Abstract
The satellite constellation-to-ground coverage problem is a basic and important problem in satellite applications. A group of judgement theorems is given, and a novel approach based on these judgement theorems for judging whether a constellation can offer complete single or multiple coverage of a ground region is proposed. From the point view of mathematics, the constellation-to-ground coverage problem can be regarded as a problem entailing the intersection of spherical regions. Four judgement theorems that can translate the coverage problem into a judgement about the state of a group of ground points are proposed, thus allowing the problem to be efficiently solved. Single- and multiple-coverage problems are simulated, and the results show that this approach is correct and effective.
Highlights
Satellite constellations technology are widely used in many practical applications, including communication, navigation, remote sensing, and science missions [1, 2], and these applications provide very important support to many fields, such as the observation of the land, sea and air [3, 4], disaster monitoring [5, 6], and resource exploration and development [7]
Solutions to the constellation-to-ground coverage problem aim to calculate the coverage region and other information about the ground regions that are covered by satellite constellations during a time period or at a point in time
Compared with the traditional problems involving the Boolean operations on 2D graphs, the constellation-toground coverage problem has some differences because of the following three aspects: (1) the background manifold is a spherical or ellipsoidal surface in three dimensions rather than a 2D Euclidean space, (2) the shape of ground regions and the view field of the sensor can be arbitrary, and (3) the temporal characteristics during long simulation periods frequently arise in calculating the coverage region of sensor
Summary
Satellite constellations technology are widely used in many practical applications, including communication, navigation, remote sensing, and science missions [1, 2], and these applications provide very important support to many fields, such as the observation of the land, sea and air [3, 4], disaster monitoring [5, 6], and resource exploration and development [7]. Solutions to the constellation-to-ground coverage problem aim to calculate the coverage region and other information about the ground regions that are covered by satellite constellations during a time period or at a point in time This problem is essentially a problem involving Boolean operations on 2D graphs [14, 15], which is commonly encountered in the fields of computer graphics and geology. Compared with the traditional problems involving the Boolean operations on 2D graphs, the constellation-toground coverage problem has some differences because of the following three aspects: (1) the background manifold is a spherical or ellipsoidal surface in three dimensions rather than a 2D Euclidean space, (2) the shape of ground regions and the view field of the sensor can be arbitrary, and (3) the temporal characteristics during long simulation periods frequently arise in calculating the coverage region of sensor.
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
