Satellite Laser Ranging network contact planning and performance assessment under adverse meteorological conditions

In recent timeps, SLR (Satellite Laser Ranging) is being used lately for orbit determination in many satellite constellations. It improves the accuracy of traditional radiofrequency systems by using laser transmitters, but the short-wavelength signals that are used in the lasers make them very weak against the atmospheric effects between the ground station and the satellite. In this thesis, the study on how the clouds affect the contact plan of the SLR stations will be done. For this, LEO, MEO and GEO constellations will be considered, as well as three ground station scenarios: cloudless, cloudy and hybrid. The contact plan for each ground station scenario with each satellite constellation will be executed to analyze the results, and draw conclusions.