Satellite communication processing payload device

Abstract

This invention discloses a satellite communication processing payload device, belonging to the fields of satellite communication and aerospace engineering. The device includes a primary and backup routing and switching unit and a payload control unit, as well as multiple power supply processing units and user processing units. The routing and switching unit connects to all processing units via a high-speed serial interface, forming a dual-satellite service network; the payload control unit connects to all units via a medium-speed interface, forming a ring control network. This invention implements each unit using an FPGA and utilizes a signal detection module to monitor the bus health status in real time. When the primary routing and switching unit fails or receives a switching command, the payload control unit can automatically coordinate a series of operations, including powering on the backup unit and rebuilding the service and control links, achieving rapid and autonomous switching of the system's primary and backup buses, significantly improving the reliability and on-orbit autonomous maintenance capability of the satellite communication system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the fields of satellite communication and aerospace engineering, specifically a satellite communication processing payload device. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of satellite communication and semiconductor technologies, the digital processing capabilities on satellites have gradually increased. Multi-channel power supply signals, multi-beam user signals, routing switching, and payload control are now digitally processed on satellites. To avoid single points of failure for the entire satellite, routing switching and payload control typically employ a primary / backup design. Since routing switching and payload control are central to service and control signals, switching between primary and backup requires switching all individual ports within the system, configuring various parameters, resulting in low switching efficiency and long processing times. This is unsuitable for the development requirements of simplifying satellite autonomous operation and maintenance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the present invention provides a satellite communication processing payload device, which not only realizes the autonomous switching of the main backup bus of each unit in the system, improves the switching efficiency, and reduces the switching time, but also achieves the advantages of high reliability, low cost, and support for on-orbit reconfiguration.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0005] A satellite communication processing payload device, comprising:

[0006] The primary routing switching unit and the backup routing switching unit constitute the system's business data aggregation hub;

[0007] The primary load control unit and the backup load control unit constitute the central hub for the convergence of control signals in the system.

[0008] Multiple power supply processing units are used to connect with ground gateway stations;

[0009] Multiple user processing units are used to connect to user terminals;

[0010] The primary routing switching unit and the backup routing switching unit are connected to the multiple power supply processing units and multiple user processing units respectively through high-speed serial interfaces, forming a dual-star service topology network that backs up each other.

[0011] The primary load control unit and the backup load control unit are connected to the multiple power supply processing units, multiple user processing units, primary routing switching units and backup routing switching units respectively through medium-speed interfaces, forming a ring control topology network that backs up each other.

[0012] Furthermore, both the primary routing switching unit and the backup routing switching unit include a routing calculation module, a data exchange module, a GTH interface, a BLVDS interface, and a power supply module. The routing calculation module performs intra-satellite and inter-satellite service data routing calculations and generates routing tables. The data exchange module, connected to the routing calculation module, performs intra-satellite and inter-satellite service data exchange based on the routing tables. The GTH interface enables service data transmission with the power supply processing unit and the user processing unit. The BLVDS interface enables control signal transmission with the payload control unit. The power supply module provides power conversion and controlled power-on / off operations for the routing switching units.

[0013] Furthermore, in backup mode, the power module of the routing switching unit is powered on after receiving a power-on command from the load control unit; after power-on, the routing calculation module and the data exchange module perform initialization operations and actively report the unit's ready status and self-test results to the load control unit through the BLVDS interface.

[0014] When the routing and switching unit is running in primary mode, its power module receives and responds to the power-off command from the load control unit, executes the power-down process, and actively disconnects the service and control links with all processing units.

[0015] When activated as a backup unit, after power-on initialization, it takes over the network address and routing identity of the original primary unit according to the instructions of the load control unit, and re-establishes all service and control links to achieve seamless takeover of the system.

[0016] The data exchange module establishes a point-to-point physical connection with the online power supply processing unit and user processing unit through the GTH interface. Under the coordination of the load control unit, the data exchange module continuously sends idle frames to each processing unit in accordance with the AURORA protocol to establish and maintain the channel connection status of the GTH link. The data exchange module monitors the Channel-up signal of each GTH interface in real time and periodically reports the link status as key health information to the load control unit through the BLVDS interface.

[0017] The routing calculation module runs a dynamic or static routing protocol to generate a routing table to guide the forwarding of intra-satellite and inter-satellite service data. The data exchange module receives service data from each power supply processing unit and user processing unit, performs a table lookup operation according to the routing table, and forwards the service data to the destination exit, which includes another user processing unit, power supply processing unit, or inter-satellite link interface of the satellite.

[0018] Furthermore, both the primary load control unit and the backup load control unit include an interface processing module, a protocol processing module, a BLVDS interface, and a CAN interface;

[0019] The interface processing module is used to achieve physical layer level adaptation and signal driving with external units or devices; the protocol processing module is connected to the interface processing module and is used to realize communication protocol parsing, encapsulation and control logic processing with external units or devices; the BLVDS interface, as a specific implementation of the medium-speed interface, is used to transmit control signals with other units inside the system; the CAN interface is used to transmit control signals with the satellite platform's standalone unit.

[0020] Furthermore, the protocol processing module is used to listen for and process instructions from two independent paths: receiving and parsing remote primary / backup switching instructions from the satellite platform's satellite computer via the CAN interface module of the routing and switching unit; and receiving and parsing fault alarm information reported by various processing units within the system via the BLVDS interface of the routing and switching unit.

[0021] The system status monitoring and maintenance process includes: periodically polling or receiving unit status, link health status, and self-test information reported by each routing and switching unit, power supply processing unit, and user processing unit; maintaining a global system status table and updating the online status of each primary and backup unit, as well as the establishment status of service links and control links in real time.

[0022] Primary / backup switchover process: Upon receiving a valid switchover command or upon autonomously deciding to switch over, control commands are sent to relevant units in a predetermined sequence. First, a power-off command is sent to the power module of the primary routing exchange unit to be powered down. After confirming that the primary unit is powered down or the fault is isolated, a power-on command is sent to the power module of the backup routing exchange unit to be powered on. The subsequent link reconstruction process is coordinated and monitored, including monitoring the establishment status of the Channel-up signal of the GTH link between the backup routing exchange unit and each processing unit, and monitoring the synchronization status of the frame synchronization signal of the BLVDS link (based on the Modbus protocol) between the backup routing exchange unit and each processing unit. For channels that fail to establish a link within a set time, an interface reset command is sent to the unit associated with that channel until the link is successfully established or confirmed as a permanent fault. The final link establishment status of all GTH interfaces and BLVDS interfaces is collected. When all links are successfully rebuilt, the primary / backup switchover is confirmed to be complete, the global system status table is updated, and normal system communication is restored. When there are channels with failed link establishment, a detailed fault report is generated and reported to the satellite platform and ground satellite management system via the CAN interface module, requesting external intervention.

[0023] The beneficial effects of adopting the above-mentioned optimized technical solution are as follows:

[0024] This invention is implemented using an FPGA (Field Programmable Logic Device), which features a large number of interfaces, multiple interface types, abundant logic resources, short development cycle, and support for on-orbit programmability, leading to its increasing application in space. FPGAs can not only perform power supply signal processing, user signal processing, exchange data processing, and control signal processing, but also connect multiple high-speed data buses and low-speed control buses.

[0025] The present invention implements a satellite communication payload system based on FPGA. Each functional unit adopts a dual-star network connection consisting of GTH (Gigabit Transceiver High-Speed) bus and BLVDS (BUS LVDS, i.e., low voltage differential signal bus). It not only realizes the autonomous switching of the main backup bus of each unit in the system, improves the switching efficiency, and reduces the switching time, but also achieves the advantages of high reliability, low cost, and support for on-orbit reconfiguration. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The satellite communication processing payload device provided in this embodiment is based on the implementation of various functional units through FPGA, and the construction of a physically independent but logically coordinated two-layer network using the GTH high-speed serial interface and the BLVDS medium-speed interface, thereby achieving efficient and reliable autonomous switching between primary and backup.

[0027] 1. System hardware architecture and connectivity

[0028] The load processing device in this embodiment specifically includes:

[0029] Routing and Switching Unit: This unit comprises two identical routing and switching units, a primary and a backup. At the core of each unit is a high-performance FPGA, which integrates a routing calculation module (implemented by an embedded CPU soft or hard core) and a data switching module. Externally, the routing and switching unit is equipped with a GTH interface, a BLVDS interface, and a controlled power supply module.

[0030] In backup mode, the power module of the routing switching unit is powered on after receiving a power-on command from the load control unit. After power-on, the routing calculation module and the data exchange module perform initialization operations and actively report the unit's ready status and self-test results to the load control unit through the BLVDS interface.

[0031] When the routing and switching unit is running in primary mode, its power module receives and responds to the power-off command from the load control unit, executes the power-down process, and actively disconnects the service and control links with all processing units.

[0032] When activated as a backup unit, after power-on initialization, it takes over the network address and routing identity of the original primary unit according to the instructions of the load control unit, and re-establishes all service and control links to achieve seamless takeover of the system.

[0033] The data exchange module establishes a point-to-point physical connection with the online power supply processing unit and user processing unit through the GTH interface. Under the coordination of the load control unit, the data exchange module continuously sends idle frames to each processing unit in accordance with the AURORA protocol to establish and maintain the channel connection status of the GTH link. The data exchange module monitors the Channel-up signal of each GTH interface in real time and periodically reports the link status as key health information to the load control unit through the BLVDS interface.

[0034] The routing calculation module runs a dynamic or static routing protocol to generate a routing table to guide the forwarding of intra-satellite and inter-satellite service data. The data exchange module receives service data from each power supply processing unit and user processing unit, performs a table lookup operation according to the routing table, and forwards the service data to the destination exit, which includes another user processing unit, power supply processing unit, or inter-satellite link interface of the satellite.

[0035] Payload Control Unit: This unit also comprises two payload control units, a primary and a backup. Its core is also an FPGA, with integrated interface processing and protocol processing modules. The payload control unit is also equipped with BLVDS and CAN interfaces. The protocol processing module listens for and processes commands from two independent paths: receiving and parsing remote primary / backup switchover commands from the satellite platform's onboard computer via the CAN interface of the routing and switching unit; and receiving and parsing fault alarm information reported by various processing units within the system via the BLVDS interface of the routing and switching unit.

[0036] The system status monitoring and maintenance process includes: periodically polling or receiving unit status, link health status, and self-test information reported by each routing and switching unit, power supply processing unit, and user processing unit; maintaining a global system status table and updating the online status of each primary and backup unit, as well as the establishment status of service links and control links in real time.

[0037] Power supply processing unit: It contains multiple channels, each implemented by an FPGA, and includes a power supply processing module and a key signal detection and autonomous switching control module.

[0038] User processing unit: Contains multiple beams. Its hardware design is similar to that of the power supply processing unit. The FPGA contains a user processing module and a signal detection and autonomous switching control module.

[0039] The network connection is implemented as follows:

[0040] The dual-star service network consists of two sets of parallel star networks: the primary routing and switching unit's GTH interface is directly connected to the primary GTH interfaces of all power supply processing modules and user processing units; the backup routing and switching unit's GTH interface is directly connected to the backup GTH interfaces of all processing units.

[0041] Ring control network: The BLVDS interface of the primary load control unit is sequentially connected to the primary routing switching unit and the primary BLVDS interfaces of all processing units, ultimately forming a closed loop; the backup load control unit is connected in the same way to the backup routing switching unit and the backup BLVDS interfaces of all processing units, forming another independent control loop. The two ring networks are coordinated through the internal logic of the load control unit.

[0042] 2. Detailed implementation logic and process of primary / backup autonomous failover

[0043] The switching process is coordinated and controlled by the load control unit, which acts as the "brain." The logic state machine in its internal protocol processing module executes the following steps:

[0044] Step S1: Switch trigger

[0045] Method 1 (Command Trigger): The satellite platform's satellite computer sends a "master / slave switch command" in a specific format to the primary payload control unit (3) via the CAN bus.

[0046] Method 2 (Autonomous Trigger): The primary load control unit periodically polls the information reported by the signal detection and autonomous switching control modules of one or more power supply / user processing units to determine if the primary routing switching unit has failed (such as multiple consecutive communication timeouts or receiving fault codes), and then autonomously generates a switching decision.

[0047] Step S2: Primary Unit Security Isolation

[0048] The protocol processing module of the primary load control unit sends a "power-off command" to the power module of the primary routing switching unit through the BLVDS ring control network.

[0049] After parsing the command, the power module of the primary routing switching unit executes an ordered power-down sequence. The unit's power-down causes the signals of all its GTH and BLVDS interfaces to be interrupted, thereby achieving physical isolation from the system.

[0050] Step S3: System Status Awareness and Confirmation

[0051] The signal detection and autonomous switching control modules of all power supply processing units and user processing units monitor the link status connected to the primary routing and switching unit in real time:

[0052] For the GTH interface, monitor its Channel-up signal. A low level for this signal indicates that the high-speed service link has been interrupted.

[0053] For the BLVDS interface, monitor its frame synchronization signal. A loss of synchronization indicates that the low-speed control link has been interrupted.

[0054] When any processing unit simultaneously detects that the primary GTH Channel-up is low and the primary BLVDS frame synchronization is out of sync, it determines that the primary link is completely interrupted. The unit then updates its local interface status register and reports the "primary link interruption" status information to the backup payload control unit through its backup BLVDS interface.

[0055] Step S4: Backup Unit Activation and Initialization

[0056] After issuing a power-off command, the primary load control unit immediately sends a "power-on command" to the power module of the backup routing switching unit through the control network.

[0057] Upon power-up, the backup routing switching unit's routing calculation module and data exchange module begin executing the pre-defined initialization program. Once completed, it immediately reports "unit ready" and self-test results to the load control unit via its BLVDS interface.

[0058] Subsequently, under the command of the load control unit, the backup routing switching unit begins to configure the interface parameters between itself and each processing unit: the GTH interface is initialized to the AURORA protocol, and the BLVDS interface is initialized to the Modbus protocol.

[0059] Step S5: GTH service link reconstruction

[0060] The backup routing switching unit's data switching module continuously sends AURORA protocol idle frames to the processing unit at the other end through all GTH interfaces in an attempt to establish a physical layer link.

[0061] Each processing unit's signal detection and autonomous switching control module monitors the Channel-up signal of its backup GTH interface. Once this signal goes high, the unit records "GTH backup link established successfully".

[0062] The load control unit monitors the GTH link status reported by all processing units. For channels that have not established a link within a preset timeout period (e.g., 100 milliseconds), the load control unit will send an "interface reset" command to the processing unit and backup routing switching unit associated with the channel through the BLVDS network, forcing their GTH transceivers to reinitialize. This process is repeated until the Channel-up signal stabilizes at a high level.

[0063] Step S6: BLVDS control link reconstruction

[0064] The backup routing switching unit periodically sends Modbus protocol status broadcast frames to all processing units through its BLVDS interface.

[0065] Each processing unit attempts to lock onto and parse the frame synchronization signal of this broadcast frame. Once synchronization is successful, the BLVDS control link is determined to be established, and the status is reported.

[0066] Similarly, the load control unit processes channels that time out and fail to synchronize, sending a reset command to the BLVDS receiver of the processing unit until frame synchronization is successful.

[0067] Step S7: Switching Completed and System Restored

[0068] The load control unit summarizes the final connection status of all GTH and BLVDS interfaces.

[0069] If all operations are successful: The load control unit confirms the primary / backup switchover is complete, updates its maintained global system status table, and broadcasts a "switchover complete" command. Afterward, all service data and control flows pass through the backup routing and switching unit and the backup load control unit, and the system resumes normal communication.

[0070] If a failed channel exists: the payload control unit will generate a report containing details of the failed channel and report it to the satellite platform and ground control center via the CAN interface, requesting ground personnel to troubleshoot and intervene.

[0071] The above describes the complete autonomous switching process of the routing and switching unit from the primary to the backup. The process of switching back from the backup to the primary is symmetrical and will not be described in detail here.

Claims

1. A satellite communication processing payload device, characterized in that, include: The primary routing switching unit and the backup routing switching unit constitute the system's business data aggregation hub; The primary load control unit and the backup load control unit constitute the central hub for the convergence of control signals in the system. Multiple power supply processing units are used to connect with ground gateway stations; Multiple user processing units are used to connect to user terminals; The primary routing switching unit and the backup routing switching unit are connected to the multiple power supply processing units and multiple user processing units respectively through high-speed serial interfaces, forming a dual-star service topology network that serves as a backup for each other. The primary load control unit and the backup load control unit are connected to the multiple power supply processing units, multiple user processing units, primary routing switching units and backup routing switching units respectively through medium-speed interfaces, forming a ring control topology network that backs up each other. Both the primary routing switching unit and the backup routing switching unit include a routing calculation module, a data exchange module, and a power supply module. The routing calculation module is used to perform service data routing calculations within and between satellites and generate a routing table. The data exchange module is connected to the routing calculation module and is used to realize service data exchange within and between satellites according to the routing table. The power supply module is used to provide power conversion and controlled power-on / off operations for the routing switching units. In backup mode, the power module of the routing switching unit is powered on after receiving a power-on command from the load control unit. After power-on, the routing calculation module and the data exchange module perform initialization operations and actively report the unit's ready status and self-test results to the load control unit through the BLVDS interface. When the routing and switching unit is running as the primary unit, its power module receives and responds to the power-down command from the load control unit, executes the power-down process, and actively disconnects the service and control links with all processing units. When it is activated as a backup unit, after completing the power-on initialization, it takes over the network address and routing identity of the original primary unit according to the instructions of the load control unit, and re-establishes all service and control links to achieve seamless takeover of the system. The data exchange module establishes a point-to-point physical connection with the online power supply processing unit and user processing unit through the GTH interface. Under the coordination of the load control unit, the data exchange module continuously sends idle frames to each processing unit in accordance with the AURORA protocol to establish and maintain the channel connection status of the GTH link. The data exchange module monitors the Channel-up signal of each GTH interface in real time and periodically reports the link status as key health information to the load control unit through the BLVDS interface. The routing calculation module runs a dynamic or static routing protocol to generate a routing table to guide the forwarding of intra-satellite and inter-satellite service data. The data exchange module receives service data from each power supply processing unit and user processing unit, performs a table lookup operation according to the routing table, and forwards the service data to the destination exit, which includes another user processing unit, power supply processing unit, or inter-satellite link interface of the satellite.

2. The satellite communication processing payload device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the primary load control unit and the backup load control unit include an interface processing module and a protocol processing module. The interface processing module is used to achieve physical layer level adaptation and signal driving with external units or devices; the protocol processing module is connected to the interface processing module and is used to realize communication protocol parsing, encapsulation and control logic processing with external units or devices.

3. The satellite communication processing payload device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The protocol processing module is used to listen for and process instructions from two independent paths: receiving and parsing remote primary / backup switching instructions from the satellite platform's satellite computer via the CAN interface of the routing and switching unit; and receiving and parsing fault alarm information reported by various processing units within the system via the BLVDS interface of the routing and switching unit. The system status monitoring and maintenance process includes: periodically polling or receiving unit status, link health status, and self-test information reported by each routing and switching unit, power supply processing unit, and user processing unit; maintaining a global system status table and updating the online status of each primary and backup unit, as well as the establishment status of service links and control links in real time. Primary / backup switching process: After receiving a valid switching instruction or making an autonomous decision to switch, the protocol processing module sends control commands to the relevant units in a predetermined sequence; first, it sends a power-off instruction to the power supply module of the primary / backup routing and switching unit to be powered down. After confirming the primary unit is powered down or fault isolated, a power-on command is sent to the power module of the backup routing switching unit to be powered on; the subsequent link reconstruction process is coordinated and monitored, including monitoring the Channel-up signal establishment status of the GTH link between the backup routing switching unit and each processing unit, and monitoring the frame synchronization signal synchronization status of the BLVDS link between the backup routing switching unit and each processing unit; for channels that fail to establish a link within a set time, an interface reset command is sent to the unit associated with that channel until the link is successfully established or confirmed as a permanent fault; the final link establishment status of all GTH and BLVDS interfaces is collected; when all links are successfully rebuilt, the primary / backup switchover is confirmed to be complete, the global system status table is updated, and normal system communication is restored; when there are channels with failed link establishment, a detailed fault report is generated and reported to the satellite platform and ground satellite management system via the CAN interface, requesting external intervention.