CO-ORBITING LASER COMMUNICATIONS RELAY SATELLITE
First Claim
1. A relay satellite for relaying data from a client satellite to thereby reduce power and pointing accuracy requirements of the client satellite, said relay satellite comprising:
- a short-range communications link configured to receive data from the client satellite; and
a long-range communications link configured to retransmit the received data to a ground station or another satellite,wherein the relay satellite is deployed in one of (a) a quasi-orbit with respect to the client satellite such that the relay satellite and the client satellite can be kept within a pre-determined distance or (b) the same orbit as the client satellite but with an in-track offset that keeps the relay satellite and the client satellite within a pre-determined distance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A dedicated satellite to reduce the cost and increase the rate and reliability of data transmission from space to ground is provided. For each client satellite producing data in Earth orbit, a dedicated relay satellite is provided. The relay satellite may fly near the client satellite and receive data from the client satellite by RF communication. The relay satellite may transmit the data to a ground terminal or to another satellite using a laser communication system. Because the relay satellite is not physically connected to the client satellite, the attitude-control requirements of an optical communication system are not imposed on the client satellite. The relay satellite may also be deployed from the client satellite. The relay satellite may allow downlinking large amounts of data for new satellite operators without an existing ground network and for established satellite operators seeking higher data rates, lower latency, or reduced ground system operating costs.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A relay satellite for relaying data from a client satellite to thereby reduce power and pointing accuracy requirements of the client satellite, said relay satellite comprising:
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a short-range communications link configured to receive data from the client satellite; and a long-range communications link configured to retransmit the received data to a ground station or another satellite, wherein the relay satellite is deployed in one of (a) a quasi-orbit with respect to the client satellite such that the relay satellite and the client satellite can be kept within a pre-determined distance or (b) the same orbit as the client satellite but with an in-track offset that keeps the relay satellite and the client satellite within a pre-determined distance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of relaying data using a relay satellite to thereby reduce power and pointing accuracy requirements of the client satellite, comprising:
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deploying the relay satellite in one of (a) a quasi-orbit with respect to the client satellite such that the relay satellite and the client satellite can be kept within a pre-determined distance or (b) the same orbit as the client satellite but with an in-track offset that keeps the relay satellite and the client satellite within a pre-determined distance; the relay satellite receiving data from a client satellite via a radio communications link; and transmitting the received data from the relay satellite to a ground station or another satellite using an optical communication link. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification