Low-orbit satellite beam control method, electronic equipment and computer readable medium

Through high-orbit satellite relay and channel parameter optimization, combined with customized DCI and MAC CE, the real-time communication and channel measurement problems between low-orbit satellites and ground stations are solved, achieving low-cost all-weather coverage and real-time data backhaul.

CN120729388AActive Publication Date: 2025-09-30STAR DIGITAL CHAIN (BEIJING) TECHNOLOGY CO LTD

Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510886717.9
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-06-30
Publication Date
2025-09-30
Estimated Expiration
2045-06-30

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Low-orbit satellites cannot achieve real-time tracking and remote control with global ground stations. Communication time is extended, faults cannot be handled in a timely manner, and the cost of building ground stations is high. The insufficient spot beam coverage of traditional high-orbit satellites leads to channel measurement failure.

Method used

By using high-orbit satellites as relays, channel parameter calculation and semi-static transmit and receive window optimization, combined with customized DCI and MAC CE, service data scheduling and beam control of low-orbit satellites can be achieved, avoiding frequent RRC reconfiguration, supporting real-time data backhaul and all-weather coverage.

Benefits of technology

It reduces communication delay, reduces ground site construction costs, ensures accurate channel status measurement, and improves the system's anti-interference capability and effective communication time.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The invention discloses a low-orbit satellite beam control method, electronic equipment and a computer readable medium, and the method comprises the steps: calculating channel parameters according to ephemeris information and position information of a low-orbit satellite and antenna parameters and transceiving parameters of a high-orbit satellite; determining a service data scheduling strategy and a semi-static transceiving window of the low-orbit satellite according to the channel parameters; based on the semi-static transceiving window, forwarding downlink control information (DCI) comprising the service data scheduling strategy and a downlink media access control (MAC) control unit (CE) comprising the semi-static transceiving window to the low earth orbit satellite through a current high earth orbit relay satellite of the low earth orbit satellite; and receiving uplink data returned by the low earth orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, wherein the type of the uplink data comprises service data and / or the uplink MAC CE. And the spot beam coverage range of the high-orbit relay satellite is effectively improved, so that the communication time delay between the low-orbit satellite and the relay ground station is reduced.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of satellite beam control, and in particular, to a low-orbit satellite beam control method, electronic equipment, and computer-readable medium. Background Art

[0002] Satellite missions are becoming increasingly important. As crucial tools for human exploration of the universe and Earth, satellites have a wide range of applications, including aerospace surveying and mapping, meteorology and hydrology, ocean observation, electromagnetic detection, and electronic countermeasures. Satellites can be categorized by their altitude: Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (<5,000 km), Medium Earth Orbit (5,000-20,000 km), and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) (>20,000 km). LEO satellites, due to their proximity to the Earth and their relatively large number, are less susceptible to natural disasters. They provide highly accurate Earth surface monitoring data and low-latency, real-time data backhaul, enabling ground stations to quickly respond to critical data. Furthermore, ground stations are required to track and remotely control LEO satellites, ensuring real-time monitoring of their status and controlling their missions. This allows for timely intervention if a LEO satellite experiences a problem.

[0003] Currently, low-orbit satellites cannot connect to ground stations with sufficient global coverage. Each time a low-orbit satellite orbits the Earth, it can only communicate with ground stations for a limited time (e.g., 10 minutes). Furthermore, ground stations cannot track or remotely control low-orbit satellites in real time. If a low-orbit satellite malfunctions, ground stations are unable to intervene in time. Therefore, a method to effectively reduce the communication latency between ground stations and low-orbit satellites is urgently needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application aims to solve one of the technical problems in the related art to a certain extent. To this end, the present application provides a low-orbit satellite beam steering method, electronic device and computer-readable medium.

[0005] As a first aspect of the present application, a low-orbit satellite beam steering method is provided for use in a relay ground station, wherein the method comprises:

[0006] Calculate channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite;

[0007] Determining a service data scheduling strategy and a semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite according to the channel parameters;

[0008] Based on the semi-static transceiver window, forwarding downlink control information DCI including the service data scheduling strategy and a downlink media access control MAC control element CE including the semi-static transceiver window to the low-orbit satellite through the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite;

[0009] Receive uplink data returned by the low-orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, where types of the uplink data include service data and / or uplink MAC CE.

[0010] Optionally, the uplink MAC CE is used to report changes in the restriction conditions of the low-orbit satellite antenna, and the restriction conditions include at least any one of the following: scanning angle restriction conditions, working time restriction conditions, temperature restriction conditions, scanning back-off time restriction conditions, and power supply restriction conditions.

[0011] Optionally, after receiving the uplink MAC CE returned by the low-orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, the method further includes:

[0012] Determining, according to the uplink MAC CE, an updated service data scheduling strategy and an updated semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite;

[0013] Based on the updated semi-static transceiver window, the downlink control information DCI including the updated service data scheduling strategy and the downlink MAC CE including the updated semi-static transceiver window are forwarded to the low-orbit satellite through the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite.

[0014] Optionally, the channel parameters include signal-to-noise ratio information between the low-orbit satellite and its current high-orbit relay satellite, spot beam coverage position information of the low-orbit satellite's current high-orbit relay satellite, and uplink synchronization information of the low-orbit satellite.

[0015] Optionally, determining a service data scheduling strategy according to the channel parameters includes:

[0016] The service data scheduling strategy is determined based on the signal-to-noise ratio information between the low-orbit satellite and its current high-orbit relay satellite. The service data scheduling strategy includes allocating the position and number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and selecting the level of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS).

[0017] Optionally, determining the semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite according to the channel parameter includes:

[0018] The semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite is determined according to the spot beam coverage position information of the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite and the uplink synchronization information of the low-orbit satellite.

[0019] Optionally, the types of the business data include telemetry data and periodic task data.

[0020] As a second aspect of the present application, a low-orbit satellite beam control method is provided, which is used for a low-orbit satellite, wherein the method includes:

[0021] Receive downlink control information DCI including a service data scheduling policy and a downlink media access control MAC element CE including a semi-static transceiver window forwarded by the current high-orbit relay satellite of the device; wherein the DCI and downlink MAC CE are sent to the high-orbit relay satellite by a relay ground station based on the semi-static transceiver window, and the service data scheduling policy and the semi-static transceiver window are determined by the relay ground station based on channel parameters, and the channel parameters are calculated by the relay ground station based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite;

[0022] According to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, uplink data is transmitted back to the relay ground station, where the type of the uplink data includes service data and / or uplink MAC CE.

[0023] As a third aspect of the present application, an electronic device is provided, wherein the electronic device includes:

[0024] one or more processors;

[0025] A memory having one or more computer programs stored thereon, wherein when the one or more computer programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application.

[0026] As a fourth aspect of the present application, a computer-readable medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application is implemented.

[0027] Considering that building ground stations around the world requires a lot of costs and is restricted by many factors, this application turns to using high-orbit satellites as relays between low-orbit satellites and ground stations to achieve all-weather global coverage, avoiding the situation where low-orbit satellites can only communicate with ground stations within a limited time each time they orbit the earth, thereby supporting real-time low-orbit satellite data backhaul, and eliminating the need to build ground stations on a large scale, effectively reducing the cost of communication infrastructure.

[0028] Taking into account the small number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites and the very limited coverage area that can be lit at the same time, it is impossible to measure and obtain channel information through the traditional 5G SSB and channel state information (CSI). Instead, this application calculates and obtains channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of low-orbit satellites and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of high-orbit satellites, avoiding channel measurement failures caused by insufficient coverage of high-orbit satellite spot beams, and ensuring that low-orbit satellites can still obtain accurate channel status even when they are located in the blind spot of high-orbit satellite spot beam coverage, thereby providing data support for subsequent scheduling.

[0029] Taking into account the small number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites, dynamic scheduling cannot be carried out in a timely manner, and the scheduling cycle of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites is very long, this application instead determines the service data scheduling strategy and the semi-static transceiver window of low-orbit satellites based on channel parameters. The semi-static transceiver window optimizes time resources, avoids link interruption caused by high-speed movement of low-orbit satellites, and improves effective communication time.

[0030] Taking into account the large number and latency of traditional 5G radio resource control (RRC) signaling interactions, this application instead forwards downlink control information DCI including service data scheduling strategies and downlink MAC CE including semi-static transceiver windows to low-orbit satellites through high-orbit relay satellites. Without changing the physical layer hardware design of the 5G terminal chip, the existing 5G DCI information is used to transmit service data scheduling strategies, and the semi-static transceiver windows are defined in combination with customized MAC CE to avoid frequent RRC reconfiguration, thereby saving transformation costs and effectively reducing communication latency.

[0031] Taking into account that if the low-orbit satellite is restricted, resulting in beam switching or changes in uplink and downlink scheduling information, the relay ground station will not be able to calculate and perceive through the ephemeris information / position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite, this application is instead reported by the low-orbit satellite through a customized uplink MAC CE, so that the subsequent relay ground station can adjust the beam switching strategy or handle anomalies in real time, avoid transmission failures due to hardware constraints, and improve the system's anti-interference capability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the design of a traditional low-orbit satellite communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an implementation of a low-orbit satellite beam control method performed by a relay ground station side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of another implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method performed by the relay ground station side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of another implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method performed by the relay ground station side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of another implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method performed by the relay ground station side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of another implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method performed by the relay ground station side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of another implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method performed on the low-orbit satellite side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 8 This is a signaling diagram of an implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 9 This is a signaling diagram of another implementation of the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 10 This is a module diagram of an implementation of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the computer-readable medium provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] Description of Reference Numerals

[0045] 101: Processor 102: Memory

[0046] 103: I / O interface 104: bus DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described in the embodiments are intended to be used to explain the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0048] References in this specification to "one embodiment," "an example," or "an example" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment itself can be included in at least one embodiment disclosed herein. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0049] Satellite missions are becoming increasingly important. As crucial tools for human exploration of the universe and Earth, satellites have a wide range of applications, including aerospace surveying and mapping, meteorology and hydrology, ocean observation, electromagnetic detection, and electronic countermeasures. Satellites can be categorized by their altitude from Earth into low-orbit satellites (<5,000 km), medium-orbit satellites (5,000-20,000 km), and high-orbit satellites (>20,000 km). Low-orbit satellites, due to their proximity to the Earth and their relatively large number, are less susceptible to natural disasters. They can provide more accurate Earth surface monitoring data and low-latency real-time data backhaul, enabling ground stations to quickly respond to critical data. Furthermore, ground stations are required to track and remotely control low-orbit satellites, ensuring real-time monitoring of their status and controlling their missions. This allows for timely intervention if a problem occurs with a low-orbit satellite.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, according to the traditional low-orbit satellite communication system design, ground gateways need to be established around the world. Low-orbit satellites in the space segment are connected to the ground core network, data center, and control center of the ground segment through the ground gateways in the ground segment. The ground segment then sends remote control commands to the space segment, and the space segment returns service data to the ground segment. However, building ground stations worldwide is very costly and is not permitted due to many factors. Most importantly, there are still many technical difficulties in building inter-satellite laser links for low-orbit satellites. Therefore, low-orbit satellites are currently unable to connect to ground stations that meet global coverage. Each time a low-orbit satellite orbits the earth, it can only communicate with the ground station within a limited time (e.g., 10 minutes). Moreover, the ground station cannot track and remotely control the low-orbit satellite in real time. If a low-orbit satellite fails, the ground station cannot intervene in time. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method that can effectively reduce the communication delay between ground stations and low-orbit satellites.

[0051] In this regard, the applicant of this application proposed that the advantage of high-orbit satellites being about 36,000 kilometers above the ground and therefore three high-orbit satellites can cover the entire world can be utilized. The three high-orbit satellites can relay the backtransmission of low-orbit satellite data in real time around the clock and relay the tracking and remote control of low-orbit satellites by ground stations.

[0052] However, after careful study, the applicant of this application discovered a serious drawback of the three high-orbit satellite relay scheme: the high-orbit satellite spot beam resources are limited, and it is impossible to actually realize the efficient relay and real-time control of low-orbit satellite data. The satellite itself is a power-limited system. When the equivalent receiving antenna apertures of different terminals are the same, in order to solve the problems of low wide beam capacity, low peak rate, and large interference of traditional high-orbit satellites, high-orbit satellites generally use high-power, flexible coverage, and frequency reused spot beams to improve peak rate and capacity. Due to the limited number of spot beams provided by high-orbit satellites at the same time, especially the number of spot beams provided by phased array antennas is very limited (compared to the number of spot beams provided by traditional single mechanical antennas, it is about one order of magnitude lower). A typical high-orbit satellite design has a single phased array antenna with about 10,000 spot beams, but only 8 spot beams can provide services at the same time. The coverage area that can be illuminated by 8 spot beams at the same time is very limited, less than 0.1%.

[0053] The applicant of this application further proposes that the multi-beam management scheme of the fifth / sixth generation mobile communication technology (5G / 6G) in the terrestrial network can bring very obvious actual performance gains. Therefore, it is possible to consider integrating the three high-orbit satellite relay scheme with the multi-beam management scheme of the terrestrial network 5G / 6G, so that the spot beams of the high-orbit satellite can also bring actual performance gains to the low-orbit satellite. For example, the 5G System Information Block 1 (SSB) channel contains very important signals and channels such as the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) and the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). It is the most important channel for user mobility management. Many studies have shown that the use of multiple beams (i.e., multiple narrow beams) can better accurately cover the target area and improve the coverage level compared to the use of a single beam (i.e., a single wide beam). Taking a specific case as an example, as shown in Table 1 below, using multiple narrow beams for coverage improves the SSB signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) by 4 to 6 dB compared to using a single wide beam, and the downlink rate increases by nearly 60 Mbps:

[0054] Table 1

[0055]

[0056] However, after careful study, the applicant of this application discovered the severe challenges in integrating the three high-orbit satellite relay scheme with the multi-beam management scheme of the terrestrial network 5G / 6G: the terrestrial network 5G / 6G introduced the concept of beamforming (Beam), and multiple Beam beams are continuous coverage. If the coverage of multiple Beam beams cannot illuminate all coverage areas of the cell at the same time, the mobile terminal will lose the 5G / 6G network signal and enter a network-free state. However, the high-orbit satellite spot beam coverage range is small, and the high-capacity spot beam has the problem of frequent beam hopping. In other words, the spot beam coverage characteristics of the high-orbit satellite are essentially different from those of the terrestrial network 5G / 6G, and its spot beam cannot naturally achieve the "continuous coverage" of the terrestrial network.

[0057] In this regard, the applicant of this application conducted a more in-depth and detailed study and found that when 5G SSB adopts a multi-beam configuration, not all terminals can obtain good coverage. At this time, the 5G SSB multi-beam management solution is to scan, select and switch the SSB beams, and ultimately achieve the effect of enhancing downlink coverage and reducing interference.

[0058] The applicant of this application further proposed that the coverage range of the point beam can be dynamically adjusted by beam management means such as beam scanning, selection and switching. However, the multi-beam management scheme of the terrestrial network 5G / 6G has invisible adaptability defects in the high-orbit satellite scenario. That is, compared with the terrestrial network, the high-orbit satellite scenario has many differences in satellite motion characteristics, long-distance link loss, multi-hop relay delay, etc., and it is necessary to make targeted improvements to beam management means such as beam scanning, selection and switching, such as transmitting downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI) and customized downlink media access control (Media Access Control, MAC) control unit (Control Element, CE) to low-orbit satellites, so as to achieve high reliability, low latency and low power consumption beam control.

[0059] As a first aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a low-orbit satellite beam control method is provided for relaying a ground station, such as Figure 2 As shown, the method includes:

[0060] Step S110, calculating channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite;

[0061] Step S120, determining a service data scheduling strategy and a semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite according to the channel parameters;

[0062] Step S130: forwarding downlink control information DCI including the service data scheduling policy and a downlink media access control MAC control element CE including the semi-static transceiver window to the low-orbit satellite through the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite based on the semi-static transceiver window;

[0063] Step S140: receiving uplink data transmitted back by the low-orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, where the type of the uplink data includes service data and / or uplink MAC CE.

[0064] Among them, the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to a system including a high-orbit satellite, a low-orbit satellite and a relay ground station, wherein the high-orbit satellite acts as a relay for the low-orbit satellite and can forward data between the low-orbit satellite and the relay ground station.

[0065] The ephemeris information of a low-orbit satellite records the orbital elements of the satellite at a specific moment, including the semi-major axis, eccentricity, orbital inclination, right ascension of the ascending node, argument of perigee, and the time when the satellite passes perigee. The position information of a low-orbit satellite records the specific coordinates of the low-orbit satellite in space. The antenna parameters of a high-orbit satellite include antenna gain, beamwidth, and polarization. The transceiver parameters of a high-orbit satellite mainly involve signal transmission power, receiving sensitivity, and operating frequency. Channel parameters describe the characteristics of the communication channel between low-orbit and high-orbit satellites.

[0066] Among them, the embodiments of the present application do not impose any special restrictions on how to calculate the channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite. For example, they can be obtained through orbital dynamics modeling and electromagnetic propagation theory calculations. The applicant of this application proposes that the ephemeris / position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite respectively contain information such as "where the low-orbit satellite is and how it moves" and "how strong the signal can be sent by the high-orbit satellite and how weak the signal can be received". By combining this information, a propagation model of the inter-satellite link can be constructed to derive channel characteristics such as signal strength, delay, and frequency offset, thereby circumventing the limitation of insufficient spot beam coverage of the high-orbit satellite and realizing real-time evaluation of channel parameters.

[0067] Among them, the service data scheduling strategy refers to the rules and methods for reasonably arranging the service data transmission of low-orbit satellites based on channel parameters. The semi-static transceiver window refers to a specific time interval during which the low-orbit satellite can communicate stably with the high-orbit satellite. The reason why the embodiment of the present application is called "semi-static" is because it is not completely fixed. The embodiment of the present application can be adjusted for a certain period of time, but it remains stable within a relatively short period of time. That is to say, the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be executed multiple times or periodically.

[0068] It is understood that the downlink MAC CE transmitted to the low-orbit satellite includes a semi-static transceiver window, so this MAC CE is a "customized" downlink MAC CE in this embodiment of the application. Traditional 5G schedules the terminal to return service data based on the buffer status report (BSR) reported by the terminal, but in this embodiment of the application, the relay ground station actively sends DCI and downlink MAC CE to the low-orbit satellite to schedule the low-orbit satellite to return service data.

[0069] It can be understood that the low-orbit satellite also transmits uplink data through its current high-orbit relay satellite, that is, in step S140, the relay ground station receives the uplink data transmitted by the low-orbit satellite based on DCI and downlink MAC CE from the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite.

[0070] Among them, the types of uplink data include business data and / or uplink MAC CE. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any special restrictions on how the low-orbit satellite transmits both business data and uplink MAC CE. They can be transmitted one after another, or the uplink MAC CE can be carried in certain specific business data (for example, periodic telemetry data) and transmitted together.

[0071] Considering that building ground stations around the world requires a lot of costs and is subject to many restrictions, the embodiments of the present application use high-orbit satellites as relays between low-orbit satellites and ground stations to achieve all-weather global coverage, avoiding the situation where low-orbit satellites can only communicate with ground stations within a limited time each time they orbit the earth, thereby supporting real-time low-orbit satellite data backhaul, and eliminating the need to build ground stations on a large scale, effectively reducing the cost of communication infrastructure.

[0072] Taking into account the small number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites and the very limited coverage area that can be lit up at the same time, it is impossible to measure and obtain channel information through the traditional 5G SSB and channel state information (CSI). Instead, the embodiment of the present application calculates and obtains channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite, thereby avoiding channel measurement failures caused by insufficient coverage of the high-orbit satellite spot beams and ensuring that the low-orbit satellite can still obtain accurate channel status even when it is located in the blind spot of the high-orbit satellite's spot beam coverage, thereby providing data support for subsequent scheduling.

[0073] Taking into account the small number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites, dynamic scheduling cannot be carried out in a timely manner, and the scheduling cycle of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites is very long. The embodiment of the present application determines the service data scheduling strategy and the semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite based on the channel parameters, and optimizes time resources through the semi-static transceiver window to avoid link interruption caused by high-speed movement of low-orbit satellites and improve the effective communication time.

[0074] Taking into account the large number and latency of traditional 5G radio resource control (RRC) signaling interactions, the embodiment of the present application instead forwards downlink control information DCI including a service data scheduling strategy and a downlink MAC CE including a semi-static transceiver window to a low-orbit satellite through a high-orbit relay satellite. Without changing the physical layer hardware design of the 5G terminal chip, the existing 5G DCI information is used to transmit the service data scheduling strategy, and the semi-static transceiver window is defined in combination with the customized MAC CE to avoid frequent RRC reconfiguration, thereby saving modification costs and effectively reducing communication latency.

[0075] Considering that if the low-orbit satellite is restricted, resulting in beam switching or changes in uplink and downlink scheduling information, the relay ground station will not be able to calculate and perceive through the ephemeris information / position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite, the embodiment of the present application instead has the low-orbit satellite report through a customized uplink MAC CE, so that the subsequent relay ground station can adjust the beam switching strategy or handle anomalies in real time, avoid transmission failures due to hardware constraints, and improve the system's anti-interference capability.

[0076] The applicant of this application further proposed that due to the various antenna models of phased array antennas and mechanical antennas of low-orbit satellites, as well as limitations in many aspects such as scanning angle, working time, high and low temperature, scanning switch-back time, and satellite platform power supply capacity, beam switching or uplink and downlink scheduling information may be changed. Low-orbit satellites can report changes in their antenna restrictions through uplink MACCE.

[0077] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the uplink MAC CE is used to report changes in the restriction conditions of the low-orbit satellite antenna, and the restriction conditions include at least any one of the following: scanning angle restriction conditions, working time restriction conditions, temperature restriction conditions, scanning switchback time restriction conditions, and power supply restriction conditions.

[0078] The applicant of this application further proposes that after receiving the uplink MAC CE returned by the low-orbit satellite, the relay ground station can change the service data scheduling strategy or change the semi-static transceiver window. Accordingly, in some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, after receiving the uplink MAC CE (that is, involved in step S140) returned by the low-orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, the method further includes:

[0079] Step S150: determining an updated service data scheduling strategy and an updated semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite according to the uplink MAC CE;

[0080] Step S160: Based on the updated semi-static transceiver window, forward the downlink control information DCI including the updated service data scheduling strategy and the downlink MAC CE including the updated semi-static transceiver window to the low-orbit satellite through the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite.

[0081] The applicant of the present application further proposes that, in some embodiments, the channel parameters include the signal-to-noise ratio information SNR between the low-orbit satellite and its current high-orbit relay satellite, the spot beam coverage position information of the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite, and the uplink synchronization information (timing advance) of the low-orbit satellite.

[0082] The applicant of the present application further proposes that, in some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, according to the channel parameters, determining the service data scheduling strategy (ie, involved in step S120) includes:

[0083] Step S121: Determine the service data scheduling strategy based on the signal-to-noise ratio information between the low-orbit satellite and its current high-orbit relay satellite. The service data scheduling strategy includes allocating the location and number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and selecting the level of modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0084] The location and number of allocated PRBs define the transmission resources for service data. The MCS level determines the signal modulation method, such as Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (16QAM), as well as the channel coding rate, which directly affects transmission rate and reliability.

[0085] The applicant of the present application further proposes that, in some embodiments, Figure 5 As shown, determining the semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite (i.e., involved in step S120) according to the channel parameters includes:

[0086] Step S122: Determine the semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite based on the spot beam coverage position information of the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite and the uplink synchronization information of the low-orbit satellite.

[0087] The applicant of the present application further proposes that, in some embodiments, the types of the business data include telemetry data and periodic task data.

[0088] The present embodiment of the application does not impose any specific restrictions on the order in which low-orbit satellites transmit telemetry data and periodic mission data, which is determined by actual conditions. The present embodiment of the application does not impose any specific restrictions on the period and data volume of telemetry data and periodic mission data transmitted by low-orbit satellites to relay ground stations.

[0089] Telemetry data refers to the status monitoring data transmitted by low-orbit satellites to relay ground stations, allowing them to monitor the health and operational status of low-orbit satellites in real time. Periodic mission data refers to operational data collected by low-orbit satellites according to preset mission cycles, typically related to the scientific payloads or application functions carried by low-orbit satellites (such as Earth observation, meteorological monitoring, and electromagnetic detection data).

[0090] In addition, the applicant of this application also proposes that, in some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, after step S130 and before step S140, the method further includes:

[0091] Step S131 : forwarding low-orbit satellite LEO remote control data to the low-orbit satellite via the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite.

[0092] The embodiments of the present application do not impose any special restrictions on the period and data volume of the LEO remote control data, nor do they impose any special restrictions on whether the period and data volume of the LEO remote control data are fixed.

[0093] As a second aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a low-orbit satellite beam control method is provided for a low-orbit satellite, such as Figure 7 As shown, the method includes:

[0094] Step S210: receiving downlink control information DCI including a service data scheduling policy and a downlink media access control MAC control element CE including a semi-static transceiver window forwarded by the current high-orbit relay satellite of the device;

[0095] The DCI and downlink MAC CE are sent by the relay ground station to the high-orbit relay satellite based on the semi-static transceiver window, the service data scheduling strategy and the semi-static transceiver window are determined by the relay ground station according to channel parameters, and the channel parameters are calculated by the relay ground station based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite;

[0096] Step S220: Transmit uplink data back to the relay ground station according to the DCI and downlink MAC CE, where the type of the uplink data includes service data and / or uplink MAC CE.

[0097] Among them, the low-orbit satellite beam control method executed by the low-orbit satellite side was also explained above when describing the low-orbit satellite beam control method executed by the relay ground station, so it will not be repeated here.

[0098] Considering that building ground stations around the world requires a lot of costs and is subject to many restrictions, the embodiments of the present application use high-orbit satellites as relays between low-orbit satellites and ground stations to achieve all-weather global coverage, avoiding the situation where low-orbit satellites can only communicate with ground stations within a limited time each time they orbit the earth, thereby supporting real-time low-orbit satellite data backhaul, and eliminating the need to build ground stations on a large scale, effectively reducing the cost of communication infrastructure.

[0099] Taking into account the small number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites and the very limited coverage area that can be lit at the same time, it is impossible to measure and obtain channel information through the traditional 5G SSB and CSI. Instead, the embodiment of the present application calculates and obtains the channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite, thereby avoiding channel measurement failures caused by insufficient coverage of the high-orbit satellite spot beams and ensuring that the low-orbit satellite can still obtain accurate channel status even when it is located in the blind spot of the high-orbit satellite's spot beam coverage, thereby providing data support for subsequent scheduling.

[0100] Taking into account the small number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites, dynamic scheduling cannot be carried out in a timely manner, and the scheduling cycle of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites is very long. The embodiment of the present application determines the service data scheduling strategy and the semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite based on the channel parameters, and optimizes time resources through the semi-static transceiver window to avoid link interruption caused by high-speed movement of low-orbit satellites and improve the effective communication time.

[0101] Taking into account the large number and latency of RRC signaling interactions in traditional 5G, the embodiment of the present application instead forwards downlink control information DCI including a service data scheduling strategy and a downlink MAC CE including a semi-static transceiver window to a low-orbit satellite through a high-orbit relay satellite. Without changing the physical layer hardware design of the 5G terminal chip, the existing 5G DCI information is used to transmit the service data scheduling strategy, and the semi-static transceiver window is defined in combination with the customized MAC CE to avoid frequent RRC reconfiguration, thereby saving modification costs and effectively reducing communication latency.

[0102] Considering that if the low-orbit satellite is restricted, resulting in beam switching or changes in uplink and downlink scheduling information, the relay ground station will not be able to calculate and perceive through the ephemeris information / position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite, the embodiment of the present application instead has the low-orbit satellite report through a customized uplink MAC CE, so that the subsequent relay ground station can adjust the beam switching strategy or handle anomalies in real time, avoid transmission failures due to hardware constraints, and improve the system's anti-interference capability.

[0103] The following reference Figure 8 As shown, the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the present application is described in detail in combination with a most specific embodiment: first, the relay ground station calculates the point beam coverage position information (for example, in beam 1), SNR, and uplink synchronization information of the GEO where the LEO is located based on the ephemeris / position information of the LEO and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the GEO, and determines the service data scheduling strategy and the semi-static transceiver window of the LEO; then, the relay ground station forwards the DCI including the service data scheduling strategy and the customized downlink MAC CE including the semi-static transceiver window to the low-orbit satellite through the high-orbit relay satellite; then, the relay ground station forwards the LEO remote control data to the low-orbit satellite through the high-orbit relay satellite, and the period and data volume are not fixed; then, the low-orbit satellite transmits, for example, 2Kbit telemetry data and periodic task data every 500ms to the relay ground station through the high-orbit relay satellite based on the DCI and the customized downlink MAC CE. After a period of time, the relay ground station again executes the low-orbit satellite beam control method based on the current data, but this time the point beam coverage position information of the GEO where the LEO is located is calculated in beam 2.

[0104] The following reference Figure 9As shown, the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the present application is described in detail in combination with another most specific embodiment: first, the relay ground station calculates the point beam coverage position information (for example, in beam 1), SNR, and uplink synchronization information of the GEO where the LEO is located based on the ephemeris / position information of the LEO and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the GEO, and determines the service data scheduling strategy and the semi-static transceiver window of the LEO; then, the relay ground station forwards the DCI including the service data scheduling strategy and the customized downlink MAC CE including the semi-static transceiver window to the low-orbit satellite through the high-orbit relay satellite; then, the relay ground station forwards the LEO remote control data to the low-orbit satellite through the high-orbit relay satellite, and the period and data volume are not fixed; then, the low-orbit satellite transmits back, for example, 2Kbit telemetry data and periodic task data every 500ms to the relay ground station through the high-orbit relay satellite based on the DCI and the customized downlink MAC CE. After a while, the relay ground station again executes the LEO satellite beam steering method based on the current data. This time, it calculates the spot beam coverage position information for the GEO region where the LEO is located in beam 2. Furthermore, due to the changed constraints of the LEO satellite antenna, in addition to transmitting 2K bits of telemetry data and periodic mission data every 500ms, the LEO satellite also transmits an uplink MAC CE. At this point, the relay ground station does not switch spot beams. Instead, it changes the allocated PRBs and selected MCS level, or modifies the semi-static transmit and receive window, and forwards the updated DCI and customized downlink MAC CE to the LEO satellite via the HEO relay satellite.

[0105] As described above, the applicant of this application has discovered that the 5G SSB multi-beam management solution ultimately achieves the effect of enhancing downlink coverage and reducing interference by performing beam management methods such as scanning, selecting, and switching SSB beams. To this end, the applicant of this application has conducted the following detailed analysis of the 5G SSB multi-beam management solution:

[0106] A 5G SSB cell can support up to seven sub-beams. To achieve better coverage gain, each manufacturer can configure the horizontal width, vertical width, azimuth angle, downtilt angle, and other parameters of each sub-beam, selecting the optimal beam as the service beam. This allows for better multi-beam coverage and a more flexible SSB signal coverage solution. In multi-antenna technology, different antennas can be assigned different weights during the antenna signal merging process to create different beams. These weights are called antenna weights. Changes in antenna weights affect the azimuth and downtilt angles of the beams, thereby changing the cell's coverage radius and shape.

[0107] Multi-beam management mainly involves beam scanning, selection, switching, and coordination. Beam scanning means that the base station sends multiple SSB or Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) beams at the same time, and the terminal measures which beam has the strongest signal. Beam selection means that the terminal notifies the base station of the measured strongest beam. When the base station sends terminal data, it uses the antenna weight of the strongest beam to improve the signal strength. When the terminal switches between two adjacent base stations, the terminal measures which beam of the destination base station has the strongest signal and reports the beam information to the source base station. The source base station notifies the destination base station, and the destination base station uses the beam notified by the source station to send the data of the switching terminal, so that the terminal can receive the best signal after switching to the destination base station. This process is beam coordination.

[0108] The base station uses multi-beam management to select the optimal beam from multiple beams at different azimuths and tilts, tailored to the terminal's location, to enhance downlink coverage and reduce interference. The base station transmits both SSB and CSI-RS simultaneously. During terminal access, the base station uses a rotating SSB beam transmission method to detect the optimal beam for the terminal. After the terminal accesses the cell and obtains CSI-RS configuration information, if normal CSI feedback is available, the base station uses the optimal beam fed back by the CSI-RS to transmit data to the terminal.

[0109] The implementation method of beam scanning and selection can be summarized as follows: the base station performs SSB beam rotation and CSI-RS beam rotation according to the UME configuration. The base station receives the optimal SSB beam reported by the terminal, and uses the antenna weight of the optimal SSB beam to send downlink data to the terminal. After the base station configures CSI-RS for the terminal, it determines whether the optimal CSI-RS beam reported by the terminal is received. If so, the optimal CSI-RS beam antenna weight is used to send downlink data to the terminal. If not, the optimal SSB beam antenna weight continues to be used to send downlink data to the terminal.

[0110] Beam switching can be implemented in three ways: terminal-autonomous switching, MAC CE, and RRC. Typically, SSB beam switching is determined by the terminal, which autonomously selects the SSB beam. Different terminals may have different implementation methods.

[0111] The implementation of beam switching based on MAC CE can be summarized as follows: In the SSB multi-beam scenario, when the terminal switches the serving beam, the base station requires MAC CE to indicate the terminal's SSB serving beam through the link established by the Tracking Configuration Indicator State (TCI-State). In the multi-beam scenario, if the number of SSB resources is n, n sets of Tracking Reference Signals (TRS) need to be configured. Each TRS set contains four resources, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between TRSs and SSBs. The Quasi-Co-Located (QCL) relationship (TCI-State) between the n SSBs and TRSs is configured. The QCL relationship (TCI-State) between the n TRSs and the Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is configured. The terminal uses the activated TCI-State indicated by the MAC CE to find the corresponding TRS, and thus the corresponding SSB.

[0112] When the network device does not support MAC CE support to assist in SSB sub-beam switching, RRC signaling can also be used to assist in sub-beam switching. The RRC-based beam switching implementation can be summarized as follows: the terminal is currently residing in SSB0. The network side learns that the optimal beam is SSB1 based on the terminal report. The network side activates TCI state0, and the network side sends RRC reconfiguration to configure the TRS QCL source to SSB1. The beam that the terminal resides in is refreshed to SSB1.

[0113] After the above analysis, the applicant of this application proposed that the number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites is small, and the coverage area that can be lit at the same time is very limited. It is impossible to measure and obtain channel information through the SSB and CSI of traditional 5G. The number of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites is small, and dynamic scheduling cannot be carried out in a timely manner. The scheduling cycle of large-capacity spot beams of high-orbit satellites is very long. The number and delay of RRC signaling interactions of traditional 5G are very large. If the low-orbit satellite is restricted, resulting in beam switching or uplink and downlink scheduling information changes, the relay ground station will not be able to calculate and perceive through the ephemeris information / position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna / transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite. Therefore, based on the differences in satellite motion characteristics, long-distance link loss, multi-hop relay delay and many other aspects of the high-orbit satellite scenario, targeted improvements are made to beam management methods such as beam scanning, selection and switching, and finally the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by this application is obtained, which realizes high-reliability, low-latency and low-power beam control during high-orbit satellite relay.

[0114] As a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, an electronic device is provided, wherein, Figure 10 As shown, the electronic device includes:

[0115] One or more processors 101;

[0116] The memory 102 stores one or more computer programs. When the one or more computer programs are executed by the one or more processors 101, the one or more processors 101 implement the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the first aspect or the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application.

[0117] The electronic device may further include one or more I / O interfaces 103 connected between the processor 101 and the memory 102 and configured to implement information exchange between the processor 101 and the memory 102 .

[0118] Among them, the processor 101 is a device with data processing capabilities, including but not limited to a central processing unit (CPU); the memory 102 is a device with data storage capabilities, including but not limited to random access memory (RAM, more specifically SDRAM, DDR, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory (FLASH); the I / O interface (read-write interface) is connected between the processor and the memory, and can realize information exchange between the processor and the memory, including but not limited to a data bus (Bus), etc.

[0119] In some embodiments, the processor 101 , the memory 102 , and the I / O interface 103 are connected to each other via a bus 104 , and further connected to other components of the computing device.

[0120] As a fourth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, Figure 11 As shown, a computer-readable medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the low-orbit satellite beam control method provided by the first aspect or the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application is implemented.

[0121] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. Accordingly, the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed, it can implement the method of any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Among them, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present application may include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM), etc.

[0122] The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present application includes but is not limited to the contents described in the drawings and the above specific embodiments. Any modifications that do not deviate from the functional and structural principles of the present application are included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A low-orbit satellite beam control method for a relay ground station, characterized in that: The method comprises: Calculate channel parameters based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite; Determining a service data scheduling strategy and a semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite according to the channel parameters; Based on the semi-static transceiver window, forwarding downlink control information DCI including the service data scheduling strategy and a downlink media access control MAC control element CE including the semi-static transceiver window to the low-orbit satellite through the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite; Receive uplink data returned by the low-orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, where types of the uplink data include service data and / or uplink MAC CE.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The uplink MAC CE is used to report changes in the restriction conditions of the low-orbit satellite antenna, and the restriction conditions include at least any one of the following: scanning angle restriction conditions, working time restriction conditions, temperature restriction conditions, scanning back-off time restriction conditions, and power supply restriction conditions.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that After receiving the uplink MAC CE returned by the low-orbit satellite according to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, the method further includes: Determining, according to the uplink MAC CE, an updated service data scheduling strategy and an updated semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite; Based on the updated semi-static transceiver window, the downlink control information DCI including the updated service data scheduling strategy and the downlink MAC CE including the updated semi-static transceiver window are forwarded to the low-orbit satellite through the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The channel parameters include signal-to-noise ratio information between the low-orbit satellite and its current high-orbit relay satellite, spot beam coverage position information of the low-orbit satellite's current high-orbit relay satellite, and uplink synchronization information of the low-orbit satellite.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Determining a service data scheduling strategy based on the channel parameters includes: The service data scheduling strategy is determined based on the signal-to-noise ratio information between the low-orbit satellite and its current high-orbit relay satellite. The service data scheduling strategy includes allocating the position and number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and selecting the level of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS).

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Determining a semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite according to the channel parameters includes: The semi-static transceiver window of the low-orbit satellite is determined according to the spot beam coverage position information of the current high-orbit relay satellite of the low-orbit satellite and the uplink synchronization information of the low-orbit satellite.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The types of business data include telemetry data and periodic task data.

8. A low-orbit satellite beam control method for a low-orbit satellite, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive downlink control information DCI including a service data scheduling policy and a downlink media access control MAC element CE including a semi-static transceiver window forwarded by the current high-orbit relay satellite of the device; wherein the DCI and downlink MAC CE are sent to the high-orbit relay satellite by a relay ground station based on the semi-static transceiver window, and the service data scheduling policy and the semi-static transceiver window are determined by the relay ground station based on channel parameters, and the channel parameters are calculated by the relay ground station based on the ephemeris information and position information of the low-orbit satellite and the antenna parameters and transceiver parameters of the high-orbit satellite; According to the DCI and the downlink MAC CE, uplink data is transmitted back to the relay ground station, where the type of the uplink data includes service data and / or uplink MAC CE.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises: one or more processors; A memory having one or more computer programs stored thereon, wherein when the one or more computer programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the low-orbit satellite beam control method according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the low-orbit satellite beam control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is implemented.

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