Method of Spacecraft Maneuver Detection Based on Two-line Elements

Due to the missions and orbit types of different spacecraft are quite different, orbit maneuvers must be conducted by spacecraft irregularly to ensure that they could complete their tasks successfully. For the non-cooperative spacecraft, their possible orbit maneuvers are usually unknown and very difficult to predict in advance, so it is necessary to identify possible orbit maneuver events in order to adjust spacecraft detection strategy in time. Two-Line Element (TLE for short) published by the USA, has the advantages of stable source, fast update frequency and easy acquisition, so it is proper to carry out the research on the method of spacecraft maneuver detection based on TLE. According to laws of operation and orbit control of spacecraft, this paper proposed a method based on TLE to detect maneuver events, which happened in the orbit plane of spacecraft, by checking and comparing the changes in semi-major axis and minimum ranges between two TLEs. The TLEs, from June, 2019 to September, 2019, of two spacecraft, METOP-A1 and IRNSS 1G, were taken for example to demonstrate the operating procedures and steps of maneuver detection using this method. Then, a large number of TLEs were generated by simulation, and on the basis, some calculations of maneuver detection were conducted correspondingly. From the statistical result, it could be found that the deviation of maneuver detection results was influenced by the own precision of TLEs and the amplitude of changes in semi-major axis. This method could effectively solve the problem of detecting the time and changes in semi-major axis of in-plane maneuvers, and identifying multiple maneuvers, so its effectiveness and usability was fully proved.