Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
so that the satellites could basically be mass-produced. With a reduced size
and weight, new options would be available for launches: lower cost launch
vehicles, multiple satellites of the constellation launched on one launch vehi-
cle, and piggy-back launch slots where launch costs are shared with another
mission.
9.3.2 Coordinated Science
A constellation of as few as two satellites could be used to perform coordinated
science. For example:
•
Storms and other phenomena observed from multiple angles could be used
to generate 3-D views
•
Satellites with a wide spatial separation could be used for parallax studies
of distant objects
•
A cluster of satellites flying in formation and working together could form a
virtual lens (or mirror) hundreds of miles across to achieve unprecedented
resolution for observations of astronomical objects
The currently predominant application of satellite constellations aims to
extend area coverage. Low earth orbiting constellations such as Globalstar
use dozens of satellites to provide continuous global or near-global coverage.
The global positioning system (GPS) uses a constellation to provide global
coverage and spatial diversity of the multiple satellites in view. Earth imaging
missions can use multiple satellites to shorten the time between successive
observations of the same area, and can coordinate observations so that dy-
namic phenomena (hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.) receive
augmented attention by additional members of the constellation.
Military applications for constellations include earth observation, weather,
and equipment resource monitoring. In the future, it may be possible to launch
very small satellites with a very specific purpose and a very short mission
duration. The satellites could be produced by the hundreds and launched
as needed. The “constellation,” at any point in time, would include those
satellites currently performing their intended function.
9.4 Applying Autonomy and Autonomicity
to Constellations
With the above discussion as motivation, the following section describes how
autonomy could be applied in constellation ground control systems and in
constellation spacecraft themselves to overcome the issues mentioned above.
Finally, the goal of achieving autonomicity in constellations is discussed.
