High-precision analytical solutions for Earth coverage of constellation equipped with reentry glide vehicles

Abstract

To efficiently and accurately design satellite constellations equipped with Reentry Glide Vehicles (RGVs), new analytical solutions are developed for calculating their coverage performance. Specifically, a new coverage model is established by approximating the Reentry Reachable Domain (RRD). However, the computation of real-time relative distances between satellites and targets, which is essential for coverage analysis based on this model, imposes a significant computational burden. To address this challenge, a coverage analysis method based on two-dimensional map theory is proposed. This method represents the coverage conditions of a target as a fixed area on a two-dimensional map and transforms the satellite trajectory into a series of parallel lines. By determining the intersection points between these lines and the area boundaries, the coverage analytical solutions for a target point are derived. On this basis, coverage theorems are presented for rapid calculation of the constellation coverage performance for an area. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and high precision of the proposed analytical solutions.