Autonomous Orbit Determination of Satellites Around Triangular Libration Points in the Earth–Moon System

Abstract

Recently, people are proposing to build a deep space navigation constellation in the earth–moon system which utilizes libration points of the Earth–Moon system. In a recent paper of the authors, two special stable orbits called as dynamical substitutes (DSs) around each triangular libration point (TLPs) are given in the real earth–moon system which is perturbed by the Sun. Due to their stability, orbits around the DSs are ideal for locating the navigation satellites. Theoretically, the orbits of the navigation satellites can be autonomously determined by only using the inter-satellite range data. As a result, no support from the ground stations is needed, and the navigation constellation can autonomously perform their roles in space. The current work is devoted to this problem, i.e., the autonomous orbit determination (AOD) between satellites locating around the DSs which are circling around the TLPs. Studies show that in order to obtain good AOD results, the data length should not be too short, and the satellite should have motion component perpendicular to the Moon’s orbital plane. The current study can be used when deploying the navigation constellation in the earth–moon system.