Cluster-bound walker-like hybrid star constellation system and implementation method
By using a Walker-like hybrid constellation system with cluster binding, the problem of designing hybrid constellations with multiple or more satellites in the same orbit is solved, forming a stable constellation system, improving the efficiency and availability of satellite mission coordination, and reducing costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHANGHAI SATELLITE ENG INST
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-04
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-02
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies lack hybrid constellation design methods for situations where multiple or more small satellites coexist in the same orbit. In particular, they fail to effectively utilize the characteristics of the Walker constellation to form a constellation system with a fixed combination, and there is a severe lack of design methods and complete constellation system examples.
A Walker-like hybrid constellation system based on star cluster binding is proposed. By forming star clusters with fixed relationships using multiple or more satellites and adopting the Walker configuration method, a stable constellation system is formed. Multi-objective optimization algorithms are used to determine inter-satellite phase and configuration parameters to ensure constellation coverage and stability.
It achieves a stable constellation configuration that coordinates multiple or more satellite missions, maintains the coverage and application effectiveness of the Walker constellation, reduces launch and deployment costs, and improves system availability and usability.
Smart Images
Figure CN122137443A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of space technology, and more specifically, to a Walker-like hybrid constellation system with star cluster binding and its implementation method. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid development of large-scale low-Earth orbit constellations, various fields are conducting research on low-cost, mass-production constellation construction. Among these, the use of multiple small satellites in conjunction with each other has become a hot application area, making constellation design an essential research area.
[0003] Current constellation design methodologies mainly fall into two categories. The first focuses on designing constellation schemes based on a specific type of satellite and spatiotemporal coverage requirements. This research primarily emphasizes optimizing the overall number of satellites in the constellation, with innovations typically limited to optimization algorithms and metrics, without considering hybrid constellation designs for multiple satellite types coexisting. The second approach focuses on hybrid constellation design for the combined application of the same type of satellite in different orbits, emphasizing orbit optimization and link architecture design between different orbits. However, research on hybrid constellation designs for multiple or multiple small satellites coexisting in the same orbit is scarce, and corresponding design methodologies and complete constellation system case studies are severely lacking.
[0004] Compared to Reference 1, "Multi-Objective Optimization Design of Hybrid Constellation for Earth Collaborative Observation" by He Boyong, Cao Jing, Zhou Qingrui, and Wang Jianguo, this paper focuses on orbit design and Walker constellation design for two types of satellites, ultimately forming a hybrid constellation combining medium Earth orbit (MEO) and low Earth orbit (LEO). Its main innovation lies in the multi-objective optimization design considering constraints such as ground coverage, configuration maintenance, and inter-satellite links. In contrast, this invention differs significantly: First, this invention emphasizes how to utilize the characteristics of Walker constellations to form a fixed combination constellation system when multiple satellites coexist in the same orbit, without including multiple orbit types; second, this invention is not limited to two types of satellites, supporting combinations of two or more types, as well as combinations of multiple satellites of the same type; third, this invention focuses on forming a constellation system case study, rather than conducting research on multi-objective optimization algorithms.
[0005] Compared with Reference 2, "A Cluster-Based Collaborative Positioning System" by Ruan Lang, Li Guangxia, Lü Jing, Dai Weiheng, Tian Shiwei, Dai Xiaoqi, and Liu Yaoquan, this paper proposes the concept of cluster-based collaborative positioning to address the high-precision positioning problem of Global Navigation Satellite Systems. The differences between this invention and Reference 2 are as follows: First, Reference 2's innovation lies in using optimization algorithms to dynamically manage clusters of all nodes in the navigation satellite system and then using algorithms to achieve high-precision positioning, without involving constellation composition or configuration design. The innovation of this invention lies in constructing multiple satellites or multiple satellites into fixed-relationship clusters. Based on this, a Walker-based constellation generation method is used to construct a constellation system with clusters as its basic components. The two inventions differ fundamentally in their research focus and results.
[0006] Compared to Reference 3, "Multi-Level Regional Reconnaissance Flexible Constellation Design Method" by Wang Hao, Zhang Zhanyue, Zhang Haitao, and Jiang Ping, this paper divides the observation area into multiple sub-constellations according to levels and optimizes the design of each sub-constellation, ultimately forming a hybrid constellation containing multiple orbits. The difference between this invention and Reference 3 lies in the fact that while Reference 3 includes multiple satellites, it designs orbits and constellations separately for each satellite, without hard binding between different types of satellites. This invention focuses on first forming clusters of satellites of different types, or satellites of the same type, with certain constraints, and then designing Walker constellations with the same orbit. The design approaches and research focuses of the two inventions are clearly different.
[0007] In contrast, document 4CN115801097B (application number: 202211354780.0) discloses a hybrid constellation design method for low-Earth orbit (LEO) multi-payload global coverage in space networking. This document is aimed at LEO constellation systems with multiple application payloads and provides a hybrid constellation design method composed of near-polar orbit subconstellations and inclined subconstellations to meet the needs of different payload applications and laser networking. The difference between this invention and document 4 is that document 4 mainly focuses on hybrid networking constellation design for near-polar orbit subconstellations and inclined subconstellations, while this invention focuses on providing a Walker-like hybrid constellation system design method with cluster binding. The two inventions target different applications.
[0008] This invention compares a remote sensing satellite orbit design method disclosed in document 5CN115879266A (application number: 202211197885.X) for a spacecraft orbit and constellation design and optimization software system. Based on requirements such as average ground pixel resolution, ground swath width, orbit maintenance, and maneuverability, it determines the orbital altitude range. Then, based on imaging illumination and solar array illumination requirements, it determines the local time of the descending node. Finally, based on coverage period and revisit period requirements, it performs regression orbit screening to determine the satellite orbit parameters, thus solving the problem of implementing the remote sensing satellite orbit design algorithm in the constellation design and optimization software system. The difference between this invention and document 5 is that document 5 mainly focuses on satellite orbit design and algorithm implementation under various constraints such as payload, orbit maintenance, maneuverability, and revisit period, while this invention addresses hybrid constellation design when multiple or more small satellites coexist in the same orbit. The design ideas and implementation methods of the two inventions are significantly different. Summary of the Invention
[0009] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this invention is to provide a cluster-binding Walker-like hybrid constellation system and its implementation method.
[0010] According to the present invention, a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system includes: multiple clusters; wherein each cluster includes multiple satellites or multiple satellites of the same type, and the relative positions of the stars within the cluster are fixed.
[0011] Preferably, the satellites in each cluster are arranged in a fixed sequential order, including: the orbital root numbers of each satellite in the cluster are the same except for the true anomaly angle.
[0012] Preferably, the satellites included in the constellation system are all in low Earth orbit circular orbits with no limit on orbital inclination; in the constellation system, all satellites have the same orbital altitude and orbital inclination.
[0013] Preferably, the satellites in each cluster are arranged sequentially from front to back according to the mission order; The phase values between each satellite are determined based on preset constraints; wherein, the constraints include: time interval for coordination between satellite missions, distance and angle constraints for inter-satellite communication, field-of-view matching constraints between satellites and the observed object, distance constraints for safe inter-satellite operation, and capacity and response time constraints for ground station observation; any one or more of these constraints can be selected according to preset actual application requirements.
[0014] A method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to the present invention includes: Step S1: Determine the types, quantities, and mission sequence of satellites to be bound according to the mission requirements, number them sequentially from front to back according to the mission sequence, and then determine the phase values between each satellite based on the preset constraint relationship; Step S2: Based on the coverage requirements of the task, take each star as the object and use the Walker constellation multi-objective optimization algorithm to obtain the Walker configuration parameters Ta / Pa / Fa, Tb / Pb / Fb, Tc / Pc / Fc, Td / Pd / Fd, ... that meet the requirements for each star. Take the configuration parameter with the largest T value as the Walker configuration parameter value T / P / F of the hybrid constellation. Step S3: Using each star in the seed cluster as a seed star, construct constellations according to the Walker configuration parameter values T / P / F to obtain a hybrid Walker constellation system.
[0015] Preferably, the constraints in step S1 include: the time interval between the coordination of satellite missions, the distance and angle constraints of inter-satellite communication, the field-of-view matching constraints between satellites and the observed objects, the distance constraints for safe inter-satellite operation, and the capacity and response time constraints of ground station observation; any one or more of these constraints can be selected according to the preset actual application requirements.
[0016] Preferably, the star cluster includes two or more satellites, and the satellites are arranged sequentially according to the mission order.
[0017] Preferably, the basic components of the hybrid Walker constellation system are star clusters. If a star cluster is considered as a unit, then the entire constellation system is a Walker configuration.
[0018] Preferably, the hybrid Walker constellation system requires each satellite in the seed cluster to be used as a seed star to construct the Walker constellation during the construction process. If each type of satellite is used as a component unit, the entire constellation system is a hybrid constellation system.
[0019] Preferably, the satellites included in the constellation system are all in low Earth orbit circular orbits with no limit on orbital inclination; in the constellation system, all satellites have the same orbital altitude and orbital inclination.
[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. This invention systematically presents a Walker-like hybrid constellation system and its implementation method with star cluster binding. It can provide a solution for application modes that require multiple or multiple satellite missions to cooperate. The constellation configuration is stable and maintains the advantage of Walker constellation coverage. The overall application performance is stable and uniform, which facilitates subsequent management and maintenance and improves availability. 2. This invention proposes the concept of star cluster binding, which provides a path for small satellites to form a large-scale capability. The inter-satellite positions are fixed, which facilitates launch deployment and mission planning. It is highly practical and cost-controllable, and can effectively realize the low-cost large-scale joint application of various small satellites. Attached Figure Description
[0021] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the star cluster composition and constellation system of the present invention.
[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a Walker-like hybrid constellation bound to a constructed optical SAR combined star cluster. Detailed Implementation
[0023] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
[0024] Example 1 According to the present invention, a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system includes: multiple clusters, each cluster having the same composition, consisting of multiple satellites or multiple satellites of the same type, and the relative positions of the stars within the cluster are fixed.
[0025] Specifically, the satellites in the constellation system are all in low Earth orbit circular orbits with no limit on orbital inclination. For a specific constellation system case, all satellites have the same orbital altitude and orbital inclination.
[0026] Specifically, the star clusters in the constellation system consist of two or more satellites. The satellites within a cluster are arranged in a fixed sequential order; that is, the orbital root numbers of each satellite in the cluster are identical except for the true anomaly angle. In this embodiment... Figure 1 The term "four satellites" is used as an analogy and does not specifically refer to four satellites or four types of satellites, but rather refers to multiple satellites or various types of satellites in general.
[0027] Specifically, the order of satellites in the cluster and the inter-satellite phase values are based on, but are not limited to, the mission order of each satellite as specified in the requirements, the mission coordination requirements between satellites, inter-satellite communication constraints, inter-satellite safe distance constraints, and ground station observation constraints. One or more of these constraints should be selected to carry out phase design in accordance with actual application requirements.
[0028] A method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to the present invention includes: Step S1: Construct a seed cluster; Based on the mission requirements, determine the types, quantities, and mission sequence of satellites to be bound, and number them sequentially from front to back: A, B, C, D, ... Then, based on the specific constraints, determine the phase values between each satellite. The constraints include, but are not limited to: the time interval between satellite missions, the distance and angle constraints for inter-satellite communication, the field-of-view matching constraints between satellites and the observed object, the distance constraints for safe inter-satellite operation, and the capacity and response time constraints for ground station observations. Depending on the actual application requirements, one or more of these constraints should be selected to carry out phase design accordingly, ultimately forming a seed cluster with assigned values in the form of "ABCD-...".
[0029] Step S2: Determine the Walker configuration parameter values T / P / F for the constellation. Based on the coverage requirements of the task, taking stars A, B, C, D, ... as objects, use existing Walker constellation multi-objective optimization algorithms or methods to obtain the required Walker configuration parameters Ta / Pa / Fa, Tb / Pb / Fb, Tc / Pc / Fc, Td / Pd / Fd, ... for each star. The configuration parameter with the largest T value is taken as the Walker configuration parameter value T / P / F for the hybrid constellation. For easier understanding, please refer to the implementation case provided later.
[0030] Step S3: Using stars A, B, C, D, ... of the seed star cluster as seed stars, construct constellations according to the Walker (T / P / F) parameter values to obtain a hybrid Walker constellation system.
[0031] Specifically, the basic components of the hybrid Walker constellation system are star clusters. If a star cluster is considered as a unit, then the entire constellation system is a Walker configuration.
[0032] Specifically, the hybrid Walker constellation system requires each satellite in the seed cluster to be used as a seed star to construct the Walker constellation. Therefore, if each satellite in the cluster is taken as a unit, the entire constellation system is a hybrid constellation system.
[0033] Example 2 Example 2 is a preferred example of Example 1. According to the present invention, a cluster-bonded Walker-like hybrid constellation system comprises: an optical SAR constellation system composed of cluster-bonded Walker-like hybrid constellations; Task Description: An optical satellite and a SAR satellite will conduct spaced observations of the Earth. The maximum revisit time for both satellites must not exceed D. The optical satellite must be positioned first, followed by the SAR satellite. The imaging time interval is X, the orbital altitude is H, and the orbital inclination is i.
[0034] According to the design steps described in this invention, and based on mission requirements, one optical satellite and one SAR satellite are grouped into a cluster, with the optical satellite numbered A first and the SAR satellite numbered B second. Based on the orbital altitude H and imaging interval X, the inter-satellite phase interval α can be derived as follows:
[0035] In the formula, R e Let be the Earth's radius, and GM be the gravitational constant.
[0036] Under the constraint that the maximum revisit time does not exceed D, using existing optimization algorithms, with satellite A as the seed satellite, the parameters of the Walker constellation are obtained as T1 / P1 / F1, and with satellite B as the seed satellite, the parameters of the Walker constellation are obtained as T2 / P2 / F2. The maximum envelope is taken as the parameters T / P / F of the hybrid constellation.
[0037] After determining the Walker constellation parameters T / P / F, using satellites A and B as seed satellites, the Walker constellation is constructed according to T / P / F, resulting in a final Walker-like hybrid constellation system, such as... Figure 2 As shown.
[0038] Those skilled in the art will understand that, in addition to implementing the system, apparatus, and their modules provided by this invention in purely computer-readable program code, the same program can be implemented in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers by logically programming the method steps. Therefore, the system, apparatus, and their modules provided by this invention can be considered a hardware component, and the modules included therein for implementing various programs can also be considered structures within the hardware component; alternatively, modules for implementing various functions can be considered both software programs implementing the method and structures within the hardware component.
[0039] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.
Claims
1. A cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system, characterized in that, include: Multiple star clusters; each star cluster includes multiple satellites or multiple satellites of the same type, and the relative positions of the stars within the cluster are fixed.
2. The cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The satellites within each cluster are arranged in a fixed sequential order, including the fact that, except for the true anomaly angle, all other orbital root numbers of each satellite in the cluster are the same.
3. The cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The constellation system comprises satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) circular orbits with no limit on orbital inclination; all satellites in the constellation system have the same orbital altitude and orbital inclination.
4. The cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The satellites in each cluster are arranged sequentially from front to back according to the mission order; The phase values between each satellite are determined based on preset constraints; wherein, the constraints include: time interval for coordination between satellite missions, distance and angle constraints for inter-satellite communication, field-of-view matching constraints between satellites and the observed object, distance constraints for safe inter-satellite operation, and capacity and response time constraints for ground station observation; any one or more of these constraints can be selected according to preset actual application requirements.
5. A method for implementing a Walker-like hybrid constellation system with star cluster binding, characterized in that, include: Step S1: Determine the types, quantities, and mission sequence of satellites to be bound according to the mission requirements, number them sequentially from front to back according to the mission sequence, and then determine the phase values between each satellite based on the preset constraint relationship; Step S2: Based on the coverage requirements of the task, take each star as the object and use the Walker constellation multi-objective optimization algorithm to obtain the Walker configuration parameters Ta / Pa / Fa, Tb / Pb / Fb, Tc / Pc / Fc, Td / Pd / Fd, ... that meet the requirements for each star. Take the configuration parameter with the largest T value as the Walker configuration parameter value T / P / F of the hybrid constellation. Step S3: Using each star in the seed cluster as a seed star, construct constellations according to the Walker configuration parameter values T / P / F to obtain a hybrid Walker constellation system.
6. The method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The constraints in step S1 include: the time interval between the coordination of satellite missions, the distance and angle constraints of inter-satellite communication, the field-of-view matching constraints between satellites and the observed objects, the distance constraints for safe inter-satellite operation, and the capacity and response time constraints of ground station observation; any one or more of these constraints can be selected according to the preset actual application requirements.
7. The method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cluster consists of two or more satellites, which are arranged in sequence according to their mission order.
8. The method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The basic components of the hybrid Walker constellation system are star clusters. If a star cluster is considered as a unit, then the entire constellation system is a Walker configuration.
9. The method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hybrid Walker constellation system requires each satellite in the seed cluster to be used as a seed star to construct the Walker constellation. If each type of satellite is used as a unit, the entire constellation system is a hybrid constellation system.
10. The method for implementing a cluster-bound Walker-like hybrid constellation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The constellation system comprises satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) circular orbits with no limit on orbital inclination; all satellites in the constellation system have the same orbital altitude and orbital inclination.