A Method for Attitude Stability and Platform Type Identification of High-Orbit Satellites Based on Photometric-Phase Statistical Characteristics

Due to the limited imaging capability for high-orbit orbital targets, it is challenging to acquire information regarding the platform type and attitude of non-cooperative high-orbit satellites. Low-resolution photometric data contain valuable information about space targets. However, research on space target identification based on photometric characteristics has faced issues such as constrained applicability and low accuracy. A method for identifying the attitude stability and platform type of geostationary satellites based on photometric-phase statistical characteristics is proposed in this paper. A representation of photometric statistical features based on photometric templates is designed, and a method for identifying the attitude stability of geostationary satellites by template features is developed. The accuracy of the proposed method is validated through attitude analysis of both representative and batch-processed high-orbit satellites. Furthermore, by analyzing the photometric-phase angle curves of three typical types of high-orbit satellites, it is observed that the curves differ among satellite types in terms of overall trend, features at specific phase angles, and overall photometric magnitude. These differences serve as identifying characteristics, demonstrating that the platform type of high-orbit satellites can be recognized through photometric-phase angle statistical features, thereby supporting the identification and verification of the identity attributes of high-orbit satellites.