KR20180067088A - Apparatus and method for distance measurement to satellites using multiple ground stations - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a device and method to measure the distance to a satellite by using a plurality of ground stations. The method executed by a main ground station to measure the distance to a satellite includes: a step of generating schedule data for measuring the distance to a satellite in regard to the main ground station and a plurality of sub ground stations; a step of transmitting the generated schedule data to each of the sub ground stations; a step of measuring the distance to the satellite by using scenario data controlling distance measurement equipment included in the main ground station in accordance with the generated schedule data; a step of receiving a result of distance measurement conducted by each of the sub ground stations in accordance with the generated schedule data; a step of generating result data about the satellite by combining the result of the distance measurement conducted by the main ground station with the results of the distance measurement conducted by sub ground stations; and a step of predicting the position of the satellite by using the generated result data.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISTANCE MEASUREMENT TO SATELLITES USING MULTIPLE GROUND STATIONS [0002]

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring a distance to a satellite using a plurality of ground stations, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for measuring a distance between a ground station and a satellite required to determine a satellite orbit, And an automation method for the mission.

All satellites require a satellite control system to control the satellite and carry out its mission. The satellite control system includes a TTC (Tracking, Telemetry, and Command) subsystem with an antenna for communication with satellites such as distance measurement and remote command, a real-time operating subsystem A flight dynamics sub-system for determining the orbit of the satellite and maintaining its position, and a satellite simulator subsystem for simulating the satellite on the ground.

Geostationary orbiting satellites are located at an altitude of about 36000 kilometers from the ground and move along the satellite orbit over time. In this case, if the satellite moves along the normal satellite orbit, it is possible to perform the mission through the satellite. If the satellite is out of the normal satellite orbit, it may enter the normal satellite orbit again. Therefore, it is necessary to predict the exact position of the satellite in the ground station in order to perform the normal operation of the satellite.

In order to predict the position of the satellite, the distance between the satellite and the satellite is periodically measured in Korea, and the measured distance information and angle information of the antenna (azimuth angle, elevation angle) are used together. In case of using a single ground station, it takes more than 24 hours of distance measurement data of about 1 hour in order to predict the accurate satellite position, and the measurement time becomes long.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for accurately estimating orbits in a short period of time by automating a distance measurement task to a satellite using a plurality of ground stations.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring a distance to a satellite using a plurality of ground stations, and more particularly, to an automatic method for measuring a distance between a ground station and a satellite required for determining a satellite orbit in a satellite control system using a plurality of ground stations To provide an apparatus and method that can accurately predict the orbit of a satellite in a short period of time.

A method for measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a main ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: generating schedule data for distance measurement to each of the main ground station and a plurality of sub ground stations; Transmitting the generated schedule data to each of the plurality of sub ground stations; Performing distance measurement to the satellite using scenario data for controlling the distance measuring equipment included in the main ground station according to the generated schedule data; Receiving a distance measurement result to the satellite performed by each of the plurality of sub-ground stations according to the generated schedule data; Merging a distance measurement result performed by the main ground station and a distance measurement result received from each of the plurality of sub-ground stations to generate result data for the satellite; And estimating a position of the satellite using the generated result data.

The step of generating the schedule data may adjust the duty times of the distance measurement performed by each of the main ground station and the plurality of sub ground stations so that they do not overlap each other.

The schedule data may include ID assigned to each of the main ground station and the plurality of sub ground stations, starting point of the mission for distance measurement, repetition number of the mission for distance measurement, and execution period of the mission for distance measurement .

A method for measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a secondary terrestrial station according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: receiving schedule data for distance measurement from a main ground station to the satellite; Performing distance measurement to the satellite using scenario data for controlling distance measuring equipment included in the sub ground station according to the received schedule data; And transmitting the distance measurement result to the main ground station.

The schedule data may include ID assigned to each of the main ground station and the plurality of sub ground stations, starting point of the mission for distance measurement, repetition number of the mission for distance measurement, and execution period of the mission for distance measurement .

The apparatus for measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a main ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an antenna for measuring a distance to a satellite and a processor for processing data transmitted and received through the antenna, The method comprising: generating schedule data for distance measurement to the satellite for each of a ground station and a plurality of sub ground stations, transmitting the generated schedule data to each of the plurality of sub ground stations, A distance measurement to the satellite using scenario data for controlling an antenna included in a ground station and a distance measurement result to the satellite performed by each of the plurality of sub ground stations according to the generated schedule data, The results of the distance measurements performed by the main ground station and the results of the distance measurements The result of the distance measurement received at each angle may be merged to generate result data for the satellite, and the position of the satellite may be predicted using the generated result data.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to accurately predict the orbit of a satellite in a short period of time by providing a method of automating a distance measurement mission between a ground station and a satellite, which is necessary for determining a satellite orbit in a satellite control system using a plurality of ground stations .

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for measuring a distance to a satellite using a plurality of ground stations according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
2 is a diagram illustrating a method of measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a main ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram for generating schedule data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a method of measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a secondary terrestrial station according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a schedule data registration procedure of a ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view illustrating an example of performing a task for distance measurement according to schedule data registered by a ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the specific structural or functional descriptions of embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are presented for the purpose of describing embodiments only in accordance with the concepts of the present invention, May be embodied in various forms and are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Embodiments in accordance with the concepts of the present invention are capable of various modifications and may take various forms, so that the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concepts of the present invention to the specific disclosure forms, but includes changes, equivalents, or alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The terms first, second, or the like may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The terms may be named for the purpose of distinguishing one element from another, for example without departing from the scope of the right according to the concept of the present invention, the first element being referred to as the second element, Similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between. Expressions that describe the relationship between components, for example, "between" and "immediately" or "directly adjacent to" should be interpreted as well.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprises ", or" having ", and the like, are used to specify one or more of the features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, But do not preclude the presence or addition of steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning of the context in the relevant art and, unless explicitly defined herein, are to be interpreted as ideal or overly formal Do not.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the patent application is not limited or limited by these embodiments. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for measuring a distance to a satellite using a plurality of ground stations according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

A satellite (100) moving along a geostationary orbit from above the ground has a phenomenon that moves over a normal geostationary orbit over time. The ground station performs the satellite control service through communication with the satellite 100 and can estimate the position of the satellite 100 by measuring the distance to the satellite 100 periodically. At this time, when the predicted position of the satellite 100 is out of the normal geostationary orbit, the ground station can enter the satellite 100 into a normal geostationary orbit through a remote command.

Generally, when the distance measurement is performed from the main ground station 110 to the satellites 100, the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122 do not perform the distance measurement to the satellites 100. That is, since only a single ground station is used to measure the distance to the satellite, it takes a lot of time to accurately predict the position of the satellite, and the result is also inaccurate.

However, in the present invention, schedule data for a distance measurement mission from the main ground station 110 to a plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 is transmitted through the Internet network 130, and a plurality of sub- Each providing a method of predicting the position of the satellite 100 faster and more precise by measuring the distance to the satellite 100 automatically based on the received schedule data.

 At this time, the schedule data generated by the main ground station 110 and transmitted to the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122 is the duty time for the distance measurement performed by each of the main ground station 110 and the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122 Can be created by not overlapping each other.

As described above, the present invention estimates the position of the satellite 100 by measuring the distance to the satellite 100 using the main ground station 110 and the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122, thereby obtaining faster and more accurate results have.

2 is a diagram illustrating a method of measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a main ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The main ground station 110 may include an antenna for distance measurement to the satellite 100 and a processor for processing data transmitted and received via the antenna.

In step 210, the main ground station 110 may generate schedule data for the distance measurement to the satellite 100 for the main ground station 110 itself and for each of the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122, respectively. At this time, since the distance measurement from the two ground stations to the satellite 100 can not be performed at the same time, the main ground station 110 allocates the start points of the distance measurement between the ground stations so that they do not overlap each other, Can be generated.

The schedule data generated by the main ground station 110 includes ID assigned to each ground station, start time Ts of the mission for distance measurement, number of repetitions N of the mission for distance measurement, Tp). ≪ / RTI >

In step 220, the main ground station 110 may transmit the schedule data to each of the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122 via the Internet or the wire network.

In step 230, the main ground station 110 may automatically perform the distance measurement to the satellite 100 using the scenario data controlling the distance measuring equipment according to the generated schedule data. At this time, the scenario data includes data for checking and controlling the state of the corresponding distance measuring equipment at the time when the main ground station 110 starts the mission for the distance measurement according to the schedule data.

The main ground station 110 can acquire the distance information to the satellite 100 by performing the distance measurement to the satellite 100 using the scenario data according to the generated schedule data. In addition, the main ground station 110 may use the scenario data to obtain information about the azimuth angle and the altitude angle, which are satellite tracking information collected from the controlled distance measuring equipment, i.e., the antenna. The main ground station 110 may generate the result data for the satellite 100 of the main ground station 110 using the distance information to the satellite 100 thus obtained and the azimuth and altitude angles of the antenna.

In step 240, the main ground station 110 may receive a distance measurement result to the satellites 100 performed by each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 according to the generated schedule data. At this time, the received distance measurement result may include information on the distance to the satellite 100 acquired by each of the sub ground stations 120 to 122 and the azimuth angle and altitude angle, which are satellite tracking information collected from the antenna have.

In step 250, the main ground station 110 calculates the distance measurement result from the main ground station 110 to the satellite 100 generated in step 230 and the distance measurement result from each of the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122 The measurement results may be merged to produce the final result data for the satellite 100.

In step 260, the main ground station 110 may predict the position of the satellite 100 using the final result data generated in step 250. [ The main ground station 110 may then return to the original satellite orbit by remote command when the predicted position of the satellite 100 is out of the normal satellite orbit.

As described above, according to the present invention, the distance measurement result data required for the orbit prediction of the satellite 100 is acquired using a plurality of ground stations rather than a single ground station, and the mission for the distance measurement is automated, The trajectory can be predicted.

3 is a conceptual diagram for generating schedule data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The processor of the main ground station 110 may generate the schedule data so that the main ground station 110 and the plurality of the sub ground stations 120 to 122 can perform the distance measurement to the satellite 100 without overlapping each other.

To do this, the processor calculates the time Ts (310), Ts' (320), ..., Ts at which the main ground station 110 and the plurality of sub ground stations 120 to 122 respectively start the mission for distance measurement to the satellite 100. Ts '' 330 and determine the execution time Tp for repeating the mission for distance measurement for each ground station.

At this time, when the starting time point Ts (310) of the mission for the distance measurement of the main ground station 110 is determined, the processor calculates the starting point Ts' of the mission for distance measurement of the sub ground station 1 (120) 320 can be determined.

[Formula 1]

Ts' = Ts + Td + Tr

That is, the start time Ts' (320) of the distance measurement task of the sub ground station 1 (120) is calculated by multiplying the start time Ts (310) of the distance measurement task of the main ground station 110 by the execution time Td of the distance measurement task, Is a value obtained by adding the preparation time Tr necessary for starting the distance measurement task in the first ground station 1 (120) after the distance measurement task of the first ground station 110 is completed.

Similarly, the starting point Ts "330 of the distance measurement task of the last sub ground station N 122 can be determined from the start point Ts" 330 of the distance measurement task of the sub ground station N 122, 110), which can be expressed as shown in Equation 2 below.

[Formula 2]

Ts < Ts + Tp - (Td + Tr)

4 is a diagram illustrating a method of measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a secondary terrestrial station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may include an antenna for measuring the distance to the satellite 100 and a processor for processing data transmitted and received via the antenna.

In step 410, each of the plurality of sub-terrestrial stations 120 to 122 may receive schedule data for distance measurement from the main ground station 110 to the satellite 100. [ At this time, each of the secondary ground stations 120 to 122 can receive the corresponding schedule data by comparing the ground station ID included in the schedule data with its ground station ID.

In step 420, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may automatically perform the distance measurement to the satellite 100 using scenario data controlling the distance measuring equipment according to the received schedule data . At this time, the scenario data includes data for checking and controlling the state of the corresponding distance measuring equipment at the time when each of the plurality of the sub ground stations 120 to 122 starts the task of distance measurement according to the schedule data .

Each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may acquire the distance information to the satellite 100 by performing the distance measurement to the satellite 100 using the scenario data according to the generated schedule data. In addition, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may acquire information on azimuth and elevation angles, which are satellite tracking information collected from an antenna, which is controlled by using the scenario data. Each of the plurality of secondary stations 120 to 122 acquires the satellite 100 of each of the plurality of secondary ground stations 120 to 122 using the distance information to the satellite 100 thus obtained and the azimuth angle and altitude angle of the antenna. Lt; / RTI &gt;

In step 420, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may transmit the generated result data to the main ground station 110. [ At this time, the resultant data of the distance measurement is transmitted to the sub-ground stations 120 to 122 by distance information to the satellite 100 acquired by each of the sub-ground stations 120 to 122 and information about the azimuth angle and altitude angle, .

5 is a diagram illustrating a schedule data registration procedure of a ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When schedule data for distance measurement to the satellite 100 is generated by the processor of the main ground station 110, each ground station can register the generated schedule data to perform the distance measurement.

First, in step 510, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may receive schedule data for distance measurement from the main ground station 110 to the satellite 100. [ At this time, each of the secondary ground stations 120 to 122 may compare the ground station ID included in the schedule data with its ground station ID and select and receive the matching schedule data, as in step 520.

If each of the plurality of secondary terrestrial stations 120 to 122 receives the schedule data consistent with its ground station ID, it may register the received schedule data to perform the task of distance measurement.

For this purpose, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may initialize the count value i to 0 in order to register the schedule data sequentially in time in step 530.

In step 540, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 compares the count i with the number of repetitions N of the task for distance measurement included in the schedule data, The registration task of the mission schedule can be performed until the number N of repetitions of the task is smaller than the number N of repetitions of the task.

Specifically, each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 sequentially increases the count i to register the mission schedule as in step 550 when the count value i is smaller than the repetition number N of the mission for distance measurement To determine the starting point for the distance measurement mission. In this case, the starting point of the execution of the mission schedule for the i-th distance measurement can be expressed by Equation 3 below.

[Formula 3]

Ti = Ts + Tp * (i-1)

Each of the plurality of sub-ground stations 120 to 122 may register a task for the distance measurement at a start point of time corresponding to the count value i as in step 560. [

At this time, if the count value i is equal to or greater than the number of repetitions N of the task for distance measurement during the registration of the mission schedule, each of the plurality of the subsidiary ground stations 120 to 122 can complete the registration of the mission schedule.

The registration process of the mission schedule can be performed in the same manner in the case of the main ground station 110 as well.

6 is a view illustrating an example of performing a task for distance measurement according to schedule data registered by a ground station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the registration of the mission schedule for the distance measurement is completed through the process of FIG. 5, each ground station may wait until the start time of the first registered mission schedule as the current time, as in step 610.

If it is determined that the current time is the start time of the first registered mission schedule, each ground station automatically measures the distance to the satellite 100 using the scenario data for controlling the distance measuring equipment in step 620 Result data can be generated. At this time, the scenario data includes data for checking and controlling the state of the corresponding distance measuring equipment at the time when the main ground station 110 starts the mission for the distance measurement according to the schedule data.

Each ground station may then set the count value i to 1 in step 630 to start the next registered mission schedule.

In step 640, each ground station compares the count value i with the number of repetitions N of the mission for distance measurement included in the schedule data, so that the count value i is smaller than the number of repetitions N of the mission for distance measurement Until then, the mission for distance measurement can be performed through the registered mission schedule, and if all the mission schedules are performed, the mission for distance measurement can be completed.

At this time, the execution time at which each ground station performs the registered mission schedule is determined as the time obtained by adding the execution period (Tp) of the distance measurement task multiplied by the count value i to the time point Ts at which the mission for distance measurement starts .

Each ground station may then determine if the current time is the next registered mission schedule start time, such as step 650, if the count value i is less than the number of repetitions (N) of tasks for distance measurement.

If the current time is determined to be the next registered mission schedule start time, each ground station assigns the number of the registered mission schedule by incrementing the count value i, as in step 660, The distance measurement task corresponding to the schedule number can be performed.

In this case, if there is no mission schedule to be performed, each ground station performs distance measurement mission to obtain distance information to the acquired satellite 100 and information about the azimuth angle and altitude angle, which are satellite tracking information collected from the antenna And the resultant data is generated, and a plurality of the secondary ground stations 120 to 122 can transmit the generated result data to the primary ground station 110. [

As described above, according to the present invention, the distance measurement result data required for the orbit prediction of the satellite 100 is acquired using a plurality of ground stations rather than a single ground station, and the mission for the distance measurement is automated, The trajectory can be predicted.

The apparatus described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, and / or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the apparatus and components described in the embodiments may be implemented within a computer system, such as, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , A programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. The processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing apparatus may be described as being used singly, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing apparatus may have a plurality of processing elements and / As shown in FIG. For example, the processing unit may comprise a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as a parallel processor.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, and may be configured to configure the processing device to operate as desired or to process it collectively or collectively Device can be commanded. The software and / or data may be in the form of any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage media, or device , Or may be permanently or temporarily embodied in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed over a networked computer system and stored or executed in a distributed manner. The software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable recording media.

The method according to an embodiment may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions to be recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the embodiments or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. For example, it is to be understood that the techniques described may be performed in a different order than the described methods, and / or that components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, Lt; / RTI &gt; or equivalents, even if it is replaced or replaced.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the following claims.

100: satellite
110: State Ground Station
120: Subnational Ground Station 1
121: Sub-land station 2
122: Subnational ground station N
130: Internet network

Claims (1)

A method for measuring a distance to a satellite performed by a main ground station,
Generating schedule data for distance measurement to the satellite for each of the main ground station and the plurality of sub ground stations;
Transmitting the generated schedule data to each of the plurality of sub ground stations;
Performing distance measurement to the satellite using scenario data for controlling the distance measuring equipment included in the main ground station according to the generated schedule data;
Receiving a distance measurement result to the satellite performed by each of the plurality of sub-ground stations according to the generated schedule data;
Merging a distance measurement result performed by the main ground station and a distance measurement result received from each of the plurality of sub-ground stations to generate result data for the satellite; And
Estimating a position of the satellite using the generated result data
/ RTI &gt;

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