Configuration reconstruction elastic mechanics method for repairing a faulted Walker constellation performance

Abstract

Walker constellation is the most effective constellation for global coverage and is often used for earth observation, navigation and internet communication. A scenario that several faulted satellites in a Walker constellation lead to its performance degradation can be quickly repaired to a certain extent by reconstructing the on-orbit satellite configuration. Different from the classical strategies such as adjusting the phase of the adjacent satellites, uniform the on-satellites' phase and adjusting the plane of the adjacent satellites, this paper proposes a bionic reconstruction method which uses the elastic mechanics method of thin film plate to generate the satellite maneuver strategy in the constellation reconstruction process, minimizes the performance degradation between the repaired configuration and the previous configuration. Thus, the maneuver strategy of each satellite can be calculated in reversely. The simulation example shows that the maneuver strategy by the bionic reconstruction method is more harmonious and natural than the classical strategies.

Keywords

• walker constellation
• constellation reconstruction
• elastic space
• elastic mechanics
• simulation