Abstract
With the development of Space Domain Awareness(SDA), satellites’ optical characteristics are becoming attention-grabbing. Sunlight was usually considered the only light source for the satellites. However, in the actual observation, researchers have found that earthshine and moonlight would increase errors of the observation results, which have greatly influenced the estimation of the satellite’s state. In order to avoid this disadvantage, we propose an observation strategy by an accurate theoretical analysis. Firstly, we propose an accurate earthshine model, which has considered the earth’s volume and the continuous observation. Then, we explore the earthshine and moonlight’s impact on satellite observation results and find that this impact varies with the satellite attributes. Furthermore, we analyze the law of this impact and establish a connection between the law and the observation geometry. Finally, a Period Contribution model is proposed to provide a corresponding observation strategy to reduce the influence of earthshine and moonlight. The model has statistically analyzed the effective time of Indirect Solar Irradiance.
Highlights
Ground-based optical observation is an important method for obtaining satellite characteristics
Due to the optical propagation principle and satellites' material properties, the satellites' optical information is primarily determined by the observation geometry and the optical signal received by detectors will differ with the different shapes, sizes, materials, and working states of the satellite
Most satellites' shapes and materials are irregular, which causes a close relationship between the optical signal received by the detector and the observation geometry
Summary
Ground-based optical observation is an important method for obtaining satellite characteristics. Instead of emitting light themselves, they reflect the sunlight to illuminate the satellite, called Indirect Solar Irradiance (ISI)[11,12,13] They are different from the stray lights, which interfere with the telescope lens during observation. Most satellites' shapes and materials are irregular, which causes a close relationship between the optical signal received by the detector and the observation geometry (relative position between the light source, the satellite, and the detector). For satellite observation, it is necessary to consider the relative position between the sun, the indirect light sources, the satellite, and the detector. An accurate earthshine model is proposed, which divides the earth surface into quantities of slices This model can simulate the earth's irradiance at the satellite at different moments.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
