On Mean Visibility Time of Non-repeating Satellite Orbits with Finite Sensor Range

Depending on the parameters of a fixed ground station and on the orbital parameters of a non-geosynchronous satellite, different visibility times are offered to fixed ground stations. In this paper, the focus is on the mean visibility time of a non-geosynchronous satellite with non-repeating ground track as seen by a fixed ground station with a finite sensor range. A mathematical analysis is provided for the calculation of the mean visibility time. There are several possible application areas of these visibility statistics, like optimizing a gateway´s latitude to maximize the mean visibility time of a satellite, thus maximizing the average amount of data that can be uploaded to or downloaded from a satellite during passes. The calculations show a good match with simulation results at all latitudes and the underlying mathematical approach is foreseen to be useful for analyzing and designing complete satellite constellations.