ADAPTIVE ABSOLUTE STATION-KEEPING METHOD FOR LEO MEGA-CONSTELLATION

The adaptive absolute station-keeping method for low earth orbit (LEO) mega-constellation was proposed to realize station-keeping over a long period of time. The mean semimajor axis of satellite's orbit decreases under the influence of air drag, which leads to the phase deviation of satellite. This principle was used to derive equations of station-keeping control value. Then the autonomous computation procedure of control value on satellite was determined. The method was used to analyze the station-keeping characteristic of satellites with different area-mass ratio in both low and high solar activity. Results showed that phase deviation of satellites was effectively maintained within the control threshold. The two-line element (TLE) was used to analyze the station-keeping characteristic of StarLink satellites. The absolute station-keeping method was applied to improve the station-keeping condition of StarLink satellites, and it turned out to effectively reduce the station-keeping frequency.