Extensive Regional Telecommunications Coverage in Emergency Condition Using Satellite and Tethered-Balloon Equipped with Antenna Pointing Mechanism – Part 2: Operation Modes and Controller Design

Abstract

In this paper, in order to provide telecommunication coverage for a wide geographical area, the use of a network consisting of an LEO satellite and a Tethered-Balloon equipped with antenna pointing mechanism is proposed. The proposed telecommunication network is able to send the collected data to a mission center outside the covered region and receive the required telecommands, while providing a telecommunication link between the users in the covered region. To control and point the antenna beams towards desired targets, an Adaptive Dynamic Surface Controller is designed. Determining the required operating modes, designing a mode management algorithm and extracting the appropriate reference trajectories for each operating mode are among the discussed issues in this paper. The Uniform Ultimate Boundary (UUB) stability of the closed-loop system is proved and the performance of the control system is studied by simulation. The proposed communication network and control system are able to provide wide telecommunication coverage in remote areas or emergency situations.

Keywords

• antenna pointing mechanism
• mode management
• adaptive dynamic surface controller
• uub stability