Numerical analysis method of on-orbit dynamic infrared radiation characteristics for agile earth observation satellites in non-track active imaging

Abstract Agile Earth observation satellites (AEOSs) are a new generation of Earth observation satellites. To promote the aerospace application of non-track active imaging with a large scope and long duration for AEOSs, an improved numerical analysis method of on-orbit dynamic infrared radiation is proposed in this paper. Based on a model of the spaceborne component surfaces in the spherical coordinate system, the thermal radiation factors are derived. Then, a case of a non-track active imaging mission with an optical axis trajectory of 6000 km and a latitude span of 40° was analyzed and investigated, and the results demonstrate strong nonlinearity with large amplitude and fast rate variation, and the average incident heat flux of most components shows a higher level than that of conventional subsatellite imaging. Notably, this study provides a crucial theoretical basis of boundary conditions for the thermal control system and the heat radiator design method for optical payloads.