Satellite system and method of deploying same
First Claim
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1. A satellite constellation comprising:
- a first deployment of a plurality of position-adjustable satellites deployed in a medium earth orbit;
the first deployment of satellites having a first configuration corresponding to an initial operation configuration having orbital voids; and
a second deployment of a plurality of position-adjustable satellites deployed in the medium earth orbit in said orbital voids.
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Abstract
A satellite communication system has a first deployment of a plurality of satellites deployed in a medium earth orbit and two later deployments of a plurality of satellites deployed in the medium earth orbit. The first deployment is spaced so that the second deployment may be easily deployed and interleaved into the first deployment. A ground terminal is used for communicating with the satellites in the first and second deployments.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A satellite constellation comprising:
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a first deployment of a plurality of position-adjustable satellites deployed in a medium earth orbit;
the first deployment of satellites having a first configuration corresponding to an initial operation configuration having orbital voids; and
a second deployment of a plurality of position-adjustable satellites deployed in the medium earth orbit in said orbital voids. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of deploying a satellite system comprising the steps of:
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deploying a first plurality of satellites into medium earth orbit into a first configuration;
adjusting the first plurality of satellites to a second configuration having orbital voids;
deploying a second plurality of satellites into medium earth orbit, said first plurality and said second plurality together forming a third configuration. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A satellite constellation providing semi-global coverage, comprising:
at least four satellites in a medium earth orbit in the equatorial plane. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of deploying a satellite constellation in phased deployments in response to demand for more capacity, comprising:
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first deploying at least four satellites in a medium earth orbit in the equatorial plane to provide semi-global coverage; and
subsequently deploying, responsive to demand for greater capacity, at least a second plurality of satellites into the same medium earth orbit as the at least four satellites, each satellite of said second plurality of satellites being interleaved between adjacent ones of said at least four satellites. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification