Research on the automatic calibration of antenna for vehicle telemetry receivers based on solar radiation

Abstract

The technology of satellite telemetry is widely used nowadays and a robust data-transmission link is needed between the satellites and telemetry stations. Compared to traditional ground telemetry stations, vehicle telemetry receivers are smaller with higher mobility. As a result, it is more suitable for commercial applications, while at the same time, it is difficult to calibrate the pointing errors of antennas with the traditional algorithms. In this paper, an automatic calibration algorithm of antenna pointing error suitable for vehicle telemetry receivers is proposed based on the solar radiation. A fast and accurate calibration of constant pointing errors and antenna axis error parameters needless of external reference devices is carried out. Simulation results show that, after calibration, the constant pointing errors can be limited within 0.01 degrees and the antenna axis pointing error parameters can be limited within 0.1 degrees.