SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MULTIPLE LAYER SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
First Claim
1. A communication system, comprising:
- a first constellation of satellites traveling in an inclined orbit and operable to communicate with earth-based user terminals over respective radio frequency (RF) links; and
a second constellation of satellites traveling in an inclined orbit at a higher altitude then the first constellation and operable to communicate with selected satellites in said first constellation over respective optical communication links.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are disclosed that may include a system and method for transmitting user data from an initial satellite in a first constellation located conveniently to an origination user terminal to a destination satellite in the first constellation located conveniently to a destination user terminal, the method including transmitting the user data over an optical link from the initial satellite in the first constellation to a first satellite within a second satellite constellation; conveying the user data over an optical link from the first satellite in the second constellation to a second satellite in the second constellation; and receiving the user data from the second satellite in the second constellation at the destination satellite in the first constellation.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A communication system, comprising:
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a first constellation of satellites traveling in an inclined orbit and operable to communicate with earth-based user terminals over respective radio frequency (RF) links; and a second constellation of satellites traveling in an inclined orbit at a higher altitude then the first constellation and operable to communicate with selected satellites in said first constellation over respective optical communication links. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A communications system comprising:
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a first satellite constellation in orbit around the earth and operable to communicate with a plurality of user terminals on the earth; and a second satellite constellation operable to provide a high-speed communication trunk line between a data-path origination satellite and a data-path destination satellite within said first satellite constellation. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. The communication system of 11 where the satellites of the first constellation include the ability to route traffic between two individual user terminals without passing the data traffic to a satellite in the second constellation.
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17. A method for transmitting user data from an initial satellite in a first constellation to a destination satellite in the first constellation, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) transmitting the user data from the first-constellation initial satellite to a first satellite in a second constellation, the second constellation having a different orbit altitude than that of the first constellation, the first and second constellations both including a plurality of satellites and both having non-geostationary orbits; (b) identifying a second satellite in the second constellation that is most suitable for communication with the first-constellation destination satellite; (c) transmitting the user data from the first satellite in the second constellation to the identified second satellite in the second constellation; and (d) transmitting the user data from the second satellite in the second constellation to the first-constellation destination satellite. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for transmitting user data from an initial satellite in a first constellation located conveniently to an origination user terminal to a destination satellite in the first constellation located conveniently to a destination user terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting the user data over an optical link from the initial satellite in the first constellation to a first satellite within a second satellite constellation; conveying the user data over an optical link from the first satellite in the second constellation to a second satellite in the second constellation; and receiving the user data from the second satellite in the second constellation at the destination satellite in the first constellation. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification