Eclipse avoidance in TianQin orbit selection

Abstract

In future geocentric space-based gravitational-wave observatory missions, eclipses due to passing through the Moon's and Earth's shadows can negatively impact the sciencecraft's thermal stability and steady power supply. The occurrence should be reduced as much as possible in orbit design. In regard to TianQin's circular high orbits, we tackle the combined challenges of avoiding eclipses and stabilizing the nearly equilateral-triangle constellation. Two strategies are proposed, including initial phase selection and orbit resizing to 1:8 synodic resonance with the Moon, where the latter involves slightly raising TianQin's preliminary orbital radius of $1\times 10^5$ km to $\sim 100900$ km. As the result, we have identified pure-gravity target orbits with a permitted initial phase range of $\sim 15^{\circ }$, which can maintain eclipse-free during the 3+3 month observation windows throughout a 5-year mission started in 2034, and meanwhile fulfil the constellation stability requirements. Thereby the eclipse issue for TianQin can be largely resolved.

7 pages, 7 figures, to match the published version

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Concepts and status of Chinese space gravitational wave detection projects
• Science with the TianQin Observatory: Preliminary Results on Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background
• Constraining the cosmological parameters using gravitational wave observations of massive black hole binaries and statistical redshift information
• Testing general relativity with TianQin: the prospect of using the inspiral signals of black hole binaries
• Orbital effects on time delay interferometry for TianQin
• Evaluating residual acceleration noise for TianQin gravitational waves observatory with an empirical magnetic field model
• Plasma noise in TianQin time delay interferometry
• Effect of Earth-Moon's gravity on TianQin's range acceleration noise. II. Impact of orbit selection
• Effects of lunisolar perturbations on TianQin constellation: An analytical model
• Effect of Earth-Moon's gravity on TianQin's range acceleration noise. III. An analytical model
• Effect of solar free oscillations on TianQin's range acceleration noise
• Modeling coupled constellation dynamics for TianQin under self-gravity