Design of a micro-satellite constellation for communication

The purpose of this paper is to present a low Earth orbit constellation which provides a communication function over a region centered in Taiwan, with radii of 500 km, 1000 km, 1500 km, 2000 km and 2500 km, and orbit altitudes of 800 km and 1500 km. Several constellations are studied. Two constellations with satellite orbit altitudes of only 800 km or 1000 km are considered first. The results that are obtained show that 27 satellites are required for an orbit altitude of 800 km and 15 satellites for an orbit altitude of 1500 km. The asymmetrical nature of constellations is also presented. The first case presents the results when a single inclination angle is used. For example, covering the region with a radius of 2000 km, 20 satellites orbiting at altitudes of 1500 km and 10 satellites orbiting at altitudes of 800 km with inclinations of 35 degrees are required. In the second case examining the asymmetrical nature of constellations, two inclinations angles are used. For example, covering the region with a radius of 2000 km, 20 satellites orbiting at altitudes of 1500 km with inclinations of 35 degrees and 9 satellites orbiting at altitudes of 800 km with inclinations of 30 degrees are required. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.