Study of zenith pass problem of the inter-satellite linkage antenna

While adopting an elevation-over-azimuth architecture by an inter-satellite linkage antenna of a user satellite, a zenith pass problem always occurs when the antenna is tracing the tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS). This paper deals with this problem by way of, firstly, introducing movement laws of the inter-satellite linkage to predict the movement of the user satellite antenna followed by analyzing the potential pass moment and the actual one of the zenith pass in detail. A number of specific orbit altitudes for the user satellite that can remove the blindness zone are obtained. Finally, on the base of the predicted results from the movement laws of the inter-satellite linkage, the zenith pass tracing strategies for the user satellite antenna are designed under mechanical tilting and program guidance by using a trajectory preprocessor. Simulations have confirmed the reasonability and feasibility of the strategies in dealing with the zenith pass problem.