{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,17]],"date-time":"2026-02-17T05:28:41Z","timestamp":1771306121096,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,15]],"date-time":"2020-11-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1605398400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Shanghai Nature Science Fund","award":["19ZR1426800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["19ZR1426800"]}]},{"name":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University Global Strategic Partnership Fund","award":["2019 SJTU-UoT"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019 SJTU-UoT"]}]},{"name":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University Young Teachers Initiation Programme","award":["AF4130045"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AF4130045"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Spacecraft formation flying (SFF) in highly elliptical orbit (HEO) has attracted a great deal of attention in many space exploration applications, while precise guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) technology\u2014especially precise ranging\u2014are the basis of success for such SFF missions. In this paper, we introduce a novel K-band microwave ranging (MWR) equipment for the on-orbit verification of submillimeter-level precise ranging technology in future HEO SFF missions. The ranging technique is a synchronous dual one-way ranging (DOWR) microwave phase accumulation system, which achieved a ranging accuracy of tens of microns in the laboratory environment. The detailed design and development process of the MWR equipment are provided, ranging error sources are analyzed, and relative orbit dynamic models for HEO formation scenes are given with real perturbations considered. Moreover, an adaptive Kalman filter algorithm is introduced for SFF relative navigation design, incorporating process noise uncertainty. The performance of SFF relative navigation while using MWR is tested in a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation system within a high-precision six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) moving platform. The final range estimation errors from MWR using the adaptive filter were less than 35 \u03bcm and 8.5 \u03bcm\/s for range rate, demonstrating the promising accuracy for future HEO formation mission applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s20226524","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,16]],"date-time":"2020-11-16T21:48:52Z","timestamp":1605563332000},"page":"6524","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["A Submillimeter-Level Relative Navigation Technology for Spacecraft Formation Flying in Highly Elliptical Orbit"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4345-1613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaoliang","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deren","family":"Gong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yifei","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qiankun","family":"Mo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zeyu","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qiang","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shufan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dengfeng","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Space Radio Technology, Xi\u2019an 710100, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Busse, F.D. 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