Space scanning strategies for user satellite's antenna

The space scanning process of antenna is a crucial stage for establishing the tracking and data relay statellite system inter-satellite link. Firstly, the strategies of horizontal scan, spiral scan and square spiral scan are analyzed and compared. Based on the trajectory preprocess arithmetic, a kind of rate-variant square spiral scan strategy is designed according to the analysis results. Then, the pointing precision during the antenna's open-loop slew is analyzed with Monte Carlo simulation and the scanning scope is approximately determined. Finally, the rate-invariant square spiral scan strategy is compared with the rate-variant square spiral scan strategy through simulating. The antenna acquiring process of tracking and data relay statellite is simulated and the results prove that the designed rate-variant square spiral scan strategy is valuable to the engineering application.