Abstract
Accessibility gaps are inherent properties of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) sun-synchronous satellite missions. Long accessibility gaps in satellite missions imply strict in-orbit autonomy requirement, met by expensive solutions. Thus, methods to shorten accessibility gaps in satellite missions are appreciated by space mission designers. For that purpose, in this paper, ground segment site location is employed as a mechanism to reduce the longest accessibility gaps in LEO sun-synchronous missions. For a given repeatability cycle, it is shown that longitude of the ground segment does not affect the access gaps. Simulation results show that increasing the latitude of ground segment reduces the longest accessibility gaps, especially in extreme latitudes near Polar Regions. To avoid polar ground segments due to their practical difficulties, mission architectures with two co-high-latitude ground segments are proposed. Selection of longitude distance between the two co-high-latitude ground segments is discussed to further reduce the longest accessibility gap in LEO sun-synchronous missions. To show the feasibility of the proposed approach, simulation results are included for illustration.
Keywords:
Ground segment location; LEO sun-synchronous satellite; Longest accessibility gap