Quality of service level selection for peer satellite communications

• US 10,505,623 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2018
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Vector Launch, Inc.
• Inventors: Metzger, John, Garber, Darren D., Coleman, Shaun
• Primary Examiner(s): Moutaouakil, Mounir
• Application Number:
  US15/923,559
• Publication Number:
  US 20190288771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18513 Transmission in a satellite or space-based system
• 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: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/304 due to measured or perceived resources with higher communication quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

Various enhanced operational and communication handling techniques for satellite devices are discussed herein. In one example, a method of operating an orbital satellite device of a satellite cluster is provided. The method includes identifying operational status information for at least a peer satellite device in communication range of the satellite device. Based at least on the operational status information, the method includes selecting a quality of service level for communications to be transferred to the peer satellite device, and applying the quality service level to transmit data packets to the peer satellite device.

Claims

1. A method of operating a satellite device, the method comprising:

identifying operational status information for at least a peer satellite device in communication range of the satellite device;

based at least on the operational status information, adjusting relative quality of service levels among communications issued by a plurality of virtual nodes executed by the satellite device for transfer to the peer satellite device; and

applying the quality service levels within the satellite device to transmit data packets issued by the plurality of virtual nodes to the peer satellite device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining at least a portion of the operational status information from the peer satellite device, wherein the operational status information relates to one or more of a present provisioning of hardware or software of the peer satellite device, present data storage availability on the peer satellite device, present processor loading of the peer satellite device, present relative positioning of the peer satellite device, and present communication interface availability of the peer satellite device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a present computing capability of the peer satellite device among the operational status information; and

based on at least the present computing capability, adjusting the relative quality of service levels to provide to the communications during transfer to the peer satellite device.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

based at least on the present computing capability determined to be above a threshold computing capability, assigning a first quality of service level to the communications of a corresponding virtual node for transfer to the peer satellite device; and

based at least on the present computing capability determined to be below the threshold computing capability, assigning a second quality of service level lower than the first quality of service level to the communications of the corresponding virtual node for transfer to the peer satellite device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the present computing capability comprises at least one of a present processor workload, a present free data storage capacity, and a present available communication bandwidth to receive the communications from the satellite device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a present computing capability of the peer satellite device among the operational status information;

based at least on the present computing capability supporting execution of at least a software component on the peer satellite device, transferring the software component to the peer satellite device at a first quality of service level; and

based at least on the present computing capability not supporting execution of at least the software component on the peer satellite device, transferring the software component to the peer satellite device at a second quality of service level lower than the first quality of service level.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the software component comprises at least one of a software application, a software application update, and a virtual node configuration directing execution of one or more software applications.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the operational status information comprises a relative distance among the satellite device and the peer satellite device;

and further comprising;

identifying a data type in the communications to be transferred to the peer satellite device;

determining a target quality of service level needed to support transfer of the communications comprising the data type to the peer satellite device;

when the relative distance can support the target quality of service level, assigning the target quality of service level to the communications for transfer to the peer satellite device; and

when the relative distance cannot support the target quality of service level, assigning a fallback quality of service level lower than the target quality of service level to the communications for transfer to the peer satellite device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

responsive to the relative distance not being able to support the target quality of service level, instructing at least among the satellite device and the peer satellite device to adjust the relative distance to achieve the target quality of service level.

10. A satellite device comprising:

one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media;

a processing system operatively coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media to manage data packets communicated by the satellite that, when read and executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least;

receive operational status information from at least a peer satellite device;

based at least on the operational status information, adjust relative quality of service levels for communications issued by a plurality of virtual nodes executed by the satellite device for transfer to the peer satellite device; and

apply the quality service levels within the satellite device to transmission of data packets issued by the plurality of virtual nodes to the peer satellite device.

11. The satellite device of claim 10, wherein the operational status information relates to one or more of a present provisioning of hardware or software of the peer satellite device, present data storage availability on the peer satellite device, present processor loading of the peer satellite device, present relative positioning of the peer satellite device, and present communication interface availability of the peer satellite device.

12. The satellite device of claim 10, comprising further program instructions, when executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least:

identify a present computing capability of the peer satellite device among the operational status information; and

based on at least the present computing capability, adjust the relative quality of service levels to provide to the communications during transfer to the peer satellite device.

13. The satellite device of claim 12, comprising further program instructions, when executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least:

based at least on the present computing capability determined to be above a threshold computing capability, assign a first quality of service level to the communications of a corresponding virtual node for transfer to the peer satellite device; and

based at least on the present computing capability determined to be below the threshold computing capability, assign a second quality of service level lower than the first quality of service level to the communications of the corresponding virtual node for transfer to the peer satellite device.

14. The satellite device of claim 12, wherein the present computing capability comprises at least one of a present processor workload, a present free data storage capacity, and a present available communication bandwidth to receive the communications from the satellite device.

15. The satellite device of claim 10, comprising further program instructions, when executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least:

identify a present computing capability of the peer satellite device among the operational status information;

based at least on the present computing capability supporting execution of at least a software component on the peer satellite device, transfer the software component to the peer satellite device at a first quality of service level; and

based at least on the present computing capability not supporting execution of at least the software component on the peer satellite device, transfer the software component to the peer satellite device at a second quality of service level lower than the first quality of service level.

16. The satellite device of claim 15, wherein the software component comprises at least one of a software application, a software application update, and a virtual node configuration directing execution of one or more software applications.

17. The satellite device of claim 10, wherein the operational status information comprises a relative distance among the satellite device and the peer satellite device, and comprising further program instructions, when executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least:

identify a data type in the communications to be transferred to the peer satellite device;

determine a target quality of service level needed to support transfer of the communications comprising the data type to the peer satellite device;

when a relative distance can support the target quality of service level, assign the target quality of service level to the communications for transfer to the peer satellite device; and

when the relative distance cannot support the target quality of service level, assign a fallback quality of service level lower than the target quality of service level to the communications for transfer to the peer satellite device.

18. The satellite device of claim 17, comprising further program instructions, when executed by the processing system, direct the processing system to at least:

responsive to the relative distance not being able to support the target quality of service level, instruct at least among the satellite device and the peer satellite device to adjust the relative distance to achieve the target quality of service level.

19. A satellite system, comprising:

a plurality of satellite devices configured to periodically exchange operational status information related to at least present computing capabilities among the plurality of satellite devices;

the plurality of satellite devices configured to exchange communications among the plurality of satellite devices related to execution of one or more software payloads provisioned on the plurality of satellite devices; and

during exchange of the communications, the plurality of satellite devices configured to adjust quality of service levels among the communications issued by the one or more software payloads for handling local portions of the communications based at least on the operational status information for proximate ones of the satellite devices, and apply the quality service levels to transmit data packets comprising the communications issued by the one or more software payloads.

20. The satellite system of claim 19, comprising:

based at least on the operational status information indicating a present computing capability can support at least a software component on a target satellite device, a source satellite device proximate to the target satellite device configured to transfer the software component to the target satellite device at a first quality of service level; and

based at least on the present computing capability not supporting the software component on the target satellite device, the source satellite device configured to transfer the software component to the target satellite device at a second quality of service level lower than the first quality of service level.