Satellite system using time domain beam hopping

• US 10,111,109 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2016
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxar Space LLC (Galileo Parent, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Space Systems/Loral Incorporated (Loral Space and Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hreha, William, Wharton, Anne Elizabeth, Lavis, Erin Michelle, Foulke, David Linford, Lamontagne, Guillaume, Shima, Eric, Hildebrand, Louis Trichardt
• Primary Examiner(s): Dean, Raymond
• Application Number:
  US15/172,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20170289822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2682 Time delay steered arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/043 using best eigenmode, e.g. beam forming or beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18513 Transmission in a satellite or space-based system
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18515 Transmission equipment in satellites or space-based relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18519 Operations control, administration or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18521 Systems of inter linked satellites, i.e. inter satellite service for optical links between satellites H04B10/118
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18523 Satellite systems for providing broadcast service to terrestrial stations, i.e. broadcast satellite service arrangements specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving H04H40/90; picture transmission via satellite H04N1/00103; television transmission via satellite H04N7/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18534 for enhancing link reliablility, e.g. satellites diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18541 for handover of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18547 for geolocalisation of a station position fixing by direction or distance determination G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18578 Satellite systems for providing broadband data service to individual earth stations for selecting H04W; provisions for broadband connection, H04Q11/0478
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18595 Arrangements for adapting broadband applications to satellite systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/19 Earth-synchronous stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 : in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A satellite communication system comprises one or more non-geostationary satellites. Each satellite is configured to provide a plurality of spot beams using time domain beam hopping among the spot beams. The spot beams are divided into hopping groups and each satellite is configured to switch throughput and power among spot beams in a same hopping group at intervals of an epoch over a hopping period according to a hopping plan. Each satellite is configured to receive, change and implement the hopping plan in orbit while the satellite moves in relation to a fixed geographic coverage region. The satellites are programmable to assign any combination of epochs in a hopping plan among spot beams of a same hopping group and to route throughput between spot beams.

Claims

1. A satellite communication system, comprising:

a non-geostationary satellite configured to provide a plurality of spot beams using time domain beam hopping among the spot beams, the spot beams are divided into hopping groups, the satellite is configured to switch throughput among spot beams in a same hopping group.

2. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

at any instance in time only a subset of one or more spot beams of a same hopping group will be active while the other spot beams of the same hopping group will be inactive;

the satellite includes an antenna system, a digital channelizer and a selection matrix in communication with the digital channelizer and the antenna system;

the antenna system provides the spot beans, including uplinks and downlinks;

the digital channelizer routes spectrum between uplinks and downlinks; and

the selection matrix switches throughput among spot beams in a same hopping group for routed spectrum.

3. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite includes a forward path and a return path; and

the forward path has different hopping plans than the return path.

4. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the spot beams are divided into zones; and

at least a subset of hopping groups comprising one spot beam per zone.

5. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

a first plurality of spot beams are configured to illuminate a first area at Earth'"'"'s Equator;

a second plurality of spot beams are configured to illuminate a second area away from Earth'"'"'s Equator;

the first plurality of spot beams are divided into a first set of zones;

the second plurality of spot beams are divided into a second set of zones;

the first plurality of spot beams are divided into first hopping groups with at least a subset of the first hopping groups comprising one spot beam per zone of the first set of zones; and

the second plurality of spot beams are divided into second hopping groups with at least a subset of the second hopping groups comprising one spot beam per zone of the second set of zones.

6. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of spot beams are non-articulated spot beams relative to the satellite; and

the satellite further comprises steerable spot beams that do not perform beam hopping, the steerable spot beams are routable to the plurality of spot beams.

7. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured such that the hopping groups are arranged with member spot beams adjacent and consecutive in an orbital direction.

8. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured such that the hopping groups are arranged with other hopping group spot beams adjacent and consecutive in an orbital direction.

9. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to switch throughput between spot beams at intervals of an epoch over a hopping period according to a hopping plan; and

the satellite is configured to change the hopping plan in orbit while the satellite moves.

10. The satellite communication system of claim 9, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite includes a payload comprising a plurality of switching components;

the plurality of spot beams transmit data in a frame that includes a payload transition time; and

the payload transition time is implemented by different groups of switching components at different times such that different groups of switching components reconfigure for a new hopping plan at different times.

11. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to switch throughput among spot beams in a same group according to a hopping plan;

the hopping plan has a total number of epochs; and

the satellite is programmable to assign any combination of the total number of epochs among spot beams in a same hopping group.

12. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to route throughput between spot beams in a same group according to a hopping plan;

the hopping plan has a total number of epochs;

the satellite is programmable to assign any combination of the total number of epochs among spot beams in a same hopping group; and

the hopping plans between hopping groups with spot beam members adjacent to spot beams members of other hopping groups are planned to avoid inter-beam interference.

13. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to switch throughput among spot beams at intervals of an epoch over a hopping period according to a hopping plan;

each epoch includes an active time, a late arrival window, a payload reconfigure time and an early arrival window;

during the active time of a current epoch, the satellite is configured to transmit data for the current epoch;

during the late arrival time, the satellite is configured to transmit data that arrived late for the current epoch;

during the payload reconfigure time, the satellite reconfigures selection of which beams receive throughput for a next epoch;

during the payload reconfigure time, the satellite reconfigures routing connectivity between steerable beams and non-articulated beams for a next epoch; and

during the early arrival window, the satellite is configured to transmit data that arrived early for the next epoch.

14. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to switch throughput between spot beams at intervals of an epoch; and

the satellite is configured to receive data for a particular epoch that was sent previous to a start of the particular epoch by a time period that is greater than 20 times the length of the epoch.

15. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to switch throughput between spot beams at intervals of an epoch; and

the satellite is configured to switch throughput at a number of epochs based on the uplink and downlink demand from user terminals in the hopping group beam members.

16. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the satellite is configured to switch throughput between spot beams at intervals of an epoch; and

the satellite is configured to switch throughput at a number of epochs based on the uplink and downlink demand from user terminals and gateways in the hopping group beam members.

17. The satellite communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

additional satellites that together with the non-geostationary satellite form a constellation of non-geostationary satellites that each are configured to provide a plurality of spot beams using time domain beam hopping among the spot beams;

each satellite of the constellation has a same beam map; and

each satellite of the constellation is configured to travel along a same orbital path.

18. A satellite communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite configured to provide a gateway beam to communicate with multiple gateways that use different epochs to communicate with subscriber terminals.

19. A satellite communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite configured to provide steerable gateway beams;

the non-geostationary satellite includes a beam hopping plan for the plurality of spot beams using time domain beam hopping, a beam steering plan for the steerable gateway beams and a connectivity plan for on-board routing between the gateway beams and the plurality of spot beams using time domain beam hopping; and

the hopping plan and the connectivity plan are structured as a sequence of epochs.

20. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite configured to provide a frequency plan for the plurality of spot beams such that the subscriber terminals and the gateways use different frequencies.

21. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite configured to provide a frequency plan for the plurality of spot beams such when a particular spot beam of the plurality of spot beams serves a gateway and subscriber terminals then the subscriber terminals and the gateway use different frequencies.

22. A satellite communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the non-geostationary satellite configured to provide a high capacity steerable spot beam that does not implement time domain beam hopping; and

the non-geostationary satellite configured to provide a full mesh network communication for subscriber terminals communicating via the high capacity steerable spot beam.

23. A method of operating a satellite communication system, comprising:

providing a plurality of spot beams from a non-geostationary satellite as the satellite moves across a planet surface, the spot beams are divided into hopping groups; and

performing time domain beam hopping for the plurality of spot beams based on the hopping groups including switching throughput among spot beams in a same hopping group so that a subset of spot beams in each hopping group are active at any given time.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the performing time domain beam hopping includes moving throughput between spot beams in a same hopping group according to a beam hopping plan; and

the method further comprising receiving in orbit the beam hopping plan, gateway beam steering plan, high capacity beam steering plan and user beam to gateway beam connectivity instructions for each hopping group.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving in orbit changes to the beam hopping plan and implementing the changes to switch throughput among spot beams in a different manner.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

dynamically routing spectrum between spot beams.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

programming the non-geostationary satellite to assign any combination of epochs in a hopping plan among spot beams of a same hopping group.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the performing time domain beam hopping includes moving throughput between spot at intervals of an epoch over a hopping period according to a hopping plan;

each epoch includes an active time, a late arrival window, a payload reconfigure time and an early arrival window;

during the active time of a current epoch, the satellite is transmitting data for the current epoch;

during the late arrival time, the satellite is transmitting data that arrived late for the current epoch;

during the payload reconfigure time, the satellite is reconfiguring selection of which beams receive throughput for a next epoch;

during the payload reconfigure time, the satellite reconfigures routing connectivity between steerable beams and non-articulated beams for a next epoch; and

during the early arrival window, the satellite is configured to transmit data that arrived early for the next epoch.