Restricted 2D Necklace Flower Constellation Design Theory for Discontinuous Coverage

A restricted 2D necklace theory is proposed to extend the application of Flower constellations theory with regard to Earth discontinuous coverage. Firstly, the 2D lattice theory, the restricted Flower constellations, as well as the necklace theory are introduced and combined to deduce the restricted 2D necklace theory. Then, the design process of Flower constellations using the restricted 2D necklace theory is presented. Finally, numerical examples are implemented. Results indicate that the proposed restricted 2D necklace theory can be an extension of the traditional Flower constellation theory and generate a large number of configurations. Also, the superiority analysis shows that aiming at the Earth discontinuous coverage issues, the restricted 2D necklace Flower constellations perform better than the traditional Walker constellations in most of the design cases. This research can be instrumental in the evolution of the Flower constellation design theory for Earth discontinuous coverage.