Design of inter-satellite ranging system based on dual one-way ranging method

Inter-satellite communication, ranging and clock synchronization (CRS) is a key technology for formation satellites to fly in formation and conduct distributed detection. Firstly, the ranging requirements of the project which is an interferometer array made up of nine satellites in a lunar orbit is introduced. The CRS system is based on the principle of dual one way ranging measurement, its hardware design and software design are described. In hardware design, frequency division multiplexing technology (FDM) is adopted to realize the communication among the formation satellites. Closed-loop clock displine technology is conducted to reallize clock synchronizaiton among formation satellites. The CRS design is verifed by series ground tests including wired ranging test on the desk, wireless ranging test in a microwave anechoic chamber, and wireless ranging test with a vehicle. The test data reveals the feasibility and effectiveness of the CRS design in this paper.