Satellite shadow period autonomous management of thermal control threshold table autonomous switching method and system

Abstract

This invention provides a method and system for autonomously switching thermal control threshold tables during satellite shadow periods, belonging to the field of satellite thermal control and autonomous operation technology. Satellites periodically enter and exit shadow and illumination zones in orbit, resulting in significant differences in energy and thermal control requirements. Traditional methods rely on ground-based commands to switch threshold tables, which lacks autonomy and real-time performance. This invention autonomously determines functional prohibition flags, orbit validity flags, shadow period flags, current threshold table status, and payload power status through onboard software. After three consecutive cycles of consistency verification, it can safely switch between high and low compensation thermal control threshold tables without ground intervention. When entering a shadow zone, it automatically switches to a low compensation threshold to save energy; when in illumination and the payload is powered off, it switches back to a high compensation threshold to ensure temperature control. This invention reduces ground maintenance complexity, improves satellite on-orbit autonomy and operational reliability, and is suitable for the thermal control management needs of various near-Earth satellites during shadow periods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of satellite on-orbit autonomous management technology, specifically to a method and system for autonomously switching thermal control threshold tables during satellite shadow periods. Background Technology

[0002] During its on-orbit operation, a satellite periodically enters and exits Earth's shadow and sunlight zones, resulting in significant differences in energy supply and thermal consumption. When in the shadow zone, the solar panels cannot generate electricity, and the satellite relies solely on batteries for power, leading to energy shortages and requiring a reduction in heater compensation power to minimize power consumption. Conversely, when in the sunlight zone, the solar panels resume power generation, providing ample energy, necessitating an increase in heater compensation power to ensure the payload's operating temperature requirements. Traditional satellite thermal control threshold adjustment relies heavily on ground-based orbit simulations to predict shadow entry and exit times, followed by manual switching of the thermal control threshold table via uplink commands. This method is overly dependent on ground-based telemetry and control support, involves cumbersome procedures, and cannot respond promptly in telemetry and control blind spots, satellite-to-ground link interruptions, or emergency scenarios, severely impacting the satellite's autonomous and safe on-orbit operation capabilities.

[0003] While some research has been conducted on existing technologies related to autonomous thermal control, none have achieved autonomous switching of thermal control threshold tables for shadow / illuminated areas. Patent CN109032203A proposes an intelligent autonomous thermal control system that achieves closed-loop temperature regulation through sensors and controllers, but it does not address the threshold table switching mechanism under energy constraints during shadow periods. Patent CN105955347A achieves autonomous thermal control based on hardware hysteresis circuits, relying solely on temperature signals to drive the heating device's switching, and cannot adaptively adjust multiple threshold levels according to orbital illumination conditions. Patent CN107831809A proposes an autonomous thermal control management method suitable for Mars exploration, employing both conventional and emergency modes; however, its application scenario is deep space exploration, which differs significantly from the shadowed conditions of near-Earth satellites, and it lacks a joint judgment logic based on orbital and power status.

[0004] In terms of academic research, the June 2012 issue of *Spacecraft Engineering* introduced three types of autonomous thermal control technologies: spacecraft electric heaters, louvers, and fluid loops. These focused on single-condition closed-loop control but did not consider the threshold switching requirements between shadowed and illuminated periods. The May 2021 issue of *Spacecraft Engineering* proposed an intelligent autonomous thermal control method based on space environment prediction, achieving feedforward control through external heat flow prediction. However, it did not combine multiple constraints such as attitude and orbit control status and payload power status to construct an autonomous threshold table switching logic. Furthermore, while existing technologies such as patents CN112528488B and CN113734471B involve energy-saving strategies during shadowed periods, they all aim at power consumption adjustment or energy optimization, failing to establish a multi-condition joint judgment mechanism for orbit validity indicators, shadowed period indicators, current threshold table status, and payload power status. This makes it impossible to achieve safe, reliable, and non-redundant autonomous switching of the thermal control threshold table.

[0005] In summary, traditional ground-based command modes cannot achieve real-time autonomous switching of thermal control thresholds during shaded periods, relying excessively on ground-based telemetry and control with low autonomy. Existing autonomous thermal control technologies only achieve closed-loop temperature control under a single operating condition and do not design a high / low compensation threshold switching mechanism for energy differences between shaded and sunny areas. They lack multi-condition joint judgment logic and do not comprehensively consider constraints such as attitude and orbit control status, orbit validity, current threshold status, and load power status, making them prone to erroneous switching or duplicate commands. Furthermore, the lack of a multi-period consistency verification mechanism makes it impossible to avoid malfunctions caused by instantaneous interference, resulting in insufficient switching reliability.

[0006] Therefore, there is an urgent need in the market for a thermal control threshold table switching method that can comprehensively judge multiple conditions such as orbit status, shadow flag, threshold status and payload power status, has periodic verification, and can be fully autonomously executed, so as to improve the satellite's autonomous management capability during shadow periods, reduce the complexity of ground operation and maintenance, and ensure the safe and stable operation of the satellite in orbit. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this invention is to provide a method and system for autonomously switching thermal control threshold tables during satellite shadow periods.

[0008] The present invention provides a method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods, comprising: The onboard software collects in real time the autonomous switching prohibition sign, orbit validity sign, shadow period sign, current thermal control threshold table status, and payload secondary power supply status; When the low compensation switching conditions are met and the consistency is verified after a continuous preset period, the thermal control threshold table will automatically switch from high compensation to low compensation. When the conditions for switching to high compensation are met and the consistency is verified after continuous pre-approval cycles, the thermal control threshold table will be automatically switched from low compensation to high compensation. The low-compensation switching conditions are: the autonomous switching thermal control threshold table function is permitted, the track validity flag is valid, the shadow period flag is shadowed, and the current thermal control threshold table is a high-compensation threshold table. The conditions for high-compensation switching are: the autonomous switching thermal control threshold table function is permitted, the track validity flag is valid, the shadow period flag is sunny, the current thermal control threshold table is the low-compensation threshold table, and the load secondary power supply is off.

[0009] Preferably, the continuous preset cycle consistency verification is as follows: the onboard software judges all switching conditions cycle by cycle, and only when all conditions are met for three consecutive cycles will the thermal control threshold table switching operation be performed.

[0010] Preferably, the default state of the autonomous switching permission sign is "prohibited," which can be modified to "permitted" or "prohibited" via ground remote control commands. In the prohibited state, the onboard software stops monitoring the switching conditions.

[0011] Preferably, the orbit validity flag and shadow period flag are calculated and generated by the satellite attitude and orbit control subsystem and broadcast to the onboard software via the onboard data bus.

[0012] Preferably, the switching command is avoided by judging the current status of the thermal control threshold table.

[0013] Preferably, the payload secondary power supply is in a shutdown state, meaning the payload unit is not powered on, to prevent the total power consumption of the satellite from exceeding the power supply limit when switching to a high compensation threshold.

[0014] Preferably, the heater turn-on and turn-off temperature thresholds of the high compensation threshold table are both higher than those of the low compensation threshold table; In the shaded area, the compensation threshold is set to low to save energy, while in the sunny area, the compensation threshold is set to high to ensure the equipment's temperature control requirements are met.

[0015] The present invention provides a satellite shadow period autonomous management thermal control threshold table autonomous switching system, comprising an onboard processor, an attitude and orbit control module, a thermal control module, and a power supply module; the onboard processor executes the method described herein to realize autonomous switching of the thermal control threshold table.

[0016] Preferably, the thermal control module pre-stores two sets of thermal control threshold tables, one for high compensation and one for low compensation, and loads and activates the threshold tables according to instructions from the onboard processor.

[0017] Preferably, the system modules transmit status signals through the on-board data bus, and the ground only needs to inject an autonomous switching permission command to complete the entire autonomous switching process without real-time intervention.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. This invention adopts a multi-condition joint judgment and three-cycle consistency verification mechanism to autonomously complete the switching of high and low compensation thermal control threshold tables. Compared with the traditional ground-based command mode, it gets rid of the dependence on the satellite-ground link and telemetry and control time, and improves the satellite's autonomous operation capability in orbit.

[0019] 2. This invention combines the shadow period flag, track validity flag, current threshold status, and load power status into a comprehensive constraint to avoid erroneous switching and duplicate commands, solves the problem of simple switching logic and susceptibility to interference in existing technologies, and improves the safety and reliability of thermal control switching.

[0020] 3. This invention automatically switches to a low compensation threshold for energy saving during the shadow period and switches back to a high compensation threshold for temperature control when the load is turned off in the illuminated area. Compared with fixed threshold control, this optimizes satellite energy distribution, reduces the ineffective power consumption of the heater, and ensures the temperature safety and working performance of the equipment. 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 process of automatically switching to low compensation in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the process for autonomously switching to high compensation in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] 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 scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] Example 1 This invention provides a method for autonomously switching thermal control threshold tables during satellite shadow periods. This method is implemented through software deployed in the satellite's onboard computer system, thereby improving the autonomy, reliability, and safety of the satellite's on-orbit operation. The following will focus on... Figure 1 It describes in detail the complete process by which a satellite autonomously switches its thermal control strategy from a high compensation threshold table to a low compensation threshold table when it moves from the sunlit area into the Earth's shadow area.

[0024] Understandably, in the on-orbit operating environment of a satellite, its various electronic devices, sensors, and structural components are extremely sensitive to temperature and must be maintained within a specific temperature range to ensure their performance and lifespan. Therefore, satellites are equipped with a thermal control subsystem, which regulates the temperature of various parts through components such as heaters, heat pipes, and radiators. To cope with the periodic and drastic changes in the thermal environment caused by the alternation of sunny (receiving solar radiation) and shadowy (no solar radiation) periods during orbital operation, the thermal control subsystem typically has at least two pre-set sets of different control parameters. These sets are stored in the onboard computer's non-volatile memory in the form of thermal control threshold tables.

[0025] Specifically, the high compensation threshold table typically corresponds to situations where the satellite is in sunlight or needs to prepare for an upcoming cryogenic environment. In this table, both the heater's on / off temperature thresholds (T_on and T_off) are set relatively high, enabling a more aggressive heating strategy to maintain a higher temperature baseline or provide greater thermal compensation. Conversely, the low compensation threshold table is primarily used when the satellite is already in stable shadow. In this table, both the heater's on / off temperature thresholds are set lower, allowing the equipment temperature to drop to a safer level before restarting heating, thereby saving satellite energy.

[0026] The method provided in this invention is based on giving the onboard software autonomous decision-making capabilities, enabling it to automatically switch between the two threshold tables based on accurate orbital state information and preset system constraints, thereby eliminating dependence on real-time commands from the ground station.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for autonomously switching from a high compensation threshold table to a low compensation threshold table, provided by an embodiment of the present invention. This process is periodically executed by an autonomous management software module deployed on the satellite's main control computer. As an optional implementation, in a typical low Earth orbit satellite, this execution cycle can be set to 1 second to ensure rapid response to orbital events. The switching method includes: Step S101: At the beginning of each judgment cycle, the software module initializes or prepares all parameters to be monitored.

[0028] Step S102: Perform the operation to determine whether the autonomous switching function is permitted. This is a crucial top-level control switch. The onboard software includes a global flag that can be modified by ground control commands—the autonomous switching function permission flag. This flag has two states: "permitted" and "prohibited." Ground control personnel can decide whether to activate the autonomous thermal management mode based on the satellite's overall mission plan, health status, or special mission requirements. For example, during initial on-orbit testing or when conducting scientific experiments requiring precise manual thermal control, the ground can set this flag to "prohibited." In this case, the result of step S102 is negative, and the entire process will directly return to step S101, waiting for the next judgment cycle, without performing any subsequent operations. Only when this flag is set to "permitted" by ground command will the result of step S102 be positive, allowing the process to continue. This design balances autonomy and controllability, ensuring that the ground maintains supreme control at all times.

[0029] Step S103: Provided the autonomous switching function is permitted, perform the operation to determine the validity of the orbital information. The satellite's orbital state information, especially whether it is in the Earth's shadow, is calculated and provided by the satellite's attitude and orbit control subsystem (hereinafter referred to as the attitude and orbit control subsystem). Based on data from the onboard GPS receiver, star sensor data, and the internal orbital dynamics model, the attitude and orbit control subsystem calculates the satellite's position, velocity, and attitude in real time, and thereby determines the satellite's relative position to the Sun and Earth. The attitude and orbit control subsystem broadcasts a status word containing the validity of the orbital information via the onboard data bus (e.g., the 1553B bus). Step S103 checks the orbit validity flag in this status word. If the flag is "invalid," it may mean that the attitude and orbit control subsystem is undergoing initialization, reconstruction, or has encountered a fault, and its output orbital data is unreliable. In this case, the basis for the thermal control switching decision is unreliable, so the judgment result is negative, and the process returns to step S101 to ensure the safety of the decision. The judgment result is true only if the track validity flag is "valid", and step S104 is executed.

[0030] Step S104: Perform the operation to determine whether the satellite has entered the shadow zone. After confirming the validity of the orbit information, this step will read another key parameter broadcast by the attitude and orbit control subsystem—the shadow period flag. This flag directly indicates the current lighting environment of the satellite, usually having two states: "sunlight" and "shadow". This step aims to capture the event of the satellite moving from the sunlight zone to the shadow zone. Therefore, the software determines whether the current value of the shadow period flag is "shadow". If the flag is still "sunlight", it indicates that the satellite has not yet entered the shadow zone, the switching condition is not met, the judgment result is negative, and the process returns to step S101. If the flag is "shadow", it indicates that the satellite has entered the Earth's shadow, which is the main external condition triggering this switching, the judgment result is positive, and step S105 is executed.

[0031] Step S105: Perform an operation to determine if the current state is a high compensation threshold table. To avoid redundant operations and logical confusion, the onboard software maintains a state variable to record the currently effective thermal control threshold table. In this step, the software checks whether the value of this state variable is a high compensation threshold table. If the current state is a low compensation threshold table or another state, it indicates that the switch may have already been completed or the system is in an unexpected state, and executing the switch command again is redundant or even potentially harmful. Therefore, if the determination result is negative, the process will return to step S101. Only when the system confirms that it is currently in the high compensation threshold table operating mode is it necessary to perform a switch to the low compensation threshold table. In this case, the determination result is positive, and the process continues.

[0032] After all the judgment conditions in steps S102, S103, S104, and S105 all yield a "yes" conclusion, to ensure the reliability of the switching decision and avoid misoperations caused by instantaneous signal jitters or data errors, the process enters step S106 to execute a reliability guarantee link for judging whether all conditions are continuously satisfied for a preset period. The embodiment of the present invention introduces a continuity confirmation mechanism based on a counter. Specifically, a counter dedicated to this scenario (such as shadow_entry_counter) is set inside the on-board software, and its initial value is 0. In each judgment period (such as 1 second), if all the conditions from steps S102 to S105 are simultaneously satisfied, the value of shadow_entry_counter is incremented by 1; conversely, if any one of the conditions is not satisfied, the value of shadow_entry_counter is immediately cleared. The judgment logic of step S106 is to check whether the current value of shadow_entry_counter is greater than or equal to a preset threshold N (for example, N = 3). This threshold N represents the number of periods for which the conditions need to be continuously satisfied, and it is a parameter configurable by a ground injection instruction to adapt to the reliability requirements of different tasks. If shadow_entry_counter < N, it indicates that the time for continuously satisfying the conditions is not yet sufficient and may be only a transient phenomenon, so the judgment result is "no", and the process returns to step S101, but the value of the counter will be maintained for accumulation in the next period. Only when shadow_entry_counter >= N (for example, all conditions are stably satisfied for 3 consecutive periods), the system can be confident that the satellite has stably entered the shadow area and all prerequisite conditions are met. At this time, the judgment result is "yes".

[0033] When the judgment in step S106 passes, the on-board software finally decides to execute the switching operation, and the process enters step S107: switch to the low compensation threshold table. In this step, the autonomous management software module generates an internal instruction and sends it to the execution module of the thermal control subsystem, requesting to load and activate the low compensation threshold table. After receiving this instruction, the thermal control execution module reads the data of the low compensation threshold table from the non-volatile memory and loads it into the working memory to replace the original high compensation threshold table. Thereafter, the heating circuit of the thermal control system will work based on this new and lower temperature threshold. After the switching is successful, the autonomous management software will also update the state variable that records the current threshold table inside it to the low compensation threshold table and clear the shadow_entry_counter counter to prepare for the next state transition.

[0034] At this point, the handover operation is complete, and the process enters the final step S108, marking the completion of this autonomous handover from high compensation to low compensation. It is understood that this autonomous management module will continue to run periodically to prepare for potential future handovers from low compensation to high compensation.

[0035] Example 2 This embodiment will focus on combining Figure 2 This paper describes the complete process by which, based on Example 1, the satellite autonomously switches its thermal control strategy from a low compensation threshold table to a high compensation threshold table when it enters the sunlight zone after the Earth's shadow period. It should be noted that this process introduces additional considerations for satellite power consumption safety, demonstrating the rigor and security of the invention's design.

[0036] Similar to the background of Example 1, after a satellite has been operating for an extended period in cold shadow, its overall temperature remains low. As it approaches sunlight, although external heat flow increases, a more aggressive heating strategy needs to be implemented by switching to a high compensation threshold table in advance to quickly restore certain payloads (such as the main communication antenna and high-resolution camera) to their optimal operating temperature, or to preheat the payloads before power-on. However, this switching increases the power consumption of the thermal control system. If a high-power payload also happens to be operating at this time, the combined power consumption of both may exceed the instantaneous or average power limit of the satellite power supply system, causing a voltage drop on the bus and potentially leading to serious safety incidents such as satellite platform reset. Therefore, a power consumption safety check has been specifically added to the switching logic of this example.

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown in the figure, this is a flowchart illustrating a method for autonomously switching from a low compensation threshold table to a high compensation threshold table according to an embodiment of the present invention. This process is also executed periodically by the onboard autonomous management software.

[0038] The process begins with step S201.

[0039] In steps S202 and S203, the judgments performed by the software are exactly the same as those in steps S102 and S103 of Embodiment 1. Specifically, in step S202, it is first determined whether the autonomous switching function permission flag is "permitted" to ensure that the autonomous management mode has been activated; then in step S203, it is determined whether the track validity flag provided by the attitude and orbit control subsystem is "valid" to ensure the reliability of the data used for decision-making. If either judgment is negative, the process returns to step S201.

[0040] After confirming the above prerequisites, the process proceeds to step S204, where the operation of determining whether the satellite has entered the sunlight zone is performed. This step corresponds to step S104, but the judgment logic is reversed. The software module reads the shadow period flag broadcast by the attitude and orbit control subsystem and determines whether its current value is "sunlight". If the flag is still "shadow", it indicates that the satellite has not yet left the shadow zone, the switching time has not arrived, the judgment result is negative, and the process returns to step S201. If the flag changes to "sunlight", it indicates that the satellite has entered the sunlight zone, which is the main external event triggering this round of switching, the judgment result is positive, and the process continues to execute step S205.

[0041] Next, in step S205, the software performs an operation to determine whether the current state is a low-compensation threshold table. This step is similar to step S105 and is also designed to prevent redundant instructions. The software checks internal state variables to confirm whether the currently active state is a low-compensation threshold table. If not, no switching is required, and the process returns to step S201. Switching to a high-compensation threshold table is only necessary when it is confirmed that the current state is indeed in low-compensation threshold table mode. In this case, the determination result is yes, and the process continues to step S206.

[0042] Step S206: Determine if payload power consumption is safe. In this step, the autonomous management software needs to confirm that the main high-power payloads on the satellite are not currently in operation. As a specific implementation, the software queries or subscribes to telemetry parameters from the power management subsystem via the onboard data bus. These parameters typically include the secondary power supply output voltage or current of each payload unit. For example, for a communication payload, its transmitter power amplifier is a typical high-power component, and the software will check the secondary power supply telemetry voltage value of the power amplifier. If the voltage value is 0V or in a state explicitly indicating "off," the payload is considered not powered on. The software will check the power-on status of all payloads in the preset critical payload list one by one. Only when all critical payloads are in an off state is the power consumption considered safe. In this case, increasing thermal control power consumption will not conflict with payload power consumption, and the judgment result of step S206 is "yes." Conversely, if any critical load is powered on, in order to avoid the risk of total power consumption exceeding the limit, the system will determine that the power consumption is unsafe. If the determination result is negative, the process will return to step S201 and wait for the subsequent cycle until the load is powered off before trying to switch again.

[0043] After all the judgment conditions in steps S202 to S206 are satisfied, the process proceeds to the continuity confirmation step S207, which determines whether all conditions are continuously satisfied for a preset period. The mechanism is exactly the same as step S106 in Embodiment 1, but uses an independent counter, such as `sunlit_entry_counter`. When all the conditions in steps S202 to S206 are satisfied simultaneously within each judgment period, the counter is incremented by 1; otherwise, it is cleared. Only when the value of `sunlit_entry_counter` accumulates to a preset threshold M (e.g., M=3, where M can be the same as or different from N in Embodiment 1, and can be configured by the ground) can the system be certain that the satellite has stably entered the sunlight area and that the power consumption safety conditions are continuously met; at this point, the judgment result is "yes".

[0044] After the judgment in step S207 is passed, the onboard software makes the final decision to switch. The process proceeds to step S208: switching to the high compensation threshold table. In this step, the autonomous management software module generates and sends internal instructions to the thermal control subsystem, requesting the loading and activation of the high compensation threshold table. After receiving the instructions, the thermal control execution module loads the corresponding data from the storage into the working memory, causing the heating circuit to start operating according to the new, higher temperature threshold, thereby providing stronger thermal compensation for the satellite. After a successful switch, the software also updates the internal status variables, recording that it has switched to the high compensation threshold table, and clears the sunlit_entry_counter counter to zero.

[0045] Finally, the handover operation is completed, and the process enters the final step S209, marking the completion of this autonomous handover process from low compensation to high compensation.

[0046] Example 3 This embodiment aims to provide a more in-depth explanation of the technical details, system architecture, and configurability of the foregoing embodiments, in order to demonstrate the completeness and industrial applicability of the present invention.

[0047] In one specific implementation of this invention, the method is typically implemented in flight software running on the satellite's onboard computer. This software system is layered, and this method belongs to an autonomous management module within the application layer. This module interacts with the satellite's hardware through the underlying operating system and drivers. Wherein: 1. Data Input: The autonomous management module obtains necessary information from other subsystems via the onboard data bus (such as MIL-STD-1553B). It can act as a remote terminal or node, receiving telemetry data packets containing "orbit valid flag" and "shadow period flag" broadcast from the attitude and orbit control subsystem (as a bus controller or master node). Simultaneously, it also receives telemetry data packets containing the secondary power supply status of each individual unit, broadcast from the power management subsystem.

[0048] 2. Data Processing: The internal logic of the module strictly follows... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The flowchart shown is executed. Counters such as shadow_entry_counter and sunlit_entry_counter, as well as status flags such as the current threshold table, are all static variables or class member variables within the software, and these variables persist throughout the software's lifecycle.

[0049] 3. Command Output: When the switching conditions are met, the module generates a switching command and sends it to the thermal control application module running on the onboard computer via an internal software interface. This is an internal function call or message passing mechanism, rather than via an external bus.

[0050] The data structure of the aforementioned temperature control threshold table can be an array or a linked list in software implementation. Each element in the table corresponds to a temperature control loop, and the element itself is a structure containing the following information: sensor_id: The unique identifier of the temperature sensor at the controlled measurement point.

[0051] heater_id: A unique identifier for the heater associated with this measurement point.

[0052] T_on: The temperature threshold for heater activation. When the temperature corresponding to sensor_id is lower than T_on, the heater corresponding to heater_id is activated.

[0053] T_off: The temperature threshold for shutting down the heater. When the temperature corresponding to sensor_id is higher than T_off, the heater corresponding to heater_id is turned off.

[0054] duty_cycle: The heating duty cycle of the heater (optional parameter) for finer power control.

[0055] For example, a high compensation threshold table can be defined as follows: HighCompTable = [ {sensor_id: 0x1A, heater_id: 0x01, T_on: 5.0, T_off: 8.0}, {sensor_id: 0x2B, heater_id: 0x02, T_on: 10.0, T_off: 12.0}, ... ] The low compensation threshold table can be defined as follows: LowCompTable = [ {sensor_id: 0x1A, heater_id: 0x01, T_on: -15.0, T_off: -12.0}, {sensor_id: 0x2B, heater_id: 0x02, T_on: -5.0, T_off: -3.0}, ... ] The switching operations in steps S107 and S208 are essentially to switch the threshold table pointer referenced by the thermal control main loop program from one address to another.

[0056] It should be noted that a significant advantage of this invention lies in its high configurability. Its robustness is reflected not only in the rigor of its decision-making logic but also in the configurability of its key parameters. In addition to the top-level autonomous switching function permission flag, the following parameters are also designed to be injected and modified in orbit via ground remote control commands: 1. Number of consecutive judgment cycles (N and M): The ground can analyze the signal stability characteristics based on the data accumulated during the initial stage of satellite operation and optimize the values ​​of N and M. For example, if a certain flag is found to have a long period of jitter, the value of N or M can be appropriately increased to improve the reliability of the handover.

[0057] 2. Critical Payload List: The critical payload list used for power safety checks in step S206 is configurable. Ground control can dynamically add or remove payloads from the list depending on the mission phase. For example, at the end of the satellite's lifespan, some payloads may have been permanently shut down and can be removed from the list to avoid unnecessarily preventing thermal control switching.

[0058] 3. Threshold Tables Themselves: The contents of the two sets of thermal control threshold tables can also be updated entirely or partially from the ground. This means that even if the satellite finds that the initially set temperature control range is not ideal after it is in orbit, new threshold table data can be injected from the ground, and the autonomous switching logic of this invention can still work normally based on the new threshold table without any code modification.

[0059] To more clearly illustrate the complete process of the method provided by this invention, the following explanation will use a complete orbital period as an example. Assume a satellite's orbital period is 90 minutes, with a shadow period of approximately 35 minutes.

[0060] T=0 minutes: The satellite flies out of the shadow area and into the sunlight area. The attitude and orbit control subsystem broadcasts the shadow period marker as "sunlight". The autonomous management software detects this change after 1 second. Assuming that all critical payloads are in a powered-off state at this time, step S206 passes, and the current threshold table is at low compensation, so sunlit_entry_counter starts counting from 0.

[0061] T=0 minutes 3 seconds: sunlit_entry_counter reaches 3 (assuming M=3), step S207 passes the judgment. The software executes step S208, switching the thermal control threshold table to the high compensation threshold table, and the satellite begins more aggressive heating.

[0062] T=55 minutes: The satellite is about to enter the shadow zone.

[0063] T=55 minutes 30 seconds: The satellite enters the shadow zone. The attitude and orbit control subsystem broadcasts the shadow period marker as "shadow". The autonomous management software detects this change. At this time, the current threshold table is at high compensation, and shadow_entry_counter starts counting from 0.

[0064] At T=55 minutes and 33 seconds: shadow_entry_counter reaches 3 (assuming N=3), step S106 passes the judgment. The software executes step S107, switching the thermal control threshold table to a low compensation threshold table to save energy during the shadow period.

[0065] T=90 minutes: The satellite flies out of the shadow area again, and the next autonomous switching cycle begins.

[0066] As can be seen from the detailed description of the above embodiments, the method provided by the present invention successfully realizes the fully autonomous on-orbit switching of the satellite thermal control threshold table through a series of rigorous, configurable autonomous judgment logics that include multiple safety and reliability checks. This improves the satellite's intelligence level, operational safety, and energy efficiency, while retaining the highest authority of ground control, and has extremely high engineering application value.

[0067] Those skilled in the art will understand that, besides implementing the system and its various devices, modules, and units provided by this invention in the form of purely computer-readable program code, the same functions can be achieved entirely through logical programming of the method steps, making the system and its various devices, modules, and units of this invention function in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers. Therefore, the system and its various devices, modules, and units provided by this invention can be considered as a hardware component, and the devices, modules, and units included therein for implementing various functions can also be considered as structures within the hardware component; alternatively, the devices, modules, and units for implementing various functions can be considered as both software modules implementing the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0068] 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 of the present invention can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A method for autonomously switching thermal control threshold tables for satellite autonomous management during shadow periods, characterized in that, include: The onboard software collects in real time the autonomous switching prohibition sign, orbit validity sign, shadow period sign, current thermal control threshold table status, and payload secondary power supply status; When the low compensation switching conditions are met and the consistency is verified after a continuous preset period, the thermal control threshold table will automatically switch from high compensation to low compensation. When the conditions for switching to high compensation are met and the consistency is verified after continuous pre-approval cycles, the thermal control threshold table will be automatically switched from low compensation to high compensation. The low-compensation switching conditions are: the autonomous switching thermal control threshold table function is permitted, the track validity flag is valid, the shadow period flag is shadowed, and the current thermal control threshold table is a high-compensation threshold table. The conditions for high-compensation switching are: the autonomous switching thermal control threshold table function is permitted, the track validity flag is valid, the shadow period flag is sunny, the current thermal control threshold table is the low-compensation threshold table, and the load secondary power supply is off.

2. The method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The continuous preset cycle consistency verification is as follows: the onboard software judges all switching conditions cycle by cycle, and only when all conditions are met for three consecutive cycles will the thermal control threshold table switching operation be performed.

3. The method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The default state of the autonomous switching permission sign is "prohibited". It can be changed to "permitted" or "prohibited" via ground remote control commands. In the prohibited state, the onboard software stops monitoring the switching conditions.

4. The method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The orbit validity marker and shadow period marker are calculated and generated by the satellite attitude and orbit control subsystem and broadcast to the onboard software via the onboard data bus.

5. The method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 1, characterized in that, By judging the current status of the thermal control threshold table, the repeated issuance of switching commands can be avoided.

6. The method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The payload secondary power supply being in the off state means that the payload unit is not powered on, which is used to prevent the total power consumption of the satellite from exceeding the power supply limit when switching to the high compensation threshold.

7. The method for autonomously switching the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heater turn-on and turn-off temperature thresholds in the high compensation threshold table are both higher than those in the low compensation threshold table. In the shaded area, the compensation threshold is set to low to save energy, while in the sunny area, the compensation threshold is set to high to ensure the equipment's temperature control requirements are met.

8. A system for autonomously switching thermal control threshold tables during satellite shadow periods, characterized in that, It includes an onboard processor, an attitude and orbit control module, a thermal control module, and a power supply module; the onboard processor executes the method described in any one of claims 1-7 to achieve autonomous switching of the thermal control threshold table.

9. The autonomous switching system for the thermal control threshold table during satellite shadow periods according to claim 8, characterized in that, The thermal control module pre-stores two sets of thermal control threshold tables, one for high compensation and one for low compensation, and loads and activates the threshold tables according to instructions from the onboard processor.

10. The autonomous switching system for the thermal control threshold table for autonomous management of satellite shadow periods according to claim 8, characterized in that, Each module of the system transmits status signals through the on-board data bus. The ground only needs to inject an autonomous switching permission command to complete the entire autonomous switching process without real-time intervention.

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