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US 6,144,334 AGranted
Method and apparatus for calculating access between satellite constellations and ground targets
AssigneeAnalytical Graphics, Inc.
InventorsDouglas Claffey, James Woodburn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Assessing performance of satellite constellations. For a given constellation of satellites, each having a given number of sensors, a method is disclosed for determining the times of access between each sensor and a plurality of targets located on Earth. Calculation time required for determining access is greatly decreased using pre-computed access calculations as a baseline.
Claims9
A method for determining access between a sensor and a target comprising:
- inputting initial approximate orbital parameters of a first satellite bearing a sensor;
- determining approximate orbital parameters for revolutions of the first satellite bearing a sensor;
- storing the approximate orbital parameters for revolutions of the first satellite bearing the sensor;
- determining the first satellite access periods to a target;
- storing the first satellite access periods to the target;
- determining estimated access periods between at least one subsequent satellite and the target, wherein determining estimated access periods further comprises:
- comparing approximate orbital parameters for the revolutions of the first satellite;
- estimating the time of access from a given revolution of the subsequent satellite (Rev.sub.s) to the target using interpolation;
- and
- displaying the time of access graphically for an analyst to use in mission planning.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.