Digital spacecraft antenna tracking system
First Claim
1. A digital spacecraft antenna tracking system comprising:
- at least one reflector antenna element positioned on the spacecraft to receive an incident signal transmitted from a ground station;
a tracking array comprising a plurality of array antenna elements oriented relative to the at least one reflector antenna element, each of said plurality of array antenna elements generating an output signal corresponding to a received incident signal; and
a tracking control receiver responsive to each of the outputs of the plurality of array antenna elements, said tracking control receiver comprising a memory for storing a set of predetermined responses generated by a plurality of reference incident signals having a known direction relative to a reference grid, and a processor arranged to compare the output signals to the set of predetermined responses and determine the direction of the received incident signal based on the comparison.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A digital spacecraft antenna tracking system and method are provided which utilize an array of antenna feed elements oriented relative to a shaped spacecraft reflector antenna system each of which generates an output signal corresponding to a received incident signal. The outputs can be processed by a mixer/multiplexer (M/MUX) before processing by a digital tracking control receiver. The direction of a beacon signal incident on the spacecraft reflector antenna system is obtained by the TCR by comparing the beacon response of the M/MUX to a set of premeasured responses to incident signals having a known direction or orientation relative to a reference tracking grid. The premeasured responses are stored in a memory as a set of reference responses. Once the direction of the signal is obtained, the TCR assigns control voltages which are used by the spacecraft to steer the spacecraft antenna to a desired pointing direction relative to the beacon signal.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A digital spacecraft antenna tracking system comprising:
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at least one reflector antenna element positioned on the spacecraft to receive an incident signal transmitted from a ground station; a tracking array comprising a plurality of array antenna elements oriented relative to the at least one reflector antenna element, each of said plurality of array antenna elements generating an output signal corresponding to a received incident signal; and a tracking control receiver responsive to each of the outputs of the plurality of array antenna elements, said tracking control receiver comprising a memory for storing a set of predetermined responses generated by a plurality of reference incident signals having a known direction relative to a reference grid, and a processor arranged to compare the output signals to the set of predetermined responses and determine the direction of the received incident signal based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for tracking the direction of an incident signal transmitted by a ground station and received by a spacecraft antenna tracking system comprising:
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positioning at least one reflector antenna element on the spacecraft to receive the incident signal; orienting a tracking array comprising a plurality of array antenna elements relative to the at least one reflector antenna element so that each of said plurality of array antenna elements generates an output signal corresponding to the received incident signal; storing in a memory a set of predetermined responses generated by a plurality of reference incident signals having a known direction relative to a reference grid; comparing the output signals to the set of predetermined responses; and determining the direction of the received incident signal bas ed on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification