Related papers: Stochastic modeling of physical drag coefficient -…
The number of resident space objects is rising at an alarming rate. Mega-constellations and breakup events are proliferating in most orbital regimes, and safe navigation is becoming increasingly problematic. It is important to be able to…
In recent years (2000-2021), human-space activities have been increasing faster than ever. More than 36000 Earth' orbiting objects, all larger than 10 cm, in orbit around the Earth, are currently tracked by the European Space Agency (ESA).…
The residual atmospheric drag on satellites in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) has been recognized as a limiting factor for satellite lifetimes. This work focuses on one component of the drag, i.e., the ionospheric drag from charged particles,…
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are crucial for communications, navigation, and Earth observation. However, their operational lifetimes are strongly influenced by orbital decay due to atmospheric drag. This work presents a simplified…
This work introduces a linearized analytical model for the study of the dynamic of satellites in near circular orbits under the effects of the atmospheric drag. This includes the evaluation of the station keeping required for each satellite…
This work proposes to model the space environment as a stochastic dynamic network where each node is a group of objects of a given class, or species, and their relationship is represented by stochastic links. A set of stochastic dynamic…
A general satellite channel model is proposed for communications between a rapidly moving low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite in a mega-constellation and a stationary user on Earth. The channel uses a non-homogeneous binomial point process…
Aerodynamic collision avoidance manoeuvres provide an opportunity for satellites in Low Earth Orbits to reduce the risk during close encounters. With rising numbers of satellites and objects in orbit, satellites experience close encounters…
This paper introduces a novel Monte Carlo (MC) method to simulate the evolution of the low-earth orbit environment, enhancing the MIT Orbital Capacity Analysis Tool (MOCAT). In recent decades, numerous space environment models have been…
We investigate satellite orbital drag effects at low-Earth orbit (LEO) associated with thermosphere heating during magnetic storms caused by coronal mass ejections. CHAllenge Mini-satellite Payload (CHAMP) and Gravity Recovery And Climate…
Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are leveraged to support new position, navigation, and timing (PNT) service alternatives to GNSS. These alternatives require accurate propagation of satellite position and velocity with a realistic…
The rapid increase in the deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, catering to diverse applications such as communication, Earth observation, environmental monitoring, and scientific research, has significantly amplified the…
Due to the lack of information such as the space environment condition and resident space objects' (RSOs') body characteristics, current orbit predictions that are solely grounded on physics-based models may fail to achieve required…
After decades of space travel, low Earth orbit is a junkyard of discarded rocket bodies, dead satellites, and millions of pieces of debris from collisions and explosions. Objects in high enough altitudes do not re-enter and burn up in the…
The state space representation of active resident space objects can be posed in the form of a stochastic hybrid system. Satellite maneuvers may be accounted for according to control cost or heuristical considerations, yet it is possible to…
The extensive coverage offered by satellites makes them effective in enhancing service continuity for users on dynamic airborne and maritime platforms, such as airplanes and ships. In particular, geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellites…
Atmospheric drag calculation error greatly reduce the low-earth orbit spacecraft trajectory prediction fidelity. To solve the issue, the "correction - prediction" strategy is usually employed. In the method, one parameter is fixed and other…
In practice, low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite networks consist of multiple orbits which are populated with many satellites. A widely used spatial architecture for LEO or MEO satellites is the Walker…
Capella Space, which designs, builds, and operates a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth-imaging small satellites, faced new challenges with the onset of Solar Cycle 25. By mid-2022, it had become clear that solar activity…
When calculating satellite trajectories in low-earth orbit, engineers need to adequately estimate aerodynamic forces. But to this day, obtaining the drag acting on the complicated shapes of modern spacecraft suffers from many sources of…