A method for tracking and covering satellite hopping beams

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for tracking and covering satellite hopping beams, belonging to the field of phased array antenna control in the field of satellite communication. In this method, the phased array antenna can support two working modes: scanning and staring. In the scanning mode, the beam formed by the phased array antenna covers wave positions one by one within a wide area. When scanning to the wave position where the satellite terminal is located, the satellite terminal sends an access request, and the phased array antenna switches from the scanning mode to the staring mode. In the staring mode, the satellite terminal periodically sends position information to guide the phased array antenna to track it. After the communication ends, the satellite terminal sends an access completion, and the phased array antenna switches back from the staring mode to the scanning mode. The present invention is applicable to high / low orbit satellites with on-board processing capabilities and configured with phased array antennas, can achieve satellite tracking and guarantee for ground terminals, and ensure the quality of communication.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of satellite communication technology, particularly to the field of phased array antenna control in satellite communication, and can be used to achieve satellite tracking and guarantee for ground terminals in high and low orbit satellites, ensuring communication quality. Background Art

[0002] Satellite communication has a history of more than half a century. Due to its series of advantages such as global coverage, being unrestricted by ground obstacles, and being able to be deployed quickly, it can provide stable communication capabilities to multiple users across continents and oceans, and can also provide effective information transmission in area emergencies where the location, time, and intensity are unpredictable. Therefore, satellite communication has become one of the irreplaceable core communication means. Satellite communication technology has also become an important indicator to measure a country's core competitiveness.

[0003] In recent years, with the development of on-board processing technology, the combination of phased array antennas with on-board modulation, demodulation, network control, routing, and switching has gradually become the standard configuration of communication satellite payloads. Due to the characteristics of fast beamforming, phased array antennas have certain advantages in terms of scanning time and shaping ability compared to traditional reflector antennas. By designing a reasonable hopping beam strategy, without reducing antenna gain and radiation power, etc., through time-sharing coverage, communication guarantee for wide-area dispersed users within the satellite's earth-viewing field can be achieved.

[0004] Currently, the research on satellite hopping beam technology mainly focuses on the optimization of hopping beam strategies, and the access of hopping beams mainly adopts the pre-upload method, which is difficult to meet the requirements of users' ad-hoc access and on-demand coverage. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention proposes a tracking and coverage method for satellite hopping beams, which can be used for high and low orbit satellites with on-board processing and phased array antennas to achieve satellite tracking and guarantee for ground terminals, ensuring communication quality.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] A tracking and coverage method for satellite hopping beams, applied to high / low orbit satellites with on-board processing capabilities; the satellite is configured with an on-board phased array antenna, an on-board network controller, and an on-board modulator; the on-board phased array antenna has two operating modes: scanning and staring; in the scanning mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are independently controlled, the receive beam is controlled by the on-board network controller, and the transmit beam is controlled by the on-board modulator; in the staring mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are uniformly controlled by the on-board network controller; the guarantee process is jointly completed by the satellite, the ground network management center, and satellite terminals; the method includes the following steps:

[0008] A. The network management center configures the scanning pattern of the spaceborne phased array antenna in the scanning mode for the spaceborne network control. The spaceborne network control controls the receiving beam to perform step-by-step beam position jumps according to the scanning pattern, and the dwell time on each beam position is the same.

[0009] B. The network management center configures the scanning pattern of the spaceborne phased array antenna in the scanning mode for the spaceborne modulator. The spaceborne modulator controls the transmitting beam to perform step-by-step beam position jumps according to the scanning pattern, and the dwell time on each beam position is the same. During the dwell period, the spaceborne modulator broadcasts a satellite-ground notice to the currently covered beam position, and the satellite-ground notice includes synchronization information.

[0010] C. After the satellite terminal powers on, it stays on the transmitting beam of the spaceborne phased array antenna. When the transmitting beam scans to its location, the satellite terminal captures the transmitting beam signal, performs downlink synchronization, and receives the satellite-ground notice.

[0011] D. After the satellite terminal completes downlink synchronization, it sends an access request containing the location information of the terminal to the spaceborne network control of the satellite.

[0012] E. After receiving the access request, the spaceborne network control controls the spaceborne phased array antenna to switch from the scanning mode to the staring mode.

[0013] F. The satellite terminal conducts data communication under the spaceborne phased array antenna in the staring mode and periodically sends location information to the spaceborne network control.

[0014] G. Based on the location information, the spaceborne network control controls the receiving and transmitting beams of the spaceborne phased array antenna to track the satellite terminal.

[0015] H. After the communication ends, the satellite terminal sends an access completion to the spaceborne network control.

[0016] I. After receiving the access completion, the spaceborne network control controls the spaceborne phased array antenna to switch from the staring mode to the scanning mode.

[0017] Specifically, a beam position is an area projected by the receiving / transmitting beam of the spaceborne phased array antenna on the earth's surface. The scanning pattern consists of a beam position sequence and a dwell time. The receiving / transmitting beam of the spaceborne phased array antenna jumps between different beam positions according to the order given by the sequence.

[0018] Specifically, in the scanning mode, the scanning periods of the receiving / transmitting beams of the spaceborne phased array antenna are consistent, and the scanning control timings are synchronized: the start time of the transmitting beam scanning period is ahead of the start time of the receiving beam scanning period by a fixed time Delay, and Delay is greater than the satellite-ground round-trip time delay.

[0019] Specifically, in the scanning mode, the receiving / transmitting access beams of the spaceborne phased array antenna use the same scanning pattern.

[0020] Specifically, in step E, the method for the satellite terminal to determine the sending time of the access request is as follows:

[0021] The satellite terminal measures its round-trip satellite-ground time delay RTT;

[0022] After the satellite terminal completes downlink synchronization in the transmit beam, it waits for a time of Delay-RTT, and then sends an access request.

[0023] Specifically, the on-board network controller controls the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna to cover the same position simultaneously according to the position information reported by the ground terminal.

[0024] The present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the background art:

[0025] 1. The present invention adopts a control method combining scanning and staring, which can realize the tracking guarantee of the phased array antenna for the satellite terminal.

[0026] 2. This method does not need to rely on other beams, and can effectively improve the access ability of the phased array beam and the communication quality of the satellite terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a satellite hopping beam tracking and coverage method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the hopping beam access in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a timing control diagram of the hopping beam in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0030] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0031] Figure 1 Shown is an application scenario of a satellite hopping beam tracking and coverage method, which is applied to high / low-orbit satellites with on-board processing capabilities; Figure 1 In, 1 to 7 represent different access beam scanning patterns. The satellite is configured with an on-board phased array antenna, an on-board network controller, and an on-board modulator; the on-board phased array antenna has two working modes: scanning and staring; in the scanning mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are controlled independently, the receive beam is controlled by the on-board network controller, and the transmit beam is controlled by the on-board modulator; in the staring mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are uniformly controlled by the on-board network controller; the guarantee process is jointly completed by the satellite, the ground network management center, and the satellite terminal.

[0032] Specifically, in the scanning mode, the phased array antenna scans each wave position in the field of view according to the scanning pattern pre-injected by the network management center. When the satellite terminal at wave position 5 receives the satellite-ground notice when the transmitting beam scans to its location and sends an access request when the receiving beam scans to its location subsequently; after successful access, the phased array antenna switches to the staring mode and tracks and guarantees it according to the location information reported by the satellite terminal.

[0033] As Figure 2 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0034] A. The network management center configures the scanning pattern of the phased array antenna in the scanning mode for the on-board network control. The on-board network control controls the receiving beam to perform step-by-step wave position jumps according to the scanning pattern, and the dwell time at each wave position is the same;

[0035] B. The network management center configures the scanning pattern of the phased array antenna in the scanning mode for the on-board modulator. The on-board modulator controls the transmitting beam to perform step-by-step wave position jumps according to the scanning pattern, and the dwell time at each wave position is the same. During the dwell period, the on-board modulator broadcasts the satellite-ground notice to the currently covered wave position, including: synchronization information, etc.;

[0036] C. After the satellite terminal is powered on, it stays on the transmitting beam of the phased array antenna. When the transmitting beam scans to its location, the satellite terminal captures the transmitting beam signal, performs downlink synchronization, and receives the satellite-ground notice;

[0037] D. After the satellite terminal completes downlink synchronization, it sends an access request containing the location information of the terminal to the on-board network control of the satellite;

[0038] E. After receiving the access request, the on-board network control controls the phased array antenna to switch from the scanning mode to the staring mode;

[0039] F. The satellite terminal conducts data communication under the phased array antenna in the staring mode and periodically sends location information to the on-board network control;

[0040] G. The on-board network control controls the receiving and transmitting beams of the phased array antenna to track the satellite terminal according to the location information;

[0041] H. After the communication ends, the satellite terminal sends access completion to the on-board network control;

[0042] I. After receiving the access completion, the on-board network control controls the phased array antenna to switch from the staring mode to the scanning mode.

[0043] Among them, the wave position is an area projected by the receiving / transmitting beam of the on-board phased array antenna on the ground; the scanning pattern consists of a wave position sequence and a dwell time. The receiving / transmitting beam of the on-board phased array antenna jumps between different wave positions according to the order given by the sequence.

[0044] In the scanning mode, the scanning periods of the receiving / transmitting beams of the spaceborne phased array antenna are the same, the scanning control timings are synchronized, the start time of the transmitting beam scanning period is ahead of the start time of the receiving beam scanning period by a fixed time Delay, and Delay is greater than the round-trip time delay between the satellite and the ground. Also, in the scanning mode, the receiving / transmitting beams of the spaceborne phased array antenna use the same scanning pattern.

[0045] In the staring mode, the spaceborne network control controls the receiving / transmitting beams of the spaceborne phased array antenna to cover the same position simultaneously according to the position information reported by the ground terminal.

[0046] As Figure 3 shown, the method for the satellite terminal to determine the access application sending time in step E includes the following steps:

[0047] The satellite terminal measures its round-trip time delay RTT between the satellite and the ground;

[0048] After the satellite terminal completes downlink synchronization under the transmitting beam, it waits for a time of Delay - RTT, and then sends an access application.

[0049] In summary, the present invention uniquely creates a method for tracking and covering satellite hopping beams. In this method, the phased array antenna can support two working modes: scanning and staring. In the scanning mode, the beams formed by the phased array antenna cover wave positions one by one in a wide area. When scanning to the wave position where the satellite terminal is located, the satellite terminal sends an access application, and the phased array antenna switches from the scanning mode to the staring mode. In the staring mode, the satellite terminal periodically sends position information to guide the phased array antenna to track it. After the communication ends, the satellite terminal sends an access completion, and the phased array antenna switches back from the staring mode to the scanning mode. The present invention is applicable to high / low-orbit satellites with on-board processing capabilities and configured with phased array antennas, and can realize the tracking guarantee of the satellite for ground terminals and ensure the quality of communication.

[0050] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that implementing a method for tracking and covering satellite hopping beams can be accomplished through hardware or software related to program instructions. When this program is executed, it performs the steps including those in the above method embodiments.

[0051] Finally, it should be noted that the above are only preferred examples of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, for those skilled in the art, they can still modify the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for other partial technical features. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for tracking and covering satellite hopping beams, characterized in that, Applied to high / low-orbit satellites with on-board processing capabilities; the satellite is configured with an on-board phased array antenna, an on-board network controller, and an on-board modulator; the on-board phased array antenna has two operating modes: scanning and staring; in the scanning mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are independently controlled, the receive beam is controlled by the on-board network controller, and the transmit beam is controlled by the on-board modulator; in the staring mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are uniformly controlled by the on-board network controller; the guarantee process is jointly completed by the satellite, the network management center on the ground, and the satellite terminal; the method includes the following steps: A. The network management center configures the scanning pattern of the on-board phased array antenna in the scanning mode for the on-board network controller, and the on-board network controller controls the receive beam to perform step-by-step beam position jumps according to the scanning pattern, and the dwell time on each beam position is the same; B. The network management center configures the scanning pattern of the on-board phased array antenna in the scanning mode for the on-board modulator, and the on-board modulator controls the transmit beam to perform step-by-step beam position jumps according to the scanning pattern, and the dwell time on each beam position is the same; during the dwell period, the on-board modulator broadcasts a satellite-ground notice to the currently covered beam position, and the satellite-ground notice includes synchronization information; C. After the satellite terminal is powered on, it monitors the transmit beam of the on-board phased array antenna. When the transmit beam scans to its location, the satellite terminal captures the transmit beam signal, performs downlink synchronization, and receives the satellite-ground notice; D. After the satellite terminal completes downlink synchronization, it sends an access request containing the location information of the terminal to the on-board network controller of the satellite; E. After receiving the access request, the on-board network controller controls the on-board phased array antenna to switch from the scanning mode to the staring mode; F. The satellite terminal conducts data communication under the on-board phased array antenna in the staring mode and periodically sends location information to the on-board network controller; G. The on-board network controller controls the receive and transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna to track the satellite terminal according to the location information; H. After the communication ends, the satellite terminal sends access completion to the on-board network controller; I. After receiving the access completion, the on-board network controller controls the on-board phased array antenna to switch from the staring mode to the scanning mode.

2. The tracking and coverage method of satellite hopping beam according to claim 1, characterized in that A beam position is an area projected by the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna on the ground surface; the scanning pattern consists of a beam position sequence and a dwell time, and the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna jump between different beam positions in the order given by the sequence.

3. A satellite hopping beam tracking and coverage method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the scanning mode, the scanning periods of the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna are the same, the scanning control timing is synchronized, the start time of the transmit beam scanning period is ahead of the start time of the receive beam scanning period by a fixed time Delay, and Delay is greater than the satellite-ground round-trip time delay.

4. A satellite hopping beam tracking and coverage method according to claim 1, characterized in that In the scanning mode, the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna use the same scanning pattern.

5. A satellite hopping beam tracking and coverage method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step E, the method for the satellite terminal to determine the access request sending time is as follows: The satellite terminal measures its satellite-ground round-trip time delay RTT; After the satellite terminal completes downlink synchronization under the transmit beam, it waits for a time of Delay - RTT and then sends an access request.

6. A satellite hopping beam tracking and coverage method according to claim 1, characterized in that In the staring mode, the on-board network controller controls the receive / transmit beams of the on-board phased array antenna to simultaneously cover the same location according to the location information reported by the ground terminal.

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