Design and Application of Inter-Satellite Link in Weather Observation Constellation

Abstract

This paper presents the design and application analysis of the inter-satellite link technique in weather observation satellite constellation. A Walker parameter 18/18/4 satellite constellation with circular orbit at 837 km altitude and 60 degree inclination has been considered. The purposes are to take the weather cloud images of the area from 60 to 180 degree in eastern longitude and 0 to 60 degree in northern latitude, and to transfer the images back to Taiwan ground station as soon as possible. The STK [1] simulation software has been used in analyzing the effects of Doppler phenomenon, azimuth angle, elevation angle and distance between each two satellites. It has been proved that through the use of inter-satellite link technique, the contact time duration between the constellation and ground station has been tremendously increased. Therefore, weather cloud images can be transferred back much more frequently. Analysis results presented in this paper could be the reference for onboard antenna auto-tracking design and power management of the satellite.