Abstract: Based on the current tracking and data relay satellites system (TDRSS), a satellite companion control strategy was presented. It takes the advantage of the coverage difference between Ka-band and S-band of a TDRS′ inter-satellite antenna to provide data relay service for two user satellites simultaneously.When these two satellites are covered by the TDRS′s antenna,one user satellite can be serviced in Ka-band and the other one can be serviced for telemetry and telecommand control in S-band. As a result, the efficiency of a TDRS′ usage can be improved by 8%. Meanwhile, in order to provide quick service for a user satellite with an emergency service demand, a hand-shaking waiting strategy which compressed the response time to 1/14 of the previous one was proposed. These innovative technologies can improve the usage efficiency of the TRDSS application.

Key words: Relay terminal, Companion control, Scheduled pointing strategy, Tracking and data relay satellite