Outline design and performance analysis of navigation constellation near earth-moon libration point

Abstract

The outline design problem of navigation constellation near libration point is studied for deep space exploration. Firstly, the model of circular restricted three body problem near libration point is given, and the differential correction method is provided to calculate periodic orbits, of which the stability factor is also introduced. Secondly, the concept of effective coverage is defined, and the elements and the steps to design the constellation are proposed. Then, the outline design, performance analysis and evaluation of the navigation constellation are carried out concretely from aspects of orbits selection, space coverage, geometric dilution of precision factor, signal transmission and navigation precision. Compared with the case of global position system, the feasibility of the navigation constellation in libration point orbit is proved, and the performance index is provided. By analysis, the designed navigation constellation in L3-Vertical orbit with 5 satellites is able to provide navigation service for most of the spacecrafts in the space of between the earth and the moon, and the navigation precision is better than 10 m if the orbit determination errors of the constellation are not considered.