Visible time window calculation based on map segmentation for task planning

Abstract

Purpose The visible time window (VTW) calculation of satellites to ground targets is significant for Earth observation satellites' operation management and control. With the improvement of satellite maneuvering capability and the complexity of on-orbit observation tasks, the traditional VTW calculation methods can no longer meet the demands of satellite operation management and control due to a large amount of calculation and low efficiency. The purpose of this study is to propose a fast VTW calculation method based on map segmentation named map segmentation method (MSM), to improve the calculation efficiency, and further solve this problem. Design/methodology/approach The main feature of the MSM method is to segment the map and subsatellite trajectories and traverse the subsatellite points within a specific range around the target, significantly reducing the search space and the amount of computation and improving computational efficiency. Findings Numerical simulations for two satellite orbits are implemented to verify the feasibility of the proposed VTW calculation method, and the traditional traversal method (TM) is also performed for comparative analysis. The results show that the proposed method can obtain the same VTW, using less calculation time than the TM. The computational efficiency is significantly improved, especially for many tasks. The calculation time of observing 500 targets is saved by more than 70%, indicating a broad application prospect. Originality/value This paper proposes an original VTW calculation method based on map segmentation to improve the calculation efficiency. The simulation scenarios are designed to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method, and the observation targets are randomly distributed on the map. For comparative analysis, the TM is also performed under the same simulation conditions.