4. System Overview
b. Relay Satellite :
The key point of the system is a continous link, established at a designated data rate. Since the observatory will be constructed on the far side of the moon, a satellite will relay the information from the moon to the earth station. The relay satellite will be stationed in the vicinity of Earth-Moon Lagrangian point L2 and follow a halo orbit. The relay satellite following a halo orbit will keep line-of-sight (LOS) contact with the Earth and the far side of the Moon where, the observatory is located. Therefore, the chosen orbit will provide sustaining a continous link between the observatory and the earth station.
Figure 4 : Proposed scheme of the system.