Sensor management of LEO constellation based on covariance control

: This paper studies the multi-sensor management problem for low earth orbit (LEO) infrared warning constellation used to track a midcourse missile. A covariance control approach, which selects sensor combinations or subset based on the difference between the desired covariance matrix and the actual covariance of each target, is used for sensor management, including some matrix metrics to measure the differentia between two covariance matrices. Besides, to meet the requirements of the space based warning system, the original covariance control approach is improved. Simulation results demonstrate that the covariance control approach is able to provide a better tracking performance by providing a well-designed desired covariance and balance tracking performance goals with system demands.