Evaluating a satellite surveillance system

A simple analytic model is formulated which should prove useful for evaluating a satellite surveillance system. This model describes the fraction of orbits in which a long lived satellite will "see" a selected position on the earth's surface. The fraction of orbits, denoted by P, is a function of the latitude of the ground position in question, the orbital inclination of the satellite, and the sweep width of the satellite's sensor. P is used to find estimates for the mean time to nest sighting of a selected ground position given that position has suddenly become of interest, to estimate the number and locations of ground readout stations, and to estimate the number of times a satellite would sight a transitting object on the earth's surface. in addition, the application of P to the problems of optimum orbit, evasive countermeasures, and satellite weapon delivery is discussed.

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of Operations Analysis

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, California. U.S. Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

1966

Author dc:creator

• Clark, Rolf H.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• McMasters, Alan W.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/9504

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/9504