Description

Satellite constellations provide the infrastructure to implement some of the most important global services of our times both in civilian and military applications, ranging from telecommunications to global positioning, and to observation systems. Flower Constellations constitute a set of satellite constellations characterized by periodic dynamics. The dynamics of a Flower Constellation identify a set of implicit rotating reference frames on which the satellites follow the same closed-loop relative trajectory. In particular, when one of these rotating reference frames is "Planet Centered, Planet Fixed", then all the orbits become compatible (or resonant) with the planet; consequently, the projection of the relative path on the planet results in a repeating ground track. How to design a Flower Constellation to satisfy specific mission requirements is an important problem for promoting the acceptance of this novel concept by the space community. One of the main goals of this work is that of proposing design techniques that can be applied to satisfy practical mission requirements to some relevant navigation and Earth observation systems.