of a telephone call between Europe and North
America drop by a factor of more than ten in a fifteen year period. Geostationary
satellites have brought modern communications to many areas of the world where
they had never been before, and brought the world closer together for all of us.
Nearly instantaneous telecommunications from around the world have become so
commonplace as to go practically unnoticed on the evening news.
The effective utilisation of this major resource requires an understanding of
both satellite technology and the mission planning, analysis, and operations required
to launch and maintain geostationary satellites. It is this latter area which is clearly
presented to us by Jehangir Pocha in this volume. Dr. Pocha provides us with the
basic information needed to analyse, plan, and carry out a geosynchronous mission
from launch, through orbit transfer and station acquisition, to station-keeping and
on-orbit operations. Dr. Pocha's many years with the Dynamics Department of
British Aerospace's Space and Communications Division, a major supplier of geo
stationary satellites for the world market, have provided him with the practical
experience so essential to understanding the issues involved. This book serves as a
valuable guide to anyone interested in geostationary satellites, from those approach
ing space technology for the first time to experienced system engineers in need of a
ready reference for this important class of missions.
This book inaugurates a new series by D. Reidel - the Space Technology
Library. In most areas of science and technology, leadership and knowledge have
come from the academic community where the preparation of technical books is
a well-established tradition. Largely because of the high costs of space exploration,
much of the progress in space technology over the last 30 years has come from
industry, and government laboratories. Space technology does not have the wealth
of strong technical books which provide the intellectual foundation for most other
fields of science and engineering. It is our hope that the Space Technology Library,
in conjunction with individuals and groups from far-sighted organisations such as
BAe, can begin to fill this major gap in the technical literature. Providing as it does
the analytic basis for the most fully developed and utilised type of space mission,
this volume is a superb and most appropriate beginning.
vii
Table of Contents
Foreword vii
Preface xiii
List of Acronyms xv
1. Introduction 1
1 .1 Further Reading 6
2. Launch 7
2.1 Launch Vehicles 7
2.1.1 Introduction 7
2.1.2 Launch Vehicle Characteristics 9
2.1.3 Reliability 14
2.2 The Launch Window 15
2.2.1 Launch Window Constraints 15
2.2.2 Launch Window Derivation 17
2.2.3 Launch Window for Shuttle Launch 23
2.2.4 Launch Window for Ariane Launch 25
2.3 The Launch Sequence 26
2.4 The Injection Error Covariance Matrix 27
2.5 Further Reading 28
3. Transfer Orbit 29
3.1 Introduction 29
3.2 Orbit Optimisation for Spacecraft with Solid Propellant
Apogee Motors 31
3.2.1 Optimising the Transfer Orbit for a Free Drift Mission 34
3.3 Orbit Optimisation for Spacecraft with Liquid Propellant Apogee
Engines 38
3.4 Ground Station Coverage 41
3.4.1 Tracking and Orbit Determination 41
3.4.2 Telemetry Monitoring 42
3.4.3 Thruster and Sensor Calibration 42
3.4.4 Appendage Deployment 42
3.4.5 Spin-UpjSpin-Down Manoeuvres 42
3.4.6 Reorientation, or Slew, Manoeuvres 43
3.4.7 Orbit Adjust Manoeuvres 44
3.4.8 Apogee Manoeuvre(s) 44
3.4.9 Coverage Limitations 44
3.4.10 Coverage Analysis 45
3.5 Orbit Determination Requirements 48
4. The Apogee Manoeuvre 51
4.1 Introduction 51
4.2 Solid Propellant Apogee Motors 52
4.2.1 Apogee Motor Firing Strategy 52
4.2.2 Apogee Motor Firing 54
x Table of Contents
4.3 The Liquid Propellant Apogee Engine 59
4.3.1 Apogee Engine Firing 60
4.3.1.1 The Single-Burn Strategy 60
4.3.1.2 The Multi-Burn Strategy 61
4.3.1.3 Analysis Techniques 63
4.3.2 Operational Considerations 64
4.4 Further Reading 66
5. Drift Orbit 67
5.1 Introduction 67
5.2 Station Acquisition 68
5.3 Station Acquisition Error Analysis for Spacecraft with Solid
Propellant Apogee Motors 68
5.4 Station Acquisition Error Analysis for Spacecraft with Liquid
Propellant Apogee Engines 73
5.4.1 Statement of the Problem 73
5.4.2 The Method of Solution 74
5.5 Station Initialisation 75
5.6 Ground Station Coverage 76
5.7 Orbit Determination Accuracy Requirements 76
5.8 Further Reading 79
6. Station-Keeping 80
6.1 Introduction 80-
6.2 East-West Station-Keeping 81
6.2.1 Triaxiality 81
6.2.1.1 The Physical Mechanism 81
6.2.1.2 Satellite Kinematics 83
6.2.2 Solar Radiation Pressure 88
6.2.2.1 The Physical Mechanism 88
6.2.2.2 Satellite Kinematics 90
6.2.3 Manoeuvre Strategies 97
6.2.3.1 Synthesis of Manoeuvre Strategies 97
6.2.3.2 The One-Burn Strategy 99
6.2.4 Error Analysis 99
6.2.4.1 Execution Errors 100
6.2.4.2 Tracking Errors 100
6.2.4.3 Modelling Errors 101
6.2.4.4 Synthesis of Errors 101
6.3 North-South Station-Keeping 103
6.3.1 The Physical Mechanism 103
6.3.2 Orbit Mechanics 103
6.3.3 The Manoeuvre Strategies 109
6.3.3.1 "OLYMPUS" North-South Station-Keeping 11 1
6.3.3.2 The Free-Drift Strategy 114
6.3.4 Error Analysis 117
6.3.5 Plume Impingement 118
Table of Cgntents xi
6.4 The Station-Keeping of Spacecraft Clusters 118
6.4.1 Cluster Geometries 119
6.4.2 Evolution of Cluster Orbits 121
6.4.3 Cluster Station-Keeping 123
6.4.4 Orbit Determination 125
6.5 Future Trends and Requirements 126
6.6 Further Reading 128
Spacecraft Operations 130
7.1 Introduction 130
7.2 Pre-Launch Activities 131
7.2.1 Launch Vehicle Interface Activities 131
7.2.2 Spacecraft-Specific Software 131
7.2.3 Assessment of the Flight Operations Plan 132
7.2.4 Rehearsals and Training 133
7.2.5 Negotiations and Liaison 133
7.3 Post-Launch Activities 133
7.3.1 The Transfer Orbit Phase 134
7.3.2 The Drift Orbit Phase 134
7.3.3 The Pre-Operational Phase 135
7.3.4 The Operational Phase 135
7.3.5 The End-of- Life Phase 136
7.3.6 General Comments 136
Orbit Propagation 138
8.1 Introduction 138
8.2 Orbit Perturbations 139
8.2.1 The Earth's Gravitational Potential 140
8.2.2 Luni-Solar Perturbations 142
8.2.3 Aerodynamic Drag 144
8.2.4 Solar Radiation Pressure 145
8.2.5 Spacecraft Manoeuvres 147
8.3 Cowell's Method 149
8.4 The Variation of Parameters Method 150
8.5 Orbit Integration Schemes 153
8.5.1 Introduction 153
8.5.2 Runge-Kutta Methods 155
8.5.3 Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg Method 156
8.5.4 Multi-Step Methods 157
8.5.5 Predictor-Corrector Methods 158
8.5.6 Round-off Error 160
8.6 Further Reading 162
Tracking and Orbit Determination 164
9.1 In trod uction 164
9.2 Tracking 165
9.2.1 Types of Measurement 165
xii Table of Contents
9.2.1.1 Range 165
9.2.1.2 Range Rate 169
9.2.1.3 Angular Position 170
9.2.2 Tracking Networks 171
9.2.2.1 NASA 171
9.2.2.2 ESA 173
9.2.2.3 Intelsat/Comsat 176
9.2.2.4 Telesat 176
9.2.2.5 CNES 176
9.2.2.6 U.S. Air Force Satellite Control Facility 176
9.3 Orbit Determination 181
9.3.1 First Acquisition Orbit Determination 181
9.3.2 Orbit Refinement 185
9.3.2.1 The Weighted Least-Squares Method 185
9.3.2.2 The Extended Kalman Filter Method 190
9.3.3 Orbit Determination Error Estimation 196
9.4 Further Reading 197
10. Spacecraft Stability 199
10.1 Introduction 199
10.2 Stability in Parking Orbit 200
10.3 Analytic Methods 202
10.4 Test Methods 202
10.5 Mission Design 207
10.6 Stability in Transfer Orbit 208
10.7 On-Station Stability 211
10.8 Conclusions 212
10.9 Further Reading 212
Appendix A 214
Index 217