Patent Publication Number: US-8972184-B2

Title: Apparatus and method for determining orbit of geostationary satellite

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0092768, filed on Aug. 24, 2012, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite using global positioning system (GPS) satellite data. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A degree of accuracy of a position of a geostationary satellite is known to be within several kilometers (km) when an orbit of the geostationary satellite is determined using ranging data and tracking data from a single ground station. 
     Dissimilar to a communication satellite, this degree of position accuracy may present an issue with a weather satellite or other satellites requiring a high-precision image. To obtain high-precision image data, the demand for a high level of position accuracy exists. 
     To meet the demand, data measured from at least three ground stations is required. 
     However, a longitudinal location of a geostationary satellite is so close to that of a single ground station that it is difficult to estimate an azimuthal bias when a geometric singularity is found in azimuth measurements. 
     Also, an increase in a number of ground stations increases costs incurred in determining an orbit. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite, including a data calculating unit to calculate an orbit and a position of at least one global positioning system (GPS) satellite, a measuring unit to measure position information of a geostationary satellite relative to a ground station, an angle calculating unit to calculate an angle between the geostationary satellite and each of the at least one GPS satellite, a pseudo-range calculating unit to calculate at least one pseudo-range of the geostationary satellite using the orbit and the position of the at least one GPS satellite, the position information of the geostationary satellite, and the angle between the geostationary satellite and each of the at least one GPS satellite, and a position determining unit to determine an orbit of the geostationary satellite using the pseudo-range. 
     The position information of the geostationary satellite may include a distance, an azimuth angle, and an elevation angle of the geostationary satellite relative to the ground station. 
     The measuring unit may measure the position information of the geostationary satellite through antenna tracking from the ground station. 
     The data calculating unit may calculate an ephemeris of a GPS satellite matching a time interval involved in measuring the position information of the geostationary satellite, among the at least one GPS satellite. 
     The measuring unit may calculate an elevation difference between the geostationary satellite and each of the at least one GPS satellite relative to the ground station. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite, including calculating an orbit and a position of at least one GPS satellite, measuring position information of a geostationary satellite relative to a ground station, calculating an angle between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite, calculating at least one pseudo-range of the geostationary satellite using the orbit and the position of the at least one GPS satellite, the position information of the geostationary satellite, and the angle between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite, and determining an orbit of the geostationary satellite using the pseudo-range. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a communication connection between a ground station, a geostationary satellite, and a plurality of global positioning system (GPS) satellites according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a system for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating an angle between a geostationary satellite and a GPS satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an example of a right spherical triangle used for calculating an angle between a geostationary satellite and a GPS satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. Exemplary embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
     An apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may calculate an exact position of a global positioning system (GPS) satellite corresponding to ranging and antenna tracking measurements, using interpolation from a ground station executing ranging and antenna tracking operations for a geostationary satellite periodically. 
     The apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite may calculate a position of the geostationary satellite accurately based on geometric characteristics of the position of the GPS satellite. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a communication connection between a ground station  110 , a geostationary satellite  120 , and a plurality of GPS satellites  131  through  136  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite may determine the orbit of the geostationary satellite  120  accurately by the ground station  110  measuring distances and angles for the geostationary satellite  120  and each of the GPS satellites  131  through  136 , through ranging and antenna tracking. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a structure of the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite may include a data calculating unit  210 , a measuring unit  220 , an angle calculating unit  230 , a pseudo-range calculating unit  240 , and a position determining unit  250 . 
     The data calculating unit  210  may calculate an orbit and a position of at least one GPS satellite. 
     The data calculating unit  210  may calculate an ephemeris of a GPS satellite matching a time interval involved in measuring position information of the geostationary satellite, among the at least one GPS satellite. 
     The measuring unit  220  may measure the position information of the geostationary satellite relative to the ground station. The position information of the geostationary satellite may include a distance, an azimuth angle, and an elevation angle of the geostationary satellite relative to the ground station. 
     The measuring unit  220  may measure the position information of the geostationary satellite through antenna tracking from the ground station, and may calculate an elevation difference between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite relative to the ground station. 
     The angle calculating unit  230  may calculate an angle θ between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite. For example, the angle calculating unit  230  may calculate the angle θ between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite through Equation 1.
 
θ=cos −1 (cos Δα cos Δα)  [Equation 1]
 
     where Δα denotes an azimuth difference between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite and Δθ denotes an elevation difference between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite. 
     The pseudo-range calculating unit  240  may calculate at least one pseudo-range of the geostationary satellite using the orbit and the position of the at least one GPS satellite, the position information of the geostationary satellite, and the angle between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite. 
     The pseudo-range calculating unit  240  may calculate the at least one pseudo-range r i  through Equation 2.
 
 r   i =√{square root over (( R   i   s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R   i   s )cos θ i )}{square root over (( R   i   s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R   i   s )cos θ i )}
 
     where θ i  denotes an angle between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite, r i  denotes a distance between the ground station and the geostationary satellite, and R i s corresponds to a distance between the ground station and the GPS satellite. 
     The pseudo-range calculating unit  240  may calculate the at least one pseudo-range r i  through Equation 3.
 
 r   i =squrt(( X−x   i )^2+( Y−y   i )^2+( Z−z   i )^2)  [Equation 3]
 
     where X, Y, and Z denote location coordinates of the geostationary satellite, and x i , y i , and z i  correspond to location coordinates of the GPS satellite. 
     The pseudo-range calculating unit  240  may calculate a matrix A i  for a relationship between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite through Equation 4. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     A 
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                   [ 
                   
                     Equation 
                     ⁢ 
                     
                         
                     
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                     4 
                   
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     The position determining unit  250  may determine the orbit of the geostationary satellite using the pseudo-range. 
     The position determining unit  250  may determine the location coordinates X of the geostationary satellite through Equation 5.
 
 X =( A   i   T   WA   i ) −1   A   i   T   r   i   [Equation 5]
 
     where W corresponds to a weight value for geometric dilution of precision (GDOP). For example, a high weight value may be applied to data with good GDOP, and a low weight value may be applied to data with poor GDOP. 
     Hereinafter, the determining of the position of the geostationary satellite using the position information of the plurality of GPS satellites and the position information of the geostationary satellite received from the ground station is described in further detail. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a system for determining the orbit of the geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the ground station may be used to control the geostationary satellite. The ground station may include a GPS receiver, and synchronization in time between the entire system and the GPS receiver may be implemented. 
     A distance between the geostationary satellite (X, Y, Z) and each of GPS 1  (x1, y1, z1), GPS 2  (x2, y2, z2), and GPS 3  (x3, y3, z3), and a distance between the geostationary satellite (X, Y, Z) and the ground station (x, y, z) may be represented by Equation 6. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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     For example, the pseudo-range r 1  may be calculated based on this geometric relationship. 
     In Equation 6, ‘r’ denotes a distance between the ground station and the geostationary satellite, and R 1   s , R 2   s , and R 3   s  denote a distance between the ground station and each of the GPS satellites GPS 1 , GPS 2 , and GPS 3 . Also, θ 1 , θ 2 , and θ 3  denote an angle between the geostationary satellite and each of the GPS satellites GPS 1 , GPS 2 , and GPS 3  relative to the ground station, and may be calculated using a distance, an azimuth angle, and an elevation angle of the geostationary satellite relative to the ground station. 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating the angle between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the ground station may recognize an exact location of the GPS satellite through antenna tracking. Accordingly, the ground station may calculate an azimuth angle and an elevation angle of the GPS satellite accurately. 
     The angles θ 1 , θ 2 , and θ 3  between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellites GPS 1 , GPS 2 , and GPS 3  may be calculated by substituting an azimuth difference and an elevation difference between the geostationary satellite and each of the GPS satellites GPS 1 , GPS 2 , and GPS 3  into a right spherical triangle formula. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an example of a right spherical triangle used for calculating the angle between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     The angle between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite may be calculated as described in the foregoing. 
     The angle θ between the geostationary satellite and each of the GPS satellites GPS 1 , GPS 2 , and GPS 3  may correspond to θ 1 , θ 2 , and θ 3  of  FIG. 3 . Δα may correspond to an azimuth difference between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite relative to the ground station, and Δθ may correspond to an elevation difference between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite relative to the ground station. 
     Using the azimuth difference and the elevation difference, the angle between the geostationary satellite and the GPS satellite may be calculated through Equations 1 through 6 and Equation 7.
 
 r 1=√{square root over (( R 1 s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R 1 s )cos θ1)}{square root over (( R 1 s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R 1 s )cos θ1)}
 
 r 2=√{square root over (( R 2 s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R 2 s )cos θ2)}{square root over (( R 2 s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R 2 s )cos θ2)}
 
 r 3=√{square root over (( R 3 s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R 3 s )cos θ3)}{square root over (( R 3 s ) 2   +r   2 −2 r ( R 3 s )cos θ3)}  [Equation 7]
 
     The angles θ 1 , θ 2 , and θ 3  between the geostationary satellite and each of the GPS satellites may be calculated as shown in  FIG. 3 . The pseudo-ranges r 1 , r 2 , and r 3  may be calculated using the second version rule of the cosine rule. 
     A bias or an error included in the measured data, for example, a satellite clock error, an ionosphere error, a convention zone error, a multipath error, and the like, may be removed from the distances R 1   s , R 2   s , and R 3   s  between the ground station and each of the GPS satellites GPS 1 , GPS 2 , and GPS 3 . 
     The matrix A i  for the relationship between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite may be calculated through Equation 4. In this instance, the distance between the ground station and the geostationary satellite in Equation 1 may be included in the matrix A. 
     At least three pseudo-ranges may be estimated, and using the at least three pseudo-ranges, location coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the geostationary satellite may be estimated. In this instance, a least square estimator (LSE) may be used in a time series. 
     Based on DOP between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite relative to the ground station, a most suitable GDOP for determining the position may be calculated, and the position of the geostationary satellite may be estimated by setting the GPS satellites based on the configuration of Equation 2. 
     When the Equations defined in the foregoing is applied to GPS satellites having an elevation angle of 0 degrees or higher enabling communication from the ground station, r 4 , r 5 , and r 6  and θ 4 , θ 5 , and θ 6  may be calculated. 
     A more accurate position of the geostationary satellite may be obtained by applying Equation 5 using a batch least square estimator (BLSE) filter. 
     Since the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite is able to process all visible GPS satellite data, the orbit of the geostationary satellite may be determined at each (*period? epoch using a large amount of observed data during the same period of time. Also, the orbit of the geostationary satellite may be determined by conducting BLSE of data for a predetermined length of time, for example, one day, two days, three days, and the like. 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , in operation  610 , the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite may calculate an orbit and a position of at least one GPS satellite. 
     In operation  620 , the apparatus may measure position information of a geostationary satellite relative to a ground station. 
     In operation  630 , the apparatus may calculate an angle between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite. 
     In operation  640 , the apparatus may calculate at least one pseudo-rage of the geostationary satellite using the orbit and the position of the at least one GPS satellite, the position information of the geostationary satellite, and the angle between the geostationary satellite and each GPS satellite. 
     In operation  650 , the apparatus may determine the orbit of the geostationary satellite using the pseudo-range. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite may determine the position of the geostationary satellite using distance data of the GPS satellite and data of the geostationary satellite including a distance, an azimuth angle, and an elevation angle. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for determining an orbit of a geostationary satellite may remove an azimuth bias of a single ground station using position information of the GPS satellite to determine the position of the geostationary satellite accurately using at least one pseudo-range. 
     The above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be recorded in computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard discs, floppy discs, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM discs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical discs; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described hardware devices may be configured to act as one or more software modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, or vice versa. 
     Although a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described exemplary embodiments. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. 
     Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.