Scalable high speed MIMO-satellite communication system
First Claim
1. A satellite communication system comprising:
- a first satellite configured to receive first information at a higher data rate, process the first information into a first plurality of lower bandwidth signals, and relay the first plurality of lower bandwidth signals using a first satellite communication link;
a first plurality of geographically-separated ground nodes configured to receive the first plurality of lower bandwidth signals and transmit a plurality of terrestrial signals using second communication links; and
a central processing node configured to receive the plurality of terrestrial signals over the second communication links and combine the plurality of terrestrial signals;
wherein the first satellite utilizes a plurality of transmit antennas to transmit the plurality of lower bandwidth signals, wherein a transmit antenna is separated from other transmit antennas in the plurality of transmit antennas by a separation distance, DTX, where
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
This invention provides satellite communication systems and methods that employ a satellite in MIMO communication with a geographically-distributed array of ground nodes. In an embodiment, the satellite communication system includes a MIMO satellite configured to receive first information at a higher bandwidth, process the first information into lower bandwidth signals, and relay the lower bandwidth signals using a satellite communication link. The geographically-separated ground nodes receive the lower bandwidth signals and transmit terrestrial signals using high-speed communication links. A central processing node receives the terrestrial signals over the high-speed communication links and combines the terrestrial signals to obtain the higher data rate signals.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. A satellite communication system comprising:
-
a first satellite configured to receive first information at a higher data rate, process the first information into a first plurality of lower bandwidth signals, and relay the first plurality of lower bandwidth signals using a first satellite communication link; a first plurality of geographically-separated ground nodes configured to receive the first plurality of lower bandwidth signals and transmit a plurality of terrestrial signals using second communication links; and a central processing node configured to receive the plurality of terrestrial signals over the second communication links and combine the plurality of terrestrial signals; wherein the first satellite utilizes a plurality of transmit antennas to transmit the plurality of lower bandwidth signals, wherein a transmit antenna is separated from other transmit antennas in the plurality of transmit antennas by a separation distance, DTX, where - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A method of transmitting first information using a satellite communication network, the method comprising:
-
receiving by a first satellite the first information at a higher data rate;
processing the first information into a first plurality of lower bandwidth signals;relaying by the first satellite the first plurality of lower bandwidth signals using a first satellite communication link; receiving by a first plurality of geographically-separated ground nodes the first plurality of lower bandwidth signals; and transmitting by the first plurality of geographically-separated ground nodes a plurality of terrestrial signals using second communication links for processing by a central processing node; wherein at least one transmit antenna in the plurality of transmit antennas is separated from other transmit antennas in the plurality of transmit antennas by a separation distance, DTX, where - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
Specification