Research on Mono-Pulse Beam Angle Tracking Algorithm of Phased Array Antenna Based on CKF

Abstract

Phased array antenna beam tracking and communication system based on mono-pulse system is an alternative satellite-to-earth communication technology solution for future planetary spacecraft, which meets the mission requirements of agile scanning, multimode, wide field of view, and small size. This paper firstly outlines the technical scheme of mono-pulse angle tracking based on the planar phased array antenna. A simplified mathematical model of angle measurement is summarized. Secondly, the beam pointing of the spacecraft communication antenna is frequently affected by the attitude and presents a nonlinear dynamic change. A robust two-dimensional angular tracking filtering algorithm based on cubature Kalman filter (CKF) is proposed, in order to solve this complex high-order nonlinear dynamic estimation problem. Finally, the comprehensive performance of the proposed algorithm is simulated and analyzed under two conditions of stable flight and high dynamic flight of the spacecraft. When the angular velocity is within 4°/s, the tracking accuracy can be better than 0.65°, and the tracking accuracy will be better than 1° when the angular velocity is within 8°/s. Compared with the basic CKF algorithm, the robust CKF tracking accuracy is significantly improved, while the resource consumption is slightly reduced. The research results can provide reference for the engineering implementation of related fields in the future.