A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes

In the era of large satellite constellations, there are more than 1000 satellites in orbit. While the signals from these satellites may pose a risk of radio frequency interference (RFI) to radio telescopes, they also present a potential advantage by serving as high-spatial-density pointing reference...

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Main Authors: Ye Yuan, Zhi-Yong Liu, Na Wang, Hao Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:Advances in Astronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/aa/8503450
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author Ye Yuan
Zhi-Yong Liu
Na Wang
Hao Yan
author_facet Ye Yuan
Zhi-Yong Liu
Na Wang
Hao Yan
author_sort Ye Yuan
collection DOAJ
description In the era of large satellite constellations, there are more than 1000 satellites in orbit. While the signals from these satellites may pose a risk of radio frequency interference (RFI) to radio telescopes, they also present a potential advantage by serving as high-spatial-density pointing references for radio telescopes. Compared with traditional astronomical radio sources used for radio telescope pointing measurement, these satellites exhibit significantly higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and more uniform spatial distribution. However, due to the fact that the majority of these satellites are in low Earth orbit (LEO) and move at high velocities, radio telescopes encounter significant challenges in maintaining stable tracking and carrying out cross-scan observations. Therefore, a pointing measurement method utilizing drift-scan toward satellites was proposed. Given the diverse drift directions of satellites, the obtained pointing data encompass a wide range of directions. Therefore, this method is expected to be capable of establishing a pointing model based on scanning data from arbitrary directions. The measurement model and simulation experiments of this method were demonstrated. Furthermore, the feasibility of this method was validated using 25 m Nanshan Radio telescope (NSRT-25m).
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-a8fe57b585ea47c0a9fce17200c70d2f2025-08-20T03:50:07ZengWileyAdvances in Astronomy1687-79772025-01-01202510.1155/aa/8503450A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio TelescopesYe Yuan0Zhi-Yong Liu1Na Wang2Hao Yan3Xinjiang Astronomical ObservatoryXinjiang Astronomical ObservatoryXinjiang Astronomical ObservatoryXinjiang Astronomical ObservatoryIn the era of large satellite constellations, there are more than 1000 satellites in orbit. While the signals from these satellites may pose a risk of radio frequency interference (RFI) to radio telescopes, they also present a potential advantage by serving as high-spatial-density pointing references for radio telescopes. Compared with traditional astronomical radio sources used for radio telescope pointing measurement, these satellites exhibit significantly higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and more uniform spatial distribution. However, due to the fact that the majority of these satellites are in low Earth orbit (LEO) and move at high velocities, radio telescopes encounter significant challenges in maintaining stable tracking and carrying out cross-scan observations. Therefore, a pointing measurement method utilizing drift-scan toward satellites was proposed. Given the diverse drift directions of satellites, the obtained pointing data encompass a wide range of directions. Therefore, this method is expected to be capable of establishing a pointing model based on scanning data from arbitrary directions. The measurement model and simulation experiments of this method were demonstrated. Furthermore, the feasibility of this method was validated using 25 m Nanshan Radio telescope (NSRT-25m).http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/aa/8503450
spellingShingle Ye Yuan
Zhi-Yong Liu
Na Wang
Hao Yan
A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes
Advances in Astronomy
title A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes
title_full A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes
title_fullStr A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes
title_full_unstemmed A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes
title_short A Satellite Drift Scan Approach for Establishing the Pointing Model of Radio Telescopes
title_sort satellite drift scan approach for establishing the pointing model of radio telescopes
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/aa/8503450
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