In recent years, the Resident Space Objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) have been dramatically increased due to space activities which may cause the risk of collision by its large populations. Thus, Space Traffic Management (STM) is a significant solution to space technology development as it guarantees safety. Radar sensor systems have emerged as pivotal tools for space objects monitoring. LeoLabs is a commercial provider of space object detection and monitoring services, operating via their global distributed radar network. Their space radar network system, which consists of Phased-array radars, serves as a measurement tool for space services related to STM in LEO, including tracking and mapping space objects, issuing real-time conjunction alerts, and supporting spacecraft launches. This system presents various noteworthy aspects at both individual radar sites and the network cooperation scale. Hence, this article is going to introduce the LeoLabs radar information from our literature review which includes overall system architecture, briefly radar sites information, system performance, etc.
The orbit of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space objects is closely related to atmospheric density, and the precision orbit information can be calculated by satellite laser ranging observation data, therefore, the precision orbit information can be used to derive atmospheric density through the drag perturbation equation of semi-major axis of LEO space objects. Based on the theoretical principle above, the paper calculates the precision orbit information, atmospheric drag coefficient and area-to-mass ratio, then derives atmospheric density with a high temporal resolution from precise orbit data through the drag perturbation equation of semi-major axis of LEO space objects which relates the change rate of the semi-major axis to the atmospheric density, and evaluates the atmospheric density accuracy through comparison between each atmospheric density model and atmospheric density derived from precise orbit data. The result shows that the accuracy error of atmospheric density derived from precise orbit data is around 10%~30% during solar flux and geomagnetim quiet period, which indicates the method provides an effective and reliable way to obtain extensive and accurate atmospheric density. In addition, atmospheric density strongly relates to solar flux and geomagnetic activities. During high solar flux period, the accuracy error of atmospheric density derived from precise orbit data is around 50%~ 80%; and during geomagnetim disturbance period, the accuracy error of atmospheric density derived from precise orbit data increases significantly, which is around 80%.
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