Performance of meshed comb constellations for minimizing target revisit time

Walker satellite constellations are commonly proposed for remote sensing applications requiring global access. However, for many applications, target revisit time may be as important as coverage area. A subclass of non-Walker constellations called "meshed comb" constellations can outperform most Walker constellations in coverage and/or revisit time in many situations. Exhaustive comparisons were made of an eight-satellite meshed comb constellation with a variety of eight-satellite Walker constellations against several types of target decks. The results showed that the meshed comb constellation typically had the lowest maximum revisit time; and the average revisit time was comparable to or better than any of the Walker constellations. In addition, the meshed comb constellation usually had the lowest standard deviation for revisit time, as well as the lowest 2/spl sigma/ and 3/spl sigma/ revisit times.