Abstract:

The response time is proposed to act as a metric to design a reconnaissance mission and its satellite orbit. The process of a responsive reconnaissance mission based on a low-earth fast access orbit (FAO) is analyzed, the deployment of a data collection station and the selection of a launch site are discussed, the datareceiving constraint on the launch orbit is analyzed, and the launch window is obtained considering the solar elevation angle. Based on the above analysis, an optimal orbit for the responsive reconnaissance is designed, which results in the minimum response time of the mission. Under the solar illumination constraint, the maximum response time of the responsive reconnaissance is one day. A simulation example exhibits the responsiveness of FAOs.