Triple Time Interval Hybridization Strategy for Rapidly Calculating Regional Target–Visible Time Window of Earth Observation Payloads on Space Station

Abstract

Earth observation payloads deployed outside the space station play a pivotal role in remote sensing and atmospheric monitoring. Calculating the visible time window (VTW) for regional targets is a fundamental aspect of payload observation and operational mission planning. Aiming to address the challenge of rapidly calculating the VTW for regional targets, this paper introduces the Triple Time Interval Hybridization Strategy (TTIHS). By integrating orbit filtering, large-step angle calculation, and a short interval binary search, the TTIHS adapts different strategies within global, coarse search, and precise search time intervals, effectively reducing computational workload and improving speed. Simultaneously, optimization analysis is conducted on the time step in the coarse search, achieving a balance between computation speed and accuracy. Simulation results, based on real data from the China Space Station, highlight a significant improvement in computational speed while ensuring accuracy. Specifically, the proposed rapid algorithm exhibits a 2.73-fold enhancement in speed compared to the existing rapid algorithm.