Improved Reference Orbits for the Repeat-Ground-Track Missions EnMAP and Tandem-L

Abstract

The reference orbit implemented for the active TerraSAR-X mission works remarkably well for orbit control purposes, but an unexpected secular drift in the along-track separation between satellite and reference orbits has built up to a 60 s flight-time offset within 10 years of operation. The scope of this work is to understand the origin of the drift and to eliminate the effect for DLRs future repeat ground-track missions EnMAP and Tandem-L. The improved process of reference orbit generation is discussed and the underlying relations for the suggested inclination adjustment are derived. The improved process is successfully validated by means of 1-year numerical orbit control simulation. The presented process is generic and can be applied to any repeat-ground track mission.