Optimal Coverage of Theater Targets with Small Satellite Constellations

The daylight passes of a low-Earth orbit satellite over a targeted latitude and longitude are optimized by varying the inclination and eccentricity of an orbit at different altitudes. This investigation extends the work by Emery et al, in which the optimal Right Ascension of the Ascending Node was determined for a circular, matched inclination orbit. The optimal values were determined by a numerical research method based on Emery et al\u27s Matlab program. Results indicate that small increases in inclination raise the number of daylight passes up to 33%. These optimal inclinations depend on the satellite semi-major axis. Eccentricity increases also improve daylight pass numbers, but at a cost of increased range to the target