Spatial Geometry Design of a Low Earth Orbit Constellation for Iranian Regional Navigation Satellite System

Abstract

The regional navigation satellite system (RNSS) is recently used in some countries to cover or enhance their local navigation. The most important satellite navigation systems to date are in the Earth medium orbit (MEO) and Earth synchronous Earth orbit (GEO), which are characterized by big satellites, and high launch, construction, and operation costs. In contrast, low Earth orbit (LEO) small-satellite constellations have recently become attractive because of their advantages, such as a significant reduction in system cost, an increase in communication volume, and a reduction in latency. Therefore, in this study, the spatial geometry of a LEO constellation is designed for Iran to increase the required regional navigation performance. For this purpose, the optimal constellation configuration is obtained through a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) utilizing a cost function with a combination of the geometry dilution of precision (GDOP), the number of satellites, and orbital height in the form of a design procedure. Moreover, reducing the feasible region of longitude of the ascending nodes of orbit planes is applied in the design process to reduce the search space. The simulation results indicate the constellation designed performance.