Analysis of satellite constellations for the continuous coverage of ground regions

Abstract

This paper studies the problem of analyzing multisatellite constellations with respect to their coverage capacity of areas on Earth’s surface. The geometric configuration of constellation projection points on Earth’s surface is investigated. A geometric subdivision approach is described, and the coverage target area belonging to each satellite and its maximum circle radius are defined and calculated. Accordingly, the target area can be decomposed into subregions, and thus the multisatellite coverage problem is decomposed into a one-satellite coverage problem. An accurate and effective solution method is proposed that solves both continuous and discontinuous coverage problems for any type of ground area. In addition, a procedure for calculating satellite orbital parameters is also proposed. The performance of our approach is analyzed using the Globalstar system as an example, and it is shown that it compares favorably with the classical grid-point technique and the longitude method.