A Method for On-Orbit Software Upgrade of Low-Earth Orbit Satellites Based on Walker Constellation Configuration

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for on-board software upgrade of low-orbit satellites based on the Walker constellation configuration. In step S1, when each satellite receives the upgrade package and upgrade information of the on-board software, it retains the upgrade package and proceeds to step S2; in step S2, each satellite communicates with the satellites linked to it and determines whether the satellites linked to it already have the upgrade information of the on-board software. If so, it proceeds to step S4; otherwise, it proceeds to step S3; in step S3, it sends the upgrade package and upgrade information of the on-board software to the satellites without software upgrade information, and then proceeds to step S4; in step S4, according to the software upgrade information and its own software information, it determines whether to upgrade the received on-board software. If so, after upgrading according to the upgrade information, it proceeds to step S5; otherwise, it directly proceeds to step S5; in step S5, it retains the upgrade package for a preset time, completes its responsibility in the current on-board software upgrade task, and ends the upgrade process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for satellite software update, and specifically to a method for on-board software upgrade of low-earth orbit satellites based on the Walker constellation configuration. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the number of on-orbit satellites has shown an explosive growth. In 2022, a total of 2,497 spacecraft were launched globally, and in 2023, a total of 2,932 spacecraft were launched globally. Giant communication satellite constellations such as Starlink are already under construction. The huge number of on-orbit satellites requires the operation of satellites to minimize dependence on ground operation and control as much as possible, posing requirements for the autonomous operation and management capabilities of satellites. From a computer perspective, the numerous satellites that make up the Starlink network are like a huge server cluster operating in space, and the Starlink network is a large data center. Most current low-earth orbit constellations adopt the Walker-Delta inclined circular orbit configuration, such as Starlink. In order to ensure communication capabilities, these satellites need to upgrade their on-board software after being used for a period of time.

[0003] The prior art CN113407221A discloses a method for autonomous upgrade of on-board software of networking satellites. When building a link, the invention exchanges status information frames with the nodes with which it builds a link, then parses the received status information frames and compares them with its own status information: if a status information frame with a hardware version consistent with the satellite itself but a software version higher than its own is received, an application software upgrade frame is sent to the node corresponding to the status information frame; finally, the on-orbit software upgrade is completed according to the returned reconstruction data packet.

[0004] When using the above technology for software upgrade, it must be transmitted among satellites with the same hardware version. If there is no link with the same hardware version between the satellites to be upgraded, the on-orbit software upgrade cannot be completed. When a certain satellite of the invention is upgraded, its adjacent satellites must have completed the upgrade first, resulting in low overall upgrade efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Aiming at the above deficiencies in the prior art, the method for on-board software upgrade of low-earth orbit satellites based on the Walker constellation configuration provided by the present invention solves the problems of the limitation of online upgrade by the link with the same hardware version and low overall upgrade efficiency in the prior art.

[0006] In order to achieve the above invention purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] Provide a method for on-board software upgrade of low-earth orbit satellites based on the Walker constellation configuration, which includes the steps:

[0008] S1. When each satellite receives the upgrade package and upgrade information of the on-board software, it retains the upgrade package and executes step S2;

[0009] S2. Each satellite communicates with the satellites linked to it and determines whether the satellites linked to it already have the upgrade information of the on-board software. If so, it enters step S4; otherwise, it enters step S3;

[0010] S3. Send the upgrade package and upgrade information of the on-board software to the satellites without software upgrade information, and then enter step S4;

[0011] S4. According to the software upgrade information and its own software information, determine whether to upgrade the received on-board software. If so, after upgrading according to the upgrade information, enter step S5; otherwise, directly enter step S5;

[0012] S5. Retain the upgrade package for a preset time, complete the responsibilities in the current on-board software upgrade task, and end the upgrade process.

[0013] Furthermore, the method for each satellite to determine whether to upgrade itself includes:

[0014] Calculate the upgrade parameter according to the software upgrade information and its own software information:

[0015]

[0016] where U is the upgrade importance score; σ t is the time coefficient; t new is the update time of the new version software; t old is the update time of the old version; T const is the time constant; σ v is the version coefficient; v new is the version number of the new version software; v old is the version number of the old version software; V const is the version constant; σ p is the priority coefficient; U threshold is the upgrade score threshold; f d is the upgrade parameter; is the floor function;

[0017] Judge whether the upgrade parameter is greater than or equal to 1. If so, it needs to be upgraded; otherwise, it does not need to be upgraded.

[0018] Furthermore, steps S2 and S3 further include:

[0019] S21. Each satellite communicates with the satellites linked to it through the inter-satellite link in different orbits, and determines whether the satellites linked to it already have software upgrade information. If so, it enters step S23; otherwise, it enters step S22;

[0020] If the adjacent satellite on a different orbit connected to it has no software upgrade information, send the software upgrade information and software upgrade package to it, and then proceed to step S23;

[0021] S23. Each satellite communicates with the satellites linked by the in-orbit inter-satellite link, and determines whether the satellites linked to it already have software upgrade information. If so, proceed to step S25; otherwise, proceed to step S24;

[0022] S24. If the adjacent satellite on the same orbit connected to it has no such software upgrade information, send the software upgrade information and software upgrade package to it, and then proceed to step S25;

[0023] S25. End the current dissemination of software upgrade information, and then proceed to step S4.

[0024] Furthermore, the upgrade information at least includes the hardware information of the target on-board equipment, the old version number of the software that needs to be updated for the target on-board equipment, the version number after the on-board software upgrade, the file sequence to be replaced during the on-board software upgrade, the size of the upgrade package, the verification type of the upgrade package, and the verification code of the upgrade package.

[0025] Furthermore, the preset time is 3 days.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0027] 1. When the software is upgraded according to this solution, each satellite will receive the software upgrade information and software upgrade package once, and only once, avoiding the situation where a certain satellite cannot be upgraded because the hardware version information of its adjacent satellites is completely inconsistent, or its adjacent satellites do not need to be upgraded.

[0028] 2. When each satellite in this solution receives the software upgrade information, since it does not need to wait for its adjacent satellites to complete the upgrade before starting the upgrade process, the overall upgrade efficiency is higher. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 It is a static topology diagram of a satellite network based on the Walker constellation configuration.

[0030] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of a method for on-board software upgrade of low-earth orbit satellites based on the Walker constellation configuration.

[0031] Figure 3 It is a detailed implementation flowchart of a method for on-board software upgrade of low-earth orbit satellites based on the Walker constellation configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0032] The following describes the specific embodiments of the present invention to facilitate those skilled in the art of this technology to understand the present invention. However, it should be clear that the present invention is not limited to the scope of the specific embodiments. For those of ordinary skill in the art of this technology, as long as various changes are within the spirit and scope of the present invention defined and determined by the appended claims, these changes are obvious, and all inventions created using the concept of the present invention are within the scope of protection.

[0033] For the convenience of understanding the Walker constellation configuration, Figure 1 a static topology diagram of a satellite network based on the Walker constellation configuration is shown; as Figure 1 shown, in the Walker constellation configuration, in order to achieve a balance between satellite connectivity and communication performance, it is generally stipulated that each satellite only establishes 4 inter-satellite links, including two in-orbit inter-satellite links and two cross-orbit inter-satellite links. Among them, the in-orbit link is a permanent link with a fixed length, which can provide hop-by-hop data transmission in the same or opposite direction along the orbit and is relatively stable; the cross-orbit link is a permanent link with a length that changes with time cycles, which can perform hop-by-hop data transmission along the cross-orbit direction, but is prone to change.

[0034] When it is necessary to upgrade the on-board software of a low-earth orbit satellite, first, the ground measurement and control station sorts out the upgrade package of the on-board software and related upgrade information, and uploads it to a satellite in a visible orbit that needs to be upgraded first. The upgrade information in this solution includes, but is not limited to, parameters such as the hardware information of the target on-board equipment, the old version number of the software that needs to be updated for the target on-board equipment (specifically referring to the equipment that needs to be upgraded), the version number of the on-board software after the upgrade, the file sequence that needs to be replaced during the on-board software upgrade, the size of the upgrade package, the verification type of the upgrade package, and the verification code of the upgrade package.

[0035] Refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 a flowchart of a method for upgrading the on-board software of a low-earth orbit satellite based on the Walker constellation configuration is shown; as Figure 2 shown, this method S includes steps S1 to S5.

[0036] In Figure 3 a detailed implementation flowchart of a method for upgrading the on-board software of a low-earth orbit satellite based on the Walker constellation configuration is shown, which, relative to Figure 2 , more detailedly records all the implementation technologies of this solution. The following describes this solution in combination with Figure 1 and Figure 2 this solution.

[0037] In step S1, when each satellite receives the upgrade package and upgrade information of the on-board software, it retains the upgrade package and executes step S2;

[0038] In step S2, each satellite communicates with the satellites linked to it and determines whether the satellites linked to it have software upgrade information for the on-board software. If so, it proceeds to step S4; otherwise, it proceeds to step S3.

[0039] In step S3, the software upgrade package and upgrade information for the on-board software are sent to the satellites without software upgrade information, and then it proceeds to step S4.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present invention, the detailed implementation processes of steps S2 and S3 of this solution include:

[0041] S21. Each satellite communicates with the satellites linked to it through inter-orbit inter-satellite links, and determines whether the satellites linked to it have software upgrade information. If so, it proceeds to step S23; otherwise, it proceeds to step S22.

[0042] S22. If the adjacent inter-orbit satellites connected to it do not have software upgrade information, it sends the software upgrade information and software upgrade package to them, and then proceeds to step S23.

[0043] S23. Each satellite communicates with the satellites linked to it through intra-orbit inter-satellite links, and determines whether the satellites linked to it have software upgrade information. If so, it proceeds to step S25; otherwise, it proceeds to step S24.

[0044] S24. If the adjacent intra-orbit satellites connected to it do not have the software upgrade information, it sends the software upgrade information and software upgrade package to them, and then proceeds to step S25.

[0045] S25. End the current software upgrade information dissemination, and then proceed to step S4.

[0046] In step S4, based on the software upgrade information and its own software information, it determines whether to upgrade the received on-board software. If so, after upgrading according to the upgrade information, it proceeds to step S5; otherwise, it directly proceeds to step S5.

[0047] In step S5, the upgrade package is retained for a preset time, the responsibilities in the current on-board software upgrade task are completed, and the upgrade process ends; preferably, the preset time for this solution is 3 days.

[0048] The purpose of retaining the upgrade package in step S5 is: considering that the transmission of data packets to adjacent surrounding satellites may fail due to orbital changes, it is temporarily retained for 3 days to handle the situation where breakpoint resumption is required for transmission to other satellites.

[0049] During implementation, the preferred method for each satellite to determine whether to upgrade itself in this solution includes:

[0050] Based on the software upgrade information and its own software information, calculate the upgrade parameters:

[0051]

[0052] Among them, U is the upgrade importance score; σ t is the time coefficient; t new is the update time of the new version software; t old is the update time of the old version; T const is the time constant; σ v is the version coefficient; v new is the version number of the new version software; v old is the version number of the old version software; V const is the version constant; σ p is the priority coefficient; U threshold is the upgrade score threshold; f d is the upgrade parameter; is rounding down;

[0053] Judge whether the upgrade parameter is greater than or equal to 1. If so, an upgrade is required; otherwise, no upgrade is needed.

[0054] When judging whether each satellite needs to be upgraded, the preferred value of the time coefficient is 0.5; the time constant is 365; the version coefficient is 0.5; the version numbers of the new version software and the old version software are represented in the form of x and y, the version constant is 1.0, the priority coefficient is 0 - 20, and the upgrade score threshold is 2.5.

[0055] To sum up, when the on - board software of the low - earth - orbit satellite in this solution is upgraded, each satellite will receive a software upgrade message and a software upgrade package, avoiding the situation where a certain satellite is affected by the inconsistent hardware version information with its adjacent satellites during the upgrade; each satellite can perform the upgrade operation immediately after receiving the upgrade package, thus overall improving the upgrade efficiency.

Claims

1. A method for upgrading onboard software of a low-orbit satellite based on a Walker constellation configuration, characterized in that: Includes steps: S1. When each satellite receives the upgrade package and upgrade information of the onboard software, it retains the upgrade package and executes step S2; S2, each satellite communicates with the satellite linked to it, and determines whether the satellite linked to it has the upgrade information of the onboard software. If so, it goes to step S4, otherwise it goes to step S3; S3, sending the upgrade package and upgrade information of the satellite-borne software to the satellite without software upgrade information, and then entering step S4; S4, judging whether to upgrade the received satellite-borne software according to the software upgrade information and its own software information, if so, proceeding to step S5 after upgrading according to the upgrade information, otherwise directly proceeding to step S5; S5. Keep the preset time of the upgrade package, complete the responsibilities in the current onboard software upgrade task, and end the upgrade process; The method for each satellite to determine whether it has been upgraded includes: Calculate the upgrade parameters based on the software upgrade information and the software information itself: Among them, U is the upgrade importance score; is the time coefficient; Update time for new version software; Update time for old versions; is the time constant; is the version coefficient; It is the version number of the new version software; It is the version number of the old version of the software; is the version constant; is the priority coefficient; is the upgrade score threshold; To upgrade the parameters; To round down; Determine whether the upgrade parameter is greater than or equal to 1. If so, upgrade is required, otherwise not; Step S2 and step S3 further include: S21, each satellite communicates with the satellite connected to it through the intersatellite link, and determines whether the satellite connected to it has software upgrade information. If so, it proceeds to step S23, otherwise it proceeds to step S22; S22, if the adjacent satellite in the different orbit connected to it has no software upgrade information, then send the software upgrade information and software upgrade package to it, and then enter step S23; S23, each satellite communicates with the satellite connected to it through the same-orbit intersatellite link to determine whether the satellite connected to it has software upgrade information, if so, proceed to step S25, otherwise proceed to step S24; S24, if the adjacent satellite in the same orbit connected to it does not have the software upgrade information, then send the software upgrade information and software upgrade package to it, and then enter step S25; S25, end the dissemination of the software upgrade information, and then proceed to step S4.

2. The method for upgrading onboard software of a low-orbit satellite according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upgrade information includes at least the hardware information of the target onboard device, the old version number of the software that needs to be updated for the target onboard device, the version number of the onboard software after the upgrade, the file sequence that needs to be replaced for the onboard software upgrade, the size of the upgrade package, the verification type of the upgrade package and the verification code of the upgrade package.

3. The method for upgrading onboard software of a low-orbit satellite according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The preset time is 3 days.

Images