Space station orbital accuracy analysis based on the SGP4 model

In the ground antenna observation mission of low-orbit space station, the azimuth and elevation angle of the antenna to the space station are usually planned based on the satellite tool kit (STK) software, and then the antenna automatically tracks the space station. In order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of antenna tracking, it is necessary to calculate the accurate space station orbit and antenna’s azimuth and elevation angle regularly and update the planning task. Therefore, scientific analysis and evaluation of the long-term forecast accuracy of space station orbit provided by the two-line orbit root number two line elements (TLE) of LEO satellites is of great significance for ground stations to achieve accurate tracking of satellites. In this paper, taking the Mengtian space lab module of China Space Station (CSS) as an example, based on the TLE data, the simplified general perturbations (SGP4) model provided by STK software is used to calculate the satellite’s orbit as well as the space station’s azimuth and elevation angle relative to the Xi’an Ground Station, and to analyse the effect of the accuracy under different strategies. The experimental results show that updating the space station’s two rows of orbital roots on the second day can obtain better orbital results to ensure the tracking accuracy of the antenna.