Optimization of Formation Parameters for Single-Pass/Cross-Track Interferometry Through the Harmony Mission

In the framework of Harmony, the 10th ESA Earth Explorer mission, this paper presents a general methodology to optimize the formation parameters relevant to the single-pass, cross-track interferometry (XTI) configuration. The proposed method considers the requested height sensitivity and the maximum allowable temporal lag and derives the formation parameters for an optimal coverage over different ranges of latitudes by leveraging the relative eccentricity and inclination vector formalism. Our approach addresses the problem of interferometric coherence through the wavenumber support alignment method which is able to take into account the specific geometry of XTI in Harmony, which is a long-baseline multistatic configuration with large squint angles. The analysis is completed by an estimate of the propellant budget, required to maintain the optimized formation, which can be used as a further trade-off parameter within the mission design process. The results indicate that the passively stable helix configuration (with relative eccentricity and inclination phase angles set to 90°) provides a robust solution at equatorial and mid-latitude regions with perpendicular baselines up to the order of 1 km and temporal lag below 10 ms. Conversely, for high-latitude and polar regions, two alternative strategies are identified, revealing a trade-off between enhanced interferometric performance and increased formation maintenance requirements. For polar regions, a first strategy adopts relative eccentric and phase angles of 10°, achieving satisfactory performance across most latitudes, whereas an alternative approach retains the value of 90° and optimizes the formation specifically for high latitudes. These two options result in distinct station-keeping demands since the former strategy requires a ΔV budget about two orders of magnitude higher, while the latter remains within a ΔV range that is typical for missions of the considered class.