A Statistical Analysis on the Color and Orbit Parameters of Centaurs

In order to study the statistical characters and physical significance of the color indexes and orbital parameters of Centaurs, we have analyzed the color and orbit parameter correlations by using statistical methods according to the known color indexes of 39 Centaurs and their respective orbital parameters. We find that all the correlations of B − V vs. V − R, V − R vs. R − I, B − V vs. R − I and B − R vs. R − I are strong. The Centaurs exhibit obvious redblue double-color property, and the point of demarcation is close to B − R = 1.4. The distributions of the various color indexes of Centaurs exhibit the normal distribution. For the correlations between colors and orbital parameters, except for the weak correlations between B − V and the orbital inclination i as well as between V − R and the orbital semi-major axis a, no evident correlation has been found between color indexes and orbital parameters.     

Orientation of the hipparcos frame with respect to the reference frames of the DE403/LE403 and DE405/LE405 ephemerides based on asteroid observations

Highly accurate observations of 116 asteroids are used to determine the orientation of the Hipparcos frame with respect to the reference frames of the DE403/LE403 and DE405/LE405 majorplanet ephemerides. These observations include the photographic observations of 15 asteroids obtained as part of the programs for observing selected asteroids and reduced to the Hipparcos frame using dependences, the space observations of 48 asteroids obtained by the Hipparcos satellite, and the presentday observations of 116 asteroid performed in the frame of the ACT catlog. The total number of observations used is more than 50 000 in the interval 1949–2007. Processing this series has yielded the following estimates of the orientation parameters: ω _x = 0.12 ± 0.08 mas yr^?1, ω _y = 0.66 ± 0.09 mas yr^?1, and ω _z = ?0.56 ± 0.16 mas yr^?1. This rotation may be attributable to a peculiarity of the transition from the reference frame of the DE200/LE200 ephemerides to that of DE403/LE403 ephemerides (since October 1, 1988, to J2000) that consists in the the assumption that the former reference frame has no rotation relative to the ICRF.     

Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Observational Data Weighting Method of Combined Orbit Determination of Near-earth Satellites of Bi-satellite Positioning System and its Applications

In the light of the problem of amalgamation and processing of multisource observational data in the combined orbit determination of near-earth satellites of the bi-satellite positioning system, the optimal weighting method of the improved variance component estimation of the two-step systematic error correction of homogeneous observational data is proposed. Analyses show that the multi-source amalgamation measurement model of the heterogeneous observational data essentially is a multi-structure, multi-parameter non-linear regression model, and the optimal weighting method of the combination of model structure characteristic analysis and variance component estimation of the heterogeneous observational data is established. The realization algorithms of the optimal weighting and the combined orbit determination parameter estimation of the two sorts of observational data are designed, and the simulation experiments of the combined orbit determination are carried out by taking the distances among the two satellites and the backup satellite and the homogeneous observational data and the distance between the two satellites and the heterogeneous observational data of satellite sensor angle measurements as the examples. The results of theoretical analysis and simulation calculation show that for the combined orbit determination of homogeneous observational data, the accuracy of orbit determination obtained by adopting the variance component estimation method of the two-step systematic error correction can be more superior than that obtained by means of the traditional empirical weighting method. For the combined orbit determination of heterogeneous observational data, through the introduction of the weighting factor by which the model structure is characterized the accuracies of the combined orbit determination of the near-earth satellite and geostationary satellite are both improved to a certain extent in comparison with the mean weighting mode.     

Mass of Mercury from observations of asteroids

The Sun-to-Mercury mass ratio adopted by the International Astronomical Union (6023600 ± 250) was obtained in 1987 by analyzing Mariner 10 observations (Anderson et al. 1987) and since then has not been improved. The large number of asteroids in Mercury-approaching orbits and the ever-increasing accuracy of their observations allow the mass of Mercury to be estimated by a different method. We have improved the orbital parameters of 43 asteroids and obtained 6023440 ± 530 for the Sun-to-Mercury mass ratio through a simultaneous solution based on their optical and radar observations. A further improvement in this estimate is possible in the immediate future owing to the rapid increase in the number of known asteroids whose observations can be used to solve this problem.     

Kinematic Precise Orbit Determination for LEO Satellites Using Space-borne Dual-frequency GPS Measurements

As a special approach to orbit determination for satellites with spaceborne GPS receivers, the kinematic Precise Orbit Determination (POD) is independent of any mechanical model (e.g., the Earth gravity ?eld, atmospheric drag, solar radiation pressure, etc.), and thus especially suitable for the orbit determination of Low Earth Orbiting (LEO)satellites perturbed strongly bythe atmosphere. In this paper, based on the space-borne dual-frequency GPS data, we study the kinematic POD, discuss the pre-processing of the data, and construct an algorithm of zero-difference kinematic POD. Using the observational data from GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) satellites covering the whole month of February 2008, we verify the effectiveness and reliability of this algorithm. The results show that the kinematic POD may attain an accuracy of about 5 cm (with respect to satellite laser ranging data), which is at the same level as the dynamic and reduced-dynamic PODs     

The Application of GIM in Precise Orbit Determination for LEO Satellites with Single-Frequency GPS Measurements

With the precise GPS ephemeris and clock error available, the iono- spheric delay is left as the dominant error source in the single-frequency GPS data. Thus, the removal of ionospheric effects is a ma jor prerequisite for an improved orbit reconstruction of LEO satellites based on the single-frequency GPS data. In this paper, the use of Global Ionospheric Maps (GIM) in kine- matic and dynamic orbit determinations for LEO satellites with single-frequency GPS pseudorange measurements is discussed first, and then, estimating the iono- spheric scale factor to remove the ionospheric effects from the C/A-code pseu- dorange measurements for both kinematic and dynamic orbit determinations is addressed. As it is known that the ionospheric delay of space-borne GPS sig- nals is strongly dependent on the orbit altitudes of LEO satellites, we select the real C/A-code pseudorange measurement data of the CHAMP, GRACE, TerraSAR-X and SAC-C satellites with altitudes between 300 km and 800 km as sample data in this paper. It is demonstrated that the approach to eliminating ionospheric effects in C/A-code pseudorange measurements by estimating the ionospheric scale factor is highly effective. Employing this approach, the accu- racy of both kinematic and dynamic orbits can be improved notably. Among those five LEO satellites, CHAMP with the lowest orbit altitude has the most remarkable improvements in orbit accuracy, which are 55.6% and 47.6% for kine- matic and dynamic orbits, respectively. SAC-C with the highest orbit altitude has the least improvements in orbit accuracy accordingly, which are 47.8% and 38.2%, respectively.     

GIM在LEO卫星单频GPS定轨中的应用

电离层延迟误差是单频GPS(Global Positioning System)数据最主要的误差源,为提高基于单频GPS数据的LEO(Low Earth Orbiting)卫星定轨精度,必须消除/减弱GPS观测数据中电离层延迟影响.研究了全球电离层模型GIM(Global IonosphericMaps)在基于单频GPS伪距数据的低轨卫星运动学和动力学定轨中的应用,并通过估算电离层尺度因子的方法消除C/A码伪距观测量中电离层延迟影响.由于LEO卫星星载GPS信号受电离层延迟影响与卫星轨道高度相关,选取了轨道高度在300～800 km的CHAMP(CHAllenging Mini-satellite Payload)、GRACE(Gravity Recovery AndClimate Experiment)、TerraSAR-X及SAC-C等LEO卫星C/A码伪距观测量作为试算数据.CHAMP等卫星实测数据计算结果表明:以JPL(Jet Propulsion Laboratory)发布的GIM模型作为背景模型,通过电离层比例因子法能很好地消除C/A码伪距观测量中电离层延迟影响,提高LEO卫星运动学和动力学定轨精度,其中,CHAMP卫星轨道最低,受电离层延迟影响最严重,定轨精度提高最显著,分别为55.6%和47.6%;SAC-C卫星轨道高度最高,受电离层延迟影响最小,相应的定轨精度提高幅度也最低,分别为47.8%和38.2%.     

基于双频星载GPS数据的LEO卫星运动学定轨研究

运动学定轨是星载GPS特有的定轨方法,该方法不依赖于任何力学模型(地球重力场、大气阻力及太阳辐射压等),尤其适用于受大气阻力影响严重的低轨卫星定轨.基于双频星载GPS数据,研究了运动学定轨原理,讨论了数据预处理方法,建立了一套非差运动学定轨算法.并以GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment)-A、B卫星2008年2月实测数据作为试算验证了本研究方法的有效性和可靠性.GRACE 卫星实测数据计算结果表明:运动学定轨能达到5 cm精度(相对于SLR (Satellite Laser Ranging)),与动力学和简化动力学定轨精度相当.     

Close Approaches of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids during Two Centuries

1 INTRODUCTIONNearearth asteroid8 (NEAs) can move very near the earth or iatrude into the eath orbit,hence they are of particular concern to the wor1d. Even more so are the so-called Poten-tially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs). PHAs (JPL, http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo/pha arecurrently defined by paramters that measure the asteroid's potential of making threateningly close aPproaChes to the earth. Specilically all asteroids with an eaxth Minbo OrbitIlltersection Distance (MOID) of 0.05…     

地月DRO星载光学测量近地小行星轨道确定

针对地基光学监测系统对近地小行星在近太阳方向的监测存在盲区的问题,提出了远距离逆行轨道(Distant Retrograde Orbit,DRO)天基光学平台对近地小行星进行跟踪定轨的方法.通过可视性分析,筛选仿真观测数据,利用美国宇航局喷气推进实验室(Jet Propulsion Laboratory,JPL)公布的小行星初始轨道信息对不同轨道类型的目标天体进行轨道确定,将计算结果与参考轨道对比分析.仿真结果表明:在测量精度2角秒,定轨弧长3年的情况下,DRO平台对仿真算例中所选择的近地小行星的定轨精度可以达到几十公里量级,其中Atira型轨道精度可达10公里以内.由此可见,DRO天基平台对近地小行星具有较好的监测能力,定轨精度能实现对目标小行星的精确跟踪,并对其进行轨道预报.     

Accessibility of Main-belt Asteroids and Trajectory Design for Multi-target Exploration

The mission designed to explore asteroids has nowadays become a hot spot of deep space exploration, and the accessibility of the explored objects is the most important problem to make clear. The number of asteroids is large, and it needs an enormous quantity of calculations to evaluate the accessibility for all asteroids. In this paper, based on the direct transfer strategy, we have calculated the accessibility for the different regions of the solar system and compared it with the distribution of asteroids. It is found that most main-belt asteroids are accessible by the direct transfer orbit with the launch energy of C₃ = 50 km²/s², and that with an additional small velocity correction, the designed trajectory is able to realize the multi-target flyby mission. Such a kind of multi-target flyby can reach the same effect of the orbit manoeuvre in the ΔV-EGA trajectory scheme^[1,2]. Being assisted by the earth's gravity, the accompanying flight with asteroids or the exploration of more distant asteroids can be realized with a lower energy. In the end, as an example, a trajectory scheme is given, in which the probe flies by multiple main-belt asteroids at first, then with the assistance of the earth's gravity, it makes the accompanying flight to a more distant asteroid.     

小行星(469219) Kamo`oalewa轨道的确定与误差分析

作为一颗与地球共轨道的小行星,(469219)Kamo'oalewa是一个具有很高研究价值的近地小天体,也是中国首次小行星探测计划的目标天体之一.针对其轨道特性,建立了兼顾太阳、地球和月球非球形引力作用的小行星动力学模型.并在该模型的基础上,利用国际小行星中心(Minor Planet Center,MPC)提供的2004|2018年间的光学观测数据对该小行星的轨道进行确定.拟合后观测残差的均方根误差约为0:2″(与美国喷气推进实验室的Horizons在线历表系统相当),其中2004年期间数据的观测残差有所改进.最后,对小行星(469219)Kamo'oalewa的轨道误差进行了详细分析,并预报了2020-2025年期间该小行星的轨道误差.     

基于历史TLE的空间目标轨道预报误差演化规律研究

北美防空司令部(North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD)发布的双行根数(Two Line Element, TLE)是广大航天工作者最常用的轨道根数,与其对应的轨道模型是SGP4/SDP4 (Simplified General Perturbation Version 4/Simplified Deep-space Perturbation Version 4)解析模型.由于TLE中并没有包含相应的轨道精度信息,编目轨道的应用范围受到很大的限制.基于Space-Track网站发布的历史TLE数据和配套的SGP4/SDP4动力学模型,采用定轨标预报的方法统计并生成了大量目标轨道的预报误差,通过对预报轨道的时间区间划分给出了每个目标的预报误差随预报时间变化的拟合系数,并进一步对不同类型轨道预报误差的演化规律和特征进行了分类讨论,给出了4种轨道类型目标的轨道预报误差随时间演化的平均解析模型,为拓展双行根数的应用提供有价值的参考.     

On the stability of the satellites of asteroid 87 Sylvia

The triple asteroidal system (87) Sylvia is composed of a 280-km primary and two small moonlets named Romulus and Remus ( Marchis et al. 2005b ). Sylvia is located in the main asteroid belt, with semi-major axis of about 3.49 au, eccentricity of 0.08 and 11° of orbital inclination. The satellites are in nearly equatorial circular orbits around the primary, with orbital radius of about 1360 km (Romulus) and 710 km (Remus). In this work, we study the stability of the satellites Romulus and Remus. In order to identify the effects and the contribution of each perturber, we performed numerical simulations considering a set of different systems. The results from the three-body problem, Sylvia–Romulus–Remus, show no significant variation of their orbital elements. However, the inclinations of the satellites present a long-period evolution with amplitude of about 20° when the Sun is included in the system. Such amplitude is amplified to more than 50° when Jupiter is included. These evolutions are very similar for both satellites. An analysis of these results shows that Romulus and Remus are librating in a secular resonance and their longitude of the nodes are locked to each other. Further simulations show that the amplitude of oscillation of the satellites' inclination can reach higher values depending on the initial values of their longitude of pericentre. In those cases, the satellites get caught in an evection resonance with Jupiter, their eccentricities grow and they eventually collide with Sylvia. However, the orbital evolutions of the satellites became completely stable when the oblateness of Sylvia is included in the simulations. The value of Sylvia's J ₂ is about 0.17, which is very high. However, even just 0.1 per cent of this value is enough to keep the satellite's orbital elements with no significant variation.     

An analysis of the region of the Phocaea dynamical family

In this work, I conduct a preliminary analysis of the Phocaea family region. I obtain families and clumps in the space of proper elements and proper frequencies, study the taxonomy of the asteroids for which this information is available, analyse the albedo and absolute magnitude distribution of objects in the area, obtain a preliminary estimate of the possible family age, study the cumulative size distribution and collision probabilities of asteroids in the region, the rotation rate distribution and obtain dynamical map of averaged elements and Lyapunov times for grids of objects in the area.
Among my results, I identified the first clump visible only in the frequency domain, the (6246) Komurotoru clump, obtained a higher limit for the possible age of the Phocaea family of 2.2 Byr, identified a class of Phocaea members on Mars-crossing orbits characterized by high Lyapunov times and showed that an apparently stable region on time-scales of 20 Myr near the  ν₆  secular resonance is chaotic, possibly because of the overlapping of secular resonances in the region. The Phocaea dynamical group seems to be a real S-type collisional family, formed up to 2.2 Byr ago, whose members with a large semimajor axis have been dynamically eroded by the interaction with the local web of mean-motion and secular resonances. Studying the long-term stability of orbits in the chaotic regions and the stability of family and clumps identified in this work remain challenges for future works.     

The 2nd-order Post-Newtonian Orbit Equation of Light

Based on the 2nd-order post-Newtonian approximation under the DSX frame of the general relativity theory, the 2nd-order post-Newtonian orbital equation of light in the axis-symmetrical stationary spacetime is derived, and from this, the angle of deflection of light propagating in the equatorial plane is derived. The obtained results are consistent with those of the Schwarzchild and Kerr metrics within the limits of measuring precision.