Geosynchronous (GEO) satellites are essential for modern communication networks. If communication to a GEO satellite is lost and a malfunction occurs upon orbit insertion such as a solar panel not deploying there is no direct way to observe it from Earth. Due to the GEO orbit distance of ~36,000 km from Earth's surface, the Rayleigh criteria dictates that a 14 m telescope is required to conventionally image a satellite with spatial resolution down to 1 m using visible light. Furthermore, a telescope larger than 30 m is required under ideal conditions to obtain spatial resolution down to 0.4 m. This dissertation evaluates a method for obtaining high spatial resolution images of GEO satellites from an Earth based system by measuring the irradiance distribution on the ground resulting from the occultation of the satellite passing in front of a star. The representative size of a GEO satellite combined with the orbital distance results in the ground shadow being consistent with a Fresnel diffraction pattern when observed at visible wavelengths. A measurement of the ground shadow irradiance is used as an amplitude constraint in a Gerchberg-Saxton phase retrieval algorithm that produces a reconstruction of the satellite's 2D transmission function which is analogous to a reverse contrast image of the satellite. The advantage of shadow imaging is that a terrestrial based redundant set of linearly distributed inexpensive small telescopes, each coupled to high speed detectors, is a more effective resolved imaging system for GEO satellites than a very large telescope under ideal conditions. Modeling and simulation efforts indicate sub-meter spatial resolution can be readily achieved using collection apertures of less than 1 meter in diameter. A mathematical basis is established for the treatment of the physical phenomena involved in the shadow imaging process. This includes the source star brightness and angular extent, and the diffraction of starlight from the satellite. Atmospheric effects including signal attenuation, refraction/dispersion, and turbulence are also applied to the model. The light collection and physical measurement process using highly sensitive geiger-mode avalanche photo-diode (GM-APD) detectors is described in detail. A simulation of the end-to-end shadow imaging process is constructed and then utilized to quantify the spatial resolution limits based on source star, environmental, observational, collection, measurement, and image reconstruction parameters.

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Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO) is critical to Earth communications, weather monitoring, and national defense. Orbit estimation of GEO objects is difficult due to physical constraints placed on ground-based tracking devices such as weather, object range, and tracking frequency restrictions. These constraints are commonly mitigated through the use of two-way signaling devices for cooperative GEO satellites. However, determining the position and velocity of uncooperative GEO satellites and/or objects is more challenging. The objective of this dissertation is to quantify the increased orbital accuracy of objects in the GEO catalog when the Air Force Space Command Space Surveillance Network (AFSPC SSN) is augmented with space-based angles-only measurements from a sensor in a unique near-GEO orbit. Linear covariance theory and analysis provides an efficient method to determine the covariance of the position and velocity of an uncooperative GEO object, while incorporating uncertainties in the dynamics and sensor errors. Once this covariance is determined, an error budget analysis is performed to determine the major sources of uncertainty contributing to position errors of objects in the GEO catalog. As a result, it is shown through linear covariance analysis that incorporating measurements from a space-based sensor in a near-GEO orbit increases the orbital accuracy of GEO objects when compared to the orbital accuracy achieved with AFSPC SSN measurements alone.

Detailed observations of geosynchronous satellites from earth are very limited. To better inspect these high altitude satellites, the use of small, refuelable satellites is proposed. The small satellites are stationed on a carrier platform in an orbit near the population of geosynchronous satellites. A carrier platform equipped with deployable, refuelable SmallSats is a viable option to inspect geosynchronous satellites. The propellant requirement to transfer to a targeted geosynchronous satellite, perform a proximity inspection mission, and transfer back to the carrier platform in a nearby orbit is determined. Convex optimization and traditional optimization techniques are explored, determining minimum propellant trajectories. Propellant is measured by the total required change in velocity, delta-v. The trajectories were modeled in a relative reference frame using the Clohessy-Wiltshire equations. Mass estimations for the carrier platform and the SmallSat were determined by using the rocket equation. The mass estimates were compared to the mass of a single, non-refuelable satellite performing the same geosynchronous satellite inspection missions. From the minimum delta-v trajectories and the mass analysis, it is determined that using refuelable SmallSats and a carrier platform in a nearby orbit can be more effcient than using a single non-refuelable satellite to perform multiple geosynchronous satellite inspections.

The boom in data communications that started in the 1960s is a long way from abating. The early and mid 1980s will see a new generation of digital data transmission services come into operation that could change the ways business is conducted. "Information management and exploitation will change the fabric of society", according to Nicolas Mokhoff, Associate Editor of IEEE Spectrum Magazine. Manipulated by microelectronic, computer, radio and other electronic disciplines, information has become a vital commodity at the trade exchange. But unlike the prices of most commodities today, the price for exchange of information is decreasing because of electronics. One of the principal contributors to this decrease has been the geosynchronous telecommunications satellite, due to rapid advances in space and communications technology and the resulting cost-effectiveness achieved in applying that technology. Advances in IC technology have made digital telephony an equal partner with analogue. The inherent advantages of digital reliability, low cost and smaller packaging are prompting Telecom to phase out present equipment and expand new services with a digital hierarchy, such as the Digital Data Service being introduced in late 1982. Services employing advanced satellite and microwave technology, and also the existing and upgraded telephone systems, will have at least two things in common: they will transmit and switch data digitally, including coded speech, and the data will be transmitted in bursts. The technology that may expand fastest is the second generation of commercial communications satellites. Pier Bargellini, a senior scientist at Comsat Laboratories, says that "without the use of satellites as reflectors for source and data channels, television signals could not be shared by remote areas, long-distance telephone services would be constricted and the data exchange for the business world would be hampered." Changes in the communications industry have been so dramatic (particularly with regard to satellites) that government bodies (including the Australian Federal Government) have been forced to reexamine long-standing communications practices. In October 1979 the Minister for Post and Telecommunications announced the Governments decision that it would be in the national interest to establish a communications satellite system for Australia. At that time, the Minister also announced that, a Satellite Project Office would be established within the Postal and Telecommunications Department to set in train the planning activities necessary for the introduction of the system. The SPO has been operational within the Department since late 1979, and 2. consultation of system service requirements in particular has involved liaison with a broad spectrum of interests including Commonwealth departments. Figure 1 of Appendix A testifies to the Australian Government's policy of supplying outback communities with improved communications services (including television) by using satellite facilities. Very little is known about the benefits and needs (in Australia) that a data communications satellite system might be able to fulfil, including those needs of the Department of Social Security. This is mainly due to the lack of specific details about the final configurations and costs of the separate satellite services, which wont be known until late 1981. This paper is , therefore, an initial but detailed examination of the hardware and software subsystems which constitute a domestic telecommunications satellite system. More specifically, the paper considers the on-board equipment of a communications satellite (the space segment - including satellite launch and orbit characteristics, and signal propagation delay and attenuation), and the earth stations (the ground segment - including signal modulation, multiple access and computer application considerations); all as dictated by Australian geographical, economic and communications traffic density characteristics. The paper then considers some of the possible methods Australian corporations and government departments may adopt to utilise satellite communications links, particularly for data communications. A second paper will re-examine the situation by applying the specific facilities and costs, when they are known (these will be announced by the Satellite Project Office after contracts for the space and ground segments have been let), to a large, low-traffic, interactive multipoint network such as that of the Department of Social Security.

This Ph.D. thesis is devoted to the development of a specific semi-analytical algorithm especially well-suited to derive the long-term evolution of near geosynchronous space debris and based on the concept of mean orbital motion. In a first approach, the semi-analytical theory is concerned with the singularity issues arising for circular and equatorial orbits as well as with the geostationary resonance modeling. In a second part, motivated by the discovery of high area-to-mass ratios space debris in high altitude Earth's orbit (mostly near the geosynchronous region), the direct radiation pressure models are revisited and completed. Within this context, the main effects of the direct solar radiation pressure for the mid- and long-term evolution of both the eccentricity and the inclination vectors are analyzed through a well-suited model. Moreover, by means of a smart extension, the passage in the Earth's shadow is taken into account in the computations of the orbits. Finally, a further insight into the intrinsic stability of such space debris is performed, by means of a recent numerical technique (MEGNO) which is based on the concept of ``variational chaos indicator'.

The ability to observe resident space objects (RSOs) is a necessary requirement for space situational awareness. While objects in a Low-Earth Orbit are easily ob- servable by ground-based sensors, diffculties arise when trying to monitor objects with larger orbits far above the Earth's surface, e.g. a Geostationary Orbit. Camera systems mounted on satellites can provide an eff ective way to observe these objects. Using a satellite with a speci c orbit relative to the RSO's orbit, one can passively observe all the objects that share the RSO's orbit over a given time without active maneuvering. An orbit can be defi ned by ve parameters: semi-major axis, eccentricity, right ascension of ascending node, inclination, and argument of perigee (a; e; ; i; !). Using these parameters, one can create an orbit that will surround the target orbit allowing the satellite in the Rock-Around Orbit (RAO) orbit to have a 360 degree view of RSOs in the target orbit. The RAO orbit can be applied to any circular or elliptical target orbit; and for any target orbit, there are many possible RAO orbits. Therefore, diff erent methods are required to narrow down the selection of RAO orbits. These methods use distance limitations, time requirements, orbit perturbations, and other factors to limit the orbit selections. The first step is to determine the range of RAO semi-major axes for any given target orbit by ensuring the RAO orbit does not exceed a prescribed maximum al- lowable distance, dmax from the target orbit. It is then necessary to determine the eccentricity range for each possible RAO semi-major axis. This is done by ensuring the RAO still does not exceed dmax but also ensuring that the RAO orbit travels inside and outside of the target orbit. This comprises one half of the rock-around motion. The final step is to determine the inclination of the RAO orbit. Only a small inclination different from that of the target orbit is required to complete the rock-around motion while the maximum inclination is found by making sure the RAO orbit does not exceed dmax. It is then important to consider orbit perturbations, since they can destroy the synchronization between the RAO and target orbit. By examining the e ffects of the linear J2 perturbations on the right ascension of ascending node and argument of perigee, the correct semi-major axis, eccentricity, and inclination can be chosen to minimize the amount of fuel required for station keeping. The optimal values can be found by finding the Delta v needed for di fferent combinations of the variables and then choosing the values that provide the minimum Delta v. For any target orbit, there are multiple RAO orbit possibilities that can provide 360 degree coverage of a target orbit. Even after eliminating some of them based on the methods already described, there are still many possibilities. The rest of the elimination process would then be based on the mission requirements which could be the range of an on-board sensor, the thruster or reaction wheel controls, or any other number of possibilities.

Tropical cyclones are among the most devastating natural disasters for human beings and the natural and manmade assets near to Atlantic basin. Estimating the current and future intensity of these powerful storms is crucial to protect life and property. Many methods and models exist for predicting the evolution of Atlantic basin cyclones, including numerical weather prediction models that simulate the dynamics of the atmosphere which require accurate measurements of the current state of the atmosphere (NHC, 2019). Often these models fail to capture dangerous aspects of storm evolution, such as rapid intensification (RI), in which a storm undergoes a steep increase in intensity over a short time. To improve prediction of these events, scientists have turned to statistical models to predict current and future intensity using readily collected satellite image data (Pradhan, 2018). However, even the current-intensity prediction models have shown limited success in generalizing to unseen data, a result we confirm in this study. Therefore, building models for the estimating the current and future intensity of hurricanes is valuable and challenging. In this study we focus on to estimating cyclone intensity using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite images. These images represent five spectral bands covering the visible and infrared spectrum. We have built and compared various types of deep neural models, including convolutional networks based on long short term memory models and convolutional regression models that have been trained to predict the intensity, as measured by maximum sustained wind speed. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

<div>Over the past twenty years, ridesharing opportunities for smallsats, i.e., secondary payloads, has increased with the introduction of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) rings. However, the orbits available for these secondary payloads is limited to Low Earth Orbits (LEO) or Geostationary Orbits (GEO). By incorporating a propulsion system, propulsive ESPA rings offer the capability to transport a secondary payload, or a collection of payloads, to regions beyond GEO. In this investigation, the ridesharing scenario includes a secondary payload in a dropped-off Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and the region of interest is the vicinity near the Sun-Earth Lagrange points. However, mission design for secondary payloads faces certain challenges. A significant mission constraint for a secondary payload is the drop-off orbit orientation, as it is dependent on the primary mission. To address this mission constraint, strategies leveraging dynamical structures within the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CRTBP) are implemented to construct efficient and flexible transfers from GTO to orbits near Sun-Earth Lagrange points. First, single-maneuver ballistic transfers are constructed from a range of GTO departure orientations. The ballistic transfer utilize trajectories within the stable manifold structure associated with periodic and quasi-periodic orbits near the Sun-Earth L1 and L2 points. Numerical differential corrections and continuation methods are leveraged to create families of ballistic transfers. A collection of direct ballistic transfers are generated that correspond to a region of GTO departure locations. Additional communications constraints, based on the Solar Exclusion Zone and the Earth’s penumbra shadow region, are included in the catalog of ballistic transfers. An integral-type path condition is derived and included throughout the differential corrections process to maintain transfers outside the required communications restrictions. The ballistic transfers computed in the CRTBP are easily transitioned to the higher-fidelity ephemeris model and validated, i.e., their geometries persist in the ephemeris model. To construct transfers to specific orbits near Sun-Earth L1 or L2, families of two-maneuver transfers are generated over a range of GTO departure locations. The two-maneuver transfers consist of a maneuver at the GTO departure location and a Deep Space Maneuver (DSM) along the trajectory. Families of two-maneuver transfers are created via a multiple- shooting differential corrections method and a continuation process. The generated families of transfers aid in the rapid generation of initial guesses for optimized transfer solutions over a range of GTO departure locations. Optimized multiple-maneuver transfers into halo and Lissajous orbits near Sun-Earth L1 and L2 are included in this analysis in both the CRTBP model and the higher-fidelity ephemeris model. Furthermore, the two-maneuver transfer strategy employed in this analysis are easily extended to other Three-Body systems. </div>

<div>As the number of Resident Space Objects around Earth continues to increase, the need for an optimal sensor tasking strategy, specifically with Ground-Based Optical sensors, continues to be of great importance. This thesis focuses on the single and multi-sensor tasking problem with realistic optical sensor modeling for the observation of objects in the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit regime. In this work, sensor tasking refers to assigning the specific?c observation times and viewing directions of a single or multi sensor framework to either survey for or track new or existing objects. For this work specifically, the sensor tasking problem will seek to maximize the total number of Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting objects to be observed from a catalog of existing objects with a single and multi optical sensor tasking framework. This research focuses on the physical assumptions and limitations on an optical sensor, and how these assumptions affect the single and multi sensor tasking scenario. First, the concept of the probability of detection of a resident space object is calculated based on the viewing geometry of the resident space object. Then, this probability of detection is compared to the system that avoids the computational process by implementing a classical heuristic minimum elevation constraint to an electro-optical charged coupled optical sensor. It is shown that in the single and multi-sensor tasking scenario if the probability of detection is not considered in the sensor tasking framework, then a rigid elevation constraint of around 25^o-35^o is recommended for tasking Geosynchronous objects. Secondly, the topic of complete geo-coverage within a single night is explored. A sensor network proposed by Ackermann et al. (2018) is studied with and without the probability of detection considerations, and with and without uncertainties in the resident space objects' states. (then what you have). For the multi-sensor system, it is shown that with the assumed covariance model for this work, the framework developed by Ackermann et al. (2018) does not meet the design requirements for the cataloged Geosynchronous objects from March 19th, 2019. Finally, the concept of a variable repositioning time for the slewing of the ground-based sensors is introduced and compared to a constant repositioning time model. A model for the variable repositioning time is derived from data retrieved from the Purdue Optical Ground Station. This model is applied to a single sensor scenario. Optimizers are developed using the two repositioning time functions derived in this work. It is shown that the constant repositioning models that are greater than the maximum repositioning time produce results close to the variable repositioning solution. When the optimizers are tested, it is shown that there is a small increase in performance only when the maximum repositioning time is significant.</div>