Systems and methods for dynamic provisioning of capacity in a satellite communications system

Abstract

A dynamic lease tool (DLT) automates short-term, on-demand leasing of capacity in a satellite communications system (SCS), enabling subscribers to obtain capacity in specific service beams or beam coverage areas at specific times without incurring long-term lease obligations. To do so, the DLT receives and processes subscriber lease requests, reconciles requested parameters against available satellite resources and operating constraints, maintains a capacity allocation schedule, and outputs control signaling to effectuate corresponding beam activations and deactivations. Through such processing, the DLT allows subscribers to access satellite communications resources on a flexible, as-needed basis rather than through traditional long- term leasing arrangements, thereby reducing costs to individual subscribers and improving resource utilization efficiency of the SCS.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DYNAMIC PROVISIONING OF CAPACITY IN A SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Disclosed systems and methods provide for dynamic provisioning of capacity in a satellite communications system.BACKGROUND

[0002] Satellite communications systems that use one or more geostationary satellites are commonly deployed to provide communications coverage over wide geographic regions. In many such systems, an operator allocates capacity (bandwidth) to support communications services for terminals and other field-deployed equipment operated by third parties.

[0003] Traditionally, third parties obtain access to capacity through long-term leasing arrangements. For example, an operator may enter into multi-month or multi-year agreements that reserve a fixed amount of capacity in one or more predefined coverage areas. Such leases may be structured as full- or partial-transponder leases, dedicated carrier leases, committed information rate arrangements, or other contractual models that provide predictable availability of satellite resources in exchange for fixed recurring charges and, in some cases, minimum-usage commitments.

[0004] Traditional leasing agreements also typically incorporate legal and operational obligations that persist for the full term of the lease. For example, contracts may include minimum term and auto-renewal provisions, early-termination penalties, notice requirements for cancellation or modification, and credit support obligations (e.g., deposits, letters of credit, or parent guarantees) to secure payment performance. Increasingly, the financial and legal commitments associated with long-term leasing of capacity are in tension with the limited and / or intermittent communications coverage needed in evolving customer use cases.SUMMARY

[0005] A dynamic lease tool (DLT) automates short-term, on-demand leasing of capacity in a satellite communications system (SCS), enabling subscribers to obtain capacity in specific service beams or beam coverage areas at specific times without incurring long-term lease obligations. To do so, the DLT receives and processes subscriber lease requests, reconcilesrequested parameters against available satellite resources and operating constraints, maintains a capacity allocation schedule, and outputs control signaling to effectuate corresponding beam activations and deactivations. Through such processing, the DLT allows subscribers to access satellite communications resources on a flexible, as-needed basis rather than through traditional long-term leasing arrangements, thereby reducing costs to individual subscribers and improving resource utilization efficiency of the SCS.

[0006] An example embodiment comprises a method performed by a DLT for dynamically leasing satellite communications capacity in an SCS. The method includes receiving, via a subscriber-facing interface of the DLT, dynamic lease requests (DLRs) from one or more subscriber systems, each DLR specifying, with respect to one or more service beams of the SCS, requested lease parameters including a lease start time and a lease end time defining a period during which the DLR is active and a requested dwell time and a requested dwell repetition rate for the one or more service beams. Further, the method includes: approving at least a portion of the DLRs based on reconciling the requested lease parameters against one or more operating constraints associated with available satellite resources of the SCS, thereby determining approved lease parameters for respective approved DLRs; maintaining, at the DLT and according to the approved lease parameters, a capacity allocation schedule defining, for each approved DLR, a plurality of scheduled dwell events within the period during which the DLR is active, each scheduled dwell event being an allocation of satellite communications capacity for a corresponding subscriber system on a corresponding service beam for a dwell slot time that is based on the requested dwell time; and outputting control signaling from an SCS interface of the DLT for a global resource manager of the SCS to effectuate beam activations and deactivations in accordance with the capacity allocation schedule.

[0007] A related example embodiment comprises a computer system operative as a DLT for dynamically leasing satellite communications capacity in an SCS. The computer system includes: a subscriber-facing interface configured for exchanging signaling with one or more subscriber systems; a network-facing interface configured for exchanging signaling with one or more nodes in the SCS; and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to: receive, via the subscriber-facing interface, DLRs from the one or more subscriber systems, each DLR specifying, with respect to one or more service beams of the SCS, requested lease parameters including a lease start time and a lease end time defining a period during which the DLR is active and a requested dwell time and a requested dwell repetition rate for the one or more service beams; approve at least a portion of the DLRs based on reconciling the requested lease parameters against one or more operating constraints associated with available satellite resources of the SCS, thereby determining approved lease parameters for respective approvedDLRs; maintain, according to the approved lease parameters, a capacity allocation schedule defining, for each approved DLR, a plurality of scheduled dwell events within the period during which the DLR is active, each scheduled dwell event being an allocation of satellite communications capacity for a corresponding subscriber system on a corresponding service beam for a dwell slot time that is based on the requested dwell time; and output, via the networkfacing interface, control signaling for a global resource manager of the SCS to effectuate beam activations and deactivations in accordance with the capacity allocation schedule.

[0008] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above features and advantages. Indeed, those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a satellite communications system (SCS) that includes a dynamic lease tool (DLT), according to an example embodiment.

[0010] Figure 2 is a diagram of fixed service beam coverage areas, according to an example embodiment.

[0011] Figure 3 is a logic flow diagram of a method of operation by a DLT, according to an example embodiment.

[0012] Figure 4 is a diagram of example dwell times and dwell timeslots associated with dynamic capacity allocations by a DLT, according to an example embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] While long-term leases provide stability and guaranteed access to capacity, they can be inefficient for third parties whose communications needs vary over time or are localized to short-duration events, intermittent operations, seasonal activity, or geographically shifting deployments. In these cases, a static lease may result in underutilization of reserved capacity during periods of low demand, and may provide limited flexibility to adjust coverage areas, activation times, or resource levels without renegotiating lease terms, coordinating manual reconfiguration, or incurring additional costs. Moreover, long-term leases are often prohibitively expensive for start-up companies or other third parties with limited capacity needs. Although not a limiting example, consider an Internet-of-Things (loT) network operator with deployed loT devices that report modest amounts of data on an intermittent basis.

[0014] Accordingly, there remains a need for improved techniques that provide flexible and efficient access to satellite communications resources on an automated basis. To that end, Figure1 illustrates a satellite communications system (SCS) 10 according to an example embodiment, wherein the SCS 10 includes a dynamic lease tool (DLT) 12.

[0015] The DLT 12 advantageously provides one or more subscriber systems 14 with a machine-to-machine interface (e.g., computer network interface) for automatic, dynamic leasing of SCS capacity. Each subscriber system 14 represents a user of the SCS 10, e.g., a company or other third party that uses the SCS 10 as an access network providing coverage to one or more subscriber terminals 16 operating in service or coverage areas of the SCS 10.

[0016] Example subscriber terminals 16 include loT devices. For example, a given subscriber system 14 has an associated population of smart meters, sensors, or the like, where the given subscriber system 14 interacts with the DLT 12 to obtain capacity allocations from the SCS 10 to provide communications coverage to all or some of the loT devices. In at least one embodiment, the given subscriber system 14 interacts with the DLT 12 to obtain temporary capacity allocations in respective service beams of the SCS 10, where those service beams provide communications coverage — satellite coverage — for the geographic locations of the loT devices.

[0017] As another example, a subscriber terminal 16 may be integrated with a space launch vehicle 18, with the operator of the space launch vehicle using the DLT 12 to obtain temporary allocations of capacity from the SCS 10 in the relevant coverage area(s) for obtaining launch vehicle telemetry. In yet another example case, one or more of the subscriber terminals 16 may be satellite-based terminals. For example, the DLT 12 in one or more embodiments may be used for dynamic allocation of SCS capacity to low or medium Earth orbit satellites 20. Of course, there may be a mix of subscriber terminal types and use cases that are involved in dynamic capacity leasing. For example, one or more subscriber systems 14 involve populations of terrestrial terminals, while one or more other subscriber systems 14 involve one or more space launch vehicles and / or low- or medium-Earth orbit satellites.

[0018] Broadly, then, dynamic capacity leasing refers to dynamic leasing of SCS capacity for any one or more communications use cases. Here, “capacity” refers to communications bandwidth in one or more service beams 30 of the SCS 10, with the understanding that allocating service beam capacity also requires allocating / configuring supporting equipment in the SCS 10 to carry the communications traffic transmitted and / or received via the allocated bandwidth.

[0019] Thus, allocating capacity to a particular subscriber system 14 in a particular service beam 30 of the SCS 10 can be understood as providing a bandwidth allocation in the service beam 30 for use by one or more subscriber terminals 16 of the subscriber system 14 that are located within the service beam coverage area 32 corresponding to the service beam 30 in question. “Capacity” may refer to forward link capacity, return link capacity, or both, butcapacity need not be allocated symmetrically in forward and return links. As for alternate terminology, the service beams 30 may be referred to as “user beams” to denote their use in providing communications services to user terminals / devices. Correspondingly, the service beam coverage areas 32 may be referred to as “user beam coverage areas.”

[0020] The SCS 10 includes one or more satellites 34. Each satellite 34 comprises a communications payload 36 and an associated payload controller 38. In one or more embodiments, the satellite(s) 34 are geostationary satellites, with each such satellite serving a respective satellite service area 40 — a geographic region in which the satellite 34 provides communications coverage. The satellite service area 40 may be subdivided into a plurality of service beam coverage areas 32, which may be predefined or otherwise fixed, with the corresponding satellite 34 providing a plurality of service beams 30, each illuminating a respective one of the service beam coverage areas 32.

[0021] Unless otherwise noted, the phrase “service beams 30” may refer to forward service beams or return service beams or a mix of forward and return service beams. In the forward link case, the involved satellite 34 transmits radiofrequency (RF) downlink (DL) signals 42 in a forward service beam, where the RF DL signals 42 carry user traffic for the respective subscriber terminals 16 served in the forward direction by that forward service beam. In the return link case, the involved satellite 34 receives RF uplink (UL) signals 44 in a return service beam, where the RF UL signals originate from respective ones of the subscriber terminals 16 served in the return direction by that return service beam. In one or more embodiments, the RF spectrum used for the RF DL signals 42 and the RF uplink signals 44 is in the L-band. Note, too, that there may be the same or different numbers of forward and return service beams provided by a given satellite 34. Similarly, the service beam coverage areas may be the same or may be different, with respect to the forward and return directions.

[0022] Each satellite 34 of the SCS 10 communicatively couples to the ground segment 50 of the SCS 10 through a feeder link 52, which may be RF or optical. A command link 54 between each satellite 34 and the ground segment 50 provides for control of the satellite 34, including controls associated with dynamic capacity allocations managed through the DLT 12. One or more satellite access stations (SASs) 60 in the ground segment 50 provide the feeder link(s) 52 / command links 54. For example, the ground segment 50 includes multiple SASs 60, each operative to provide feeder links 52 / command links 54 to one or more satellites 34 of the SCS 10. Such SASs 60 may be geographically distributed for site diversity regarding weather conditions and there may be redundant or backup SASs 60 for meeting system availability requirements.

[0023] In the example depiction, each SAS 60 includes one or more antennas 62 for communicating with the satellite(s) 34 supported by the SAS 60, along with associated transceivers 64 and modems 66 belonging to the SCS operator (OP). For example, forward and return user traffic handled by the SCS 10 is processed by a communications processing system 68 of the ground segment 50. For each subscriber system 14 making use of the DLT 12, there may be corresponding hosted subscriber servers 70 coupled to the communications processing system 68, which comprises, for example, one or more computer servers configured for processing user traffic. Although not shown, the communications processing system 68 in one or more embodiments interfaces with one or more external networks, such as the Internet or other packet data networks.

[0024] Additionally, or alternatively, one or more of the subscriber systems 14 interface directly with respective hosted subscriber modems 72, which are included on-site with the respective SASs 60. As such, the user traffic — subscriber traffic — going to or from the respective subscriber terminals 16 belonging to any particular subscriber system 14 may be handled by respective subscriber servers 70 coupled with the communications processing system 68 or may be handled via on-site subscriber modems 72 that are communicatively coupled with the respective subscriber systems 14. In either case, the communications coverage provided to respective subscriber systems 14 is managed by the DLT 12 on a dynamic leasing basis, with those scheduled allocations effected (realized) via signaling between a global resource manager 80 of the SCS 10 and its corresponding interactions with a payload control system 82 of the SCS 10.

[0025] In one or more embodiments, the DLT 12 comprises a computer system or apparatus, such as one or more computer services that are specially adapted to carry out the dynamic leasing operations described herein. An example implementation of a DLT 12 includes processing circuitry 90 that interfaces with the global resource manager through a networkfacing interface 92 and interfaces with the subscriber systems 14 through a subscriber-facing interface 94. These interfaces comprise, for example, computer-network interfaces, and the DLT 12 may implement encryption and / or authentication processing for data security and user authentication with respect to communications on one or both of its interfaces 92 and 94. In particular, for purposes of recording / enforcing dynamic leasing transactions and corresponding service and payment obligations, credentialing or other authentication and data integrity assurances may be used for communications between the DLT 12 and each subscriber system 14.

[0026] Storage 96 included in the example DLT 12 comprises one or more types of computer-readable media, such as volatile memory for program execution and working data and non-volatile memory or data storage for longer-term retention. In at least one embodiment, theprocessing circuitry 90 comprises one or more computer processors that are specially adapted for operation of the DLT 12 as described herein based on the execution of computer program instructions (CPI) 98 stored in the storage 96. One or more types of data 100 may also be held in the storage 96 — example data include information defining one or more constraints applicable to dynamic leasing via the DLT 12, such as minimum leasing dwells — the smallest leasable window of time. The data 100 may also include working data, such as pending dynamic lease requests (DLRs) that have been received by the DLT 12 and are in processing. Further maintained in the storage 96 by the processing circuitry 90 is a capacity allocation schedule, which represents committed / approved capacity allocations corresponding to approved DLRs.

[0027] With the example details above and the example depiction in Figure 1 in mind, one or more embodiments comprise a computer system operative as a DLT 12 for dynamically leasing satellite communications capacity in an SCS 10. The computer system includes a subscriberfacing interface 94 configured for exchanging signaling with one or more subscriber systems 14, and a network-facing interface 92 configured for exchanging signaling with one or more nodes in the SCS 10, such as a global resource manager 80. Processing circuitry 90 comprised in the DLT 12 is configured to receive, via the subscriber-facing interface 94, DLRs from the one or more subscriber systems 14. Each DLR specifies, with respect to one or more service beams 30 of the SCS 10, requested lease parameters including a lease start time and a lease end time defining a period during which the DLR is active and a requested dwell time and a requested dwell repetition rate for the one or more service beams 30.

[0028] Further, the processing circuitry 90 is configured to approve at least a portion of the DLRs based on reconciling the requested lease parameters against one or more operating constraints associated with available satellite resources of the SCS 10, thereby determining approved lease parameters for respective approved DLRs. As used herein, “available satellite resources” refers to availability for scheduling and does not require that the resources are currently idle or unallocated at the time of evaluation. Rather, resource availability for a requested interval depends on schedule commitments and resource allocations already recorded in, and / or pending within, the system.

[0029] Still further, the processing circuitry 90 is configured to maintain, according to the approved lease parameters, a capacity allocation schedule 102 defining, for each approved DLR, a plurality of scheduled dwell events within the period during which the DLR is active. Each scheduled dwell event is an allocation of satellite communications capacity for a corresponding subscriber system 14 on a corresponding service beam 30 for a dwell slot time that is based on the requested dwell time, and the processing circuitry 90 is configured to output, via the network-facing interface 92, control signaling for a global resource manager 80 of the SCS toeffectuate beam activations and deactivations in accordance with the capacity allocation schedule.

[0030] “Beam activation” and “beam deactivation” refer to activation / deactivation of capacity allocations for specific subscriber systems 14 on specific service beams 30. Thus, it shall be understood that a given service beam 30 may be active with respect to a given subscriber system 14 and at the same time inactive with respect to another given subscriber system 14. Also, any given service beam 30 may be used for multiple purposes, one or more of which are independent of dynamic capacity allocation via the DLT 12. For example, the DLT 12 may be used to provide dynamic capacity leasing for capacity that is unused or underutilized in one or more service beams 30. In this fashion, capacity that would otherwise be wasted or underutilized is made available on a dynamic basis, on terms that result in lower costs and shorter or nonrecurring lease obligations for the subscriber systems 14, in comparison to the costs and obligations associated with conventional long-term leasing of capacity.

[0031] Another point to appreciate is that each service beam 30 may be granular with respect to capacity allocations. For example, each service beam 30 may have multiple channels, with each channel defined by a particular combination of carrier frequency and signal polarization. Thus, in one or more embodiments, any given service beam 30 offers a plurality of respective channels, where each channel has a respective bandwidth and with the aggregate bandwidths of the plurality of channels spanning an overall bandwidth associated with the service beam 30. In such arrangements, an example capacity allocation allocates one or more channels of the service beam to a particular subscriber system 14 for one or more defined intervals of time (dwells). The corresponding DLR may request or specify the times-of-day of the dwells, or the involved subscriber system 14 may be flexible, such as where the subscriber system 14 needs one or more periods of communications connectivity with its subscriber terminals 16 every day but does not necessarily care which time(s) of day that connectivity is provided.

[0032] In one or more embodiments of the DLT 12, reconciling the requested lease parameters against the one or more operating constraints comprises modifying one or more requested lease parameters for at least one of: temporal distribution of resource loading on the SCS 10, resolution of conflicts among DLRs, or optimization of one or more capacity utilization parameters of the SCS 10. Additionally, or alternatively, reconciling the requested lease parameters against the one or more operating constraints comprises adjusting at least one requested dwell time to comply with a minimum permitted dwell time. As a non-limiting example, the data 100 held in the storage 96 includes dynamic leasing policy information that stipulates the minimum allocable dwell time, such as a minimum dwell time of five minutes.With a minimum dwell time of five minutes (or some other stipulated interval), subscriber systems 14 can request / negotiate capacity allocations of no less than five-minute dwell times.

[0033] However, in one or more embodiments, the dwell slot time of each scheduled dwell event is longer than the requested dwell time to accommodate resource setup time and resource teardown time associated with configuring and releasing satellite resources for the scheduled dwell event. In an example case, the resource setup time comprises a pre-activation interval preceding a start of the requested dwell time, and the resource teardown time comprises a postdeactivation interval following an end of the requested dwell time.

[0034] In one or more embodiments, the capacity allocation schedule 102 defines, for each approved DLR, a number of scheduled dwell events per day based on the requested dwell repetition rate. Further, in one or more embodiments, each DLR explicitly identifies at least one service beam 30 of the SC S 10 targeted by the DLR. Alternatively, each DLR specifies one or more geographic locations associated with the requested lease parameters, and the DLT 12 determines the one or more service beams 30 corresponding to the DLR based on a service beam coverage map associating respective service beams 30 of the SC S 10 with respective service beam coverage areas 32. Of course, the DLT 12 in one or more embodiments permits incoming DLRs to specify the service beam(s) 30 of interest and / or specify the geographic locations of interest, with the DLT 12 then determining which service beam(s) 30 provide coverage for the specified geographic location(s).

[0035] In at least one embodiment, the SCS 10 provides a plurality of service beams 30 as fixed spot beams, each fixed spot beam providing coverage in a corresponding fixed service beam coverage area 32. For example, each such service beam 30 has a multiplexed plurality of communications channels, and each scheduled dwell event corresponds to allocation of one or more of the communications channels on the corresponding service beam 30. Each communications channel corresponds to a respective frequency-and-polarization combination used in the corresponding service beam 30. The bandwidths of the communications channels may be fixed or may be variable, and the operating constraints used by the DLT 12 may include minimum bandwidth allocations, e.g., only whole channels may be leased or there may otherwise be a threshold bandwidth associated with capacity requests. As noted, in one or more embodiments, the service beams 30 use frequencies in L-band. However, other frequency bands may be used in addition to or alternatively to L-band.

[0036] The subscriber terminals 16 served via dynamic capacity allocations procured through the DLT 12 may comprise multiple populations of subscriber terminals 16, with each population associated with a different subscriber system 14. Apart from being compatible with satellite service, different subscriber systems 14 may be associated with different types ofsubscriber terminals 16. In at least one embodiment, at least one of the DLRs comprises a telemetry coverage request requesting communications coverage in support of telemetry from a space launch vehicle 18. Correspondingly, the DLT 12 maintaining the capacity allocation schedule 102 comprises including, for each approved telemetry coverage request, an associated set of scheduled dwell events providing communications coverage at times and locations corresponding to a launch vehicle trajectory.

[0037] For example, for each telemetry coverage request received at the DLT 12, the DLT 12 determines which service beams 30 of the SCS 10 are needed at which times based on launch information included in the telemetry coverage request, the launch information indicating at least a launch time, a launch location, and a launch trajectory. Determining which service beams 30 of the SCS 10 are needed at which times comprises the DLT 12 mapping the launch location and the launch trajectory into a service beam coverage map associating respective service beams 30 of the SCS 10 with respective service beam coverage areas. In the context of a space launch vehicle 18, the service-beam mapping accounts for the planned flight parameters, including vehicle altitude. Further, in one or more embodiments, the associated set of scheduled dwell events for at least one approved telemetry coverage request provides redundant communications coverage by scheduling redundant dwell events involving one or more of: different routing paths within the SCS 10, different ground stations — SASs — of the SCS 10, and different satellites 34 of the SCS 10.

[0038] In another example, at least one DLR incoming to the DLT 12 requests communications coverage in a plurality of service beams 30 of the SCS for the period during which the DLR is active, with the DLT 12 configured to maintain the capacity allocation schedule 102 by defining a corresponding set of scheduled dwell events across the plurality of service beams 30 to provide the requested communications coverage.

[0039] In one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 90 is configured to provide an applications programming interface (API), for use by the one or more subscriber systems 14 in creating DLRs. For example, the processing circuitry 90 executes an operating system and / or one or more software programs (such as may be embodied in the CPI 98 held in the storage 96) that provide the API. Further, in one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 90 is configured to receive, via the subscriber-facing interface 94, schedule inquiries from the one or more subscriber systems 14 via the API and, for each schedule inquiry, respond with resource availability information in view of a then existing state of the capacity allocation schedule 102. Thus, the DLT 12 in one or more embodiments allows subscriber systems 14 to query the DLT 12 for availability information, although the DLT 12 may anonymize schedule information provided and otherwise restrict or hide sensitive scheduling information.

[0040] As an example, “resource availability information” may include scheduling information indicating whether bandwidth requested in a DLR can be accommodated in one or more implicated service beams 30 for one or more requested time intervals. Such availability may depend, for example, on whether, and to what extent, bandwidth on the implicated service beam(s) 30 is already allocated or scheduled at the relevant times or time periods (e.g., as reflected in a capacity allocation schedule and / or pending scheduling decisions). Availability also may depend on whether there are conflicting or competing DLRs being evaluated, such as where different priorities are associated with different DLRs and / or different subscriber systems 14 and overlapping requests are reconciled in favor of a higher-priority request. As a further example, a DLR may indicate a requested duration and / or repetition rate without requiring a specific time-of-day, such that the DLT 12 may have opportunities to time-shift and / or timemultiplex capacity allocations on the same service beam 30 among multiple DLRs while still satisfying the requested duration and repetition rate. In some examples, the resource availability information further indicates one or more candidate time slots / time windows and / or an indication of a constraint or conflict preventing satisfaction of the requested lease parameters as submitted.

[0041] Figure 2 illustrates a set of service beam coverage areas (SBCAs) 32 shown according to their nominal shape / size and with the understanding that actual service beam footprints on the Earth have overlap. With respect to the example set of service beam coverage areas 32 shown in Figure 2, the DLT 12 provides for dynamic allocation of capacity in each of the service beams 30 (not shown) corresponding to the service beam coverage areas 32. Also, as noted, the service beam coverage areas 32 may be predefined and fixed, such as where the satellite(s) 34 that provide the service beams 30 at issue are geostationary satellites.

[0042] Figure 3 illustrates a method of operation 300 by a DLT 12 according to an example embodiment, for dynamically leasing satellite communications capacity in an SCS. The method 300 includes: receiving (Block 302) DLRs from one or more subscriber systems 14, each DLR specifying, with respect to one or more service beams of the SCS 10, requested lease parameters including a lease start time and a lease end time defining a period during which the DLR is active and a requested dwell time and a requested dwell repetition rate for the one or more service beams; approving (Block 304) at least a portion of the DLRs based on reconciling the requested lease parameters against one or more operating constraints associated with available satellite resources of the SCS, thereby determining approved lease parameters for respective approved DLRs; maintaining (Block 306), at the DLT 12 and according to the approved lease parameters, a capacity allocation schedule 102 defining, for each approved DLR, a plurality of scheduled dwell events within the period during which the DLR is active, each scheduled dwell event being an allocation of satellite communications capacity for a corresponding subscribersystem on a corresponding service beam for a dwell slot time that is based on the requested dwell time; and outputting (Block 308) control signaling for a global resource manager 80 of the SCS 10 to effectuate beam activations and deactivations in accordance with the capacity allocation schedule 102.

[0043] Dynamic capacity leasing, also referred to as connectivity dynamic leasing, as disclosed herein gives customers (as represented by respective subscriber systems 14) unparalleled flexibility over required satellite resources. For example, individual customers can activate or deactivate resources over specific coverage areas via the DLT 12, based on their communications requirements. In this role, the DLT 12 provides easy scheduling of spectrum resources with beam activations and deactivations via a satellite constellation. The DLT 12 allows a usually “always-on” static lease to be active for short durations (dwell times) once or many times during a day (dwell repetition rate). Customers can create their schedules with agreed resources, and the daily cycle of dwells repeats over the period of the lease. A customer can choose the dwell time and repetition rate by including such information in a DLR submitted to the DLT 12. DLRs may be targeted to or processed with respect to satellite operator-managed rate plans or via a DLT API for customer-managed plans. The satellite operator and / or DLT 12 can optimize the schedule to ensure the best utilization of the available satellite resources and smooth operation of the dynamic capacity leases granted through the DLT 12. When customers schedule resources, they can optimize allocation to ensure the best resource usage and compliance with the satellite operator requirements. With scheduled capacity allocations maintained by the DLT 12 in a running capacity allocation schedule 102, the DLT 12 in one or more embodiments automatically implements each lease dwell — i.e., initiates the capacity allocations defined by the schedule. Each customer can query the schedule through a direct machine-to-machine connection provided by or for the DLT 12. This connection also enables the flow of frequency allocation information to the customer for each dwell implementation.

[0044] Customers can host their equipment at the appropriate SASs 60 of the SCS 10, for example, to create seamless end-to-end connectivity solutions. Moreover, customers can access resource scheduling via the DLT API and make necessary changes that are appropriate for customer-managed plans.

[0045] In one or more embodiments, customers can create a DLR for each satellite 34 of interest via the DLT API. Each DLR defines the requested dwell time, dwell repetition rate, and service beam(s) 30, as well as a start and end time that defines the period the DLR is active. Approved DLRs are translated by the DLT 12 into scheduled capacity allocations according to the approved DLR parameters and any reconciliations / optimizations performed by the DLT 12. Each dwell is scheduled within a timeslot. The period of the dwell timeslot allows for thesatellite resource to be configured for the dwell, typically up to 30 seconds, as well as the dwell time requested by the customer. The customer will receive the frequency allocation for the dwell time as soon as the satellite resources are configured via API. The dwell will end at the expected time, even if the allocation was performed in advance of the dwell start time.

[0046] Figure 4 illustrates an example relationship between dwell time and dwell slot time. In particular, the diagram illustrates two consecutive dwell times, the first dwell time being three minutes long and the second dwell time being eight minutes long. These example dwell times correspond to two different dynamic capacity allocations on a given service beam 30 provided by a given satellite 34. As seen in the diagram, each dwell time represents the contracted duration the corresponding customer is assured of having access to the allocated capacity.However, each dwell time is preceded by a respective satellite resource setup time and succeeded by a respective satellite resource teardown time. The setup / dwell / teardown times are collectively defined as a dwell slot time, and the DLT 12 may enforce as one of its operating constraints a predefined minimum dwell slot time, with longer dwell slot times being multiples of that minimum. Correspondingly, for an example minimum dwell slot time of five minutes, the diagram illustrates the first dwell slot time (going left to right) as being five minutes long, and the second dwell slot time as being ten minutes long.

[0047] Resources not implicated in or outside of the capacity allocation schedule 102 may be used for other communications services, including those provided through conventional longterm capacity leasing. Further, even with resources implicated in the capacity allocation schedule 102, between given dynamic capacity allocations, resources that would otherwise go unused may be allocated for other purposes and, of course, the same service beam 30 / beam channel may be allocated to different subscriber systems 14 at different times, in satisfaction of different DLRs, i.e., a scheduled time-multiplexing of beam / channel resources among multiple subscriber systems 14. DLRs incoming from such subscriber systems 14 comprise, for example, XML documents, spreadsheets of a defined structure, or other electronic data files / structures for automatic processing, reconciliation, and approval by the DLT 12.

[0048] In at least some embodiments, the reconciliation / approval process involves one or more aspects of negotiation between the DLT 12 and the requesting subscriber system(s) 14. For example, a DLR incoming to the DLT 12 may indicate one or more parameters as negotiable and one or more other parameters as non-negotiable, or there may be a default framework that defines certain parameters as negotiable and others as non-negotiable. One example of a negotiable parameter is coverage times. For example, it may not matter to a particular subscriber system 14 when during the day its associated population of subscriber terminals 16 (or subsets thereof) has communications coverage. Thus, as part of load distribution or resource utilizationoptimization, the DLT 12 in one or more embodiments looks for times of day when the service beam(s) 30 implicated in a given DLR are unused or underutilized, and schedules capacity allocations to improve or distribute utilization. Such changes may be automatic with the DLT 12 making modifications autonomously, with granted lease parameters communicated back to the requesting subscriber system 14, or changes may be negotiated with the subscriber system 14.

[0049] In one or more embodiments, the DLT 12 performs dynamic capacity allocations according to service level agreements (SLAs) executed by the operator of the SCS 10 and the customers (the operators of the respective subscriber systems 14). For example, the operator of the SCS 10 may provide dynamic capacity allocations subject to an SLA that guarantees a certain dynamic lease availability to a subscriber system 14, such as an availability of 97.5% calculated over one year of dynamic capacity allocations for that subscriber system 14. In an example formulation, dynamic lease availability is calculated as the total delivered dwell time divided by the total contracted dwell time. SLA guarantees allow for fairness in cases that realtime delivery of capacity allocations defined in the capacity allocation schedule 102 fail because of resource constraints or other problems or conflicts within the overall SCS 10.

[0050] Notably, modifications and other embodiments of the disclosed invention(s) will come to mind to one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention(s) is / are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a dynamic lease tool (DLT) for dynamically leasing satellite communications capacity in a satellite communications system (SCS), the method comprising:receiving dynamic lease requests (DLRs) from one or more subscriber systems, each DLR specifying, with respect to one or more service beams of the SCS, requested lease parameters including a lease start time and a lease end time defining a period during which the DLR is active and a requested dwell time and a requested dwell repetition rate for the one or more service beams;approving at least a portion of the DLRs based on reconciling the requested lease parameters against one or more operating constraints associated with available satellite resources of the SCS, thereby determining approved lease parameters for respective approved DLRs;maintaining, according to the approved lease parameters, a capacity allocation schedule defining, for each approved DLR, a plurality of scheduled dwell events within the period during which the DLR is active, each scheduled dwell event being an allocation of satellite communications capacity for a corresponding subscriber system on a corresponding service beam for a dwell slot time that is based on the requested dwell time; andoutputting control signaling for a global resource manager of the SCS to effectuate beam activations and deactivations in accordance with the capacity allocation schedule.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein reconciling the requested lease parameters against the one or more operating constraints comprises modifying one or more requested lease parameters for at least one of: temporal distribution of resource loading on the SCS, resolution of conflicts among DLRs, or optimization of one or more capacity utilization parameters of the SCS.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein reconciling the requested lease parameters against the one or more operating constraints comprises adjusting at least one requested dwell time to comply with a minimum permitted dwell time.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the dwell slot time of each scheduled dwell event is longer than the requested dwell time to accommodate resource setuptime and resource teardown time associated with configuring and releasing satellite resources for the scheduled dwell event.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the resource setup time comprises a preactivation interval preceding a start of the requested dwell time, and wherein the resource teardown time comprises a post-deactivation interval following an end of the requested dwell time.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the capacity allocation schedule defines, for each approved DLR, a number of scheduled dwell events per day based on the requested dwell repetition rate.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein each DLR explicitly identifies at least one service beam of the SC S targeted by the DLR.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein each DLR specifies one or more geographic locations associated with the requested lease parameters, and wherein the DLT determines the one or more service beams corresponding to the DLR based on a service beam coverage map associating respective service beams of the SCS with respective service beam coverage areas.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the SCS provides a plurality of service beams as fixed spot beams, each fixed spot beam providing coverage in a corresponding fixed service beam coverage area.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the SCS provides a plurality of service beams, each service beam having a multiplexed plurality of communications channels, and wherein each scheduled dwell event corresponds to allocation of one or more of the communications channels on the corresponding service beam.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein each communications channel corresponds to a respective frequency-and-polarization combination used in the corresponding service beam.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the plurality of service beams uses frequencies in L-band.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein at least one of the DLRs comprises a telemetry coverage request requesting communications coverage in support of telemetry from a space launch vehicle, and wherein maintaining the capacity allocation schedule comprises including, for each approved telemetry coverage request, an associated set of scheduled dwell events providing communications coverage at times and locations corresponding to a launch vehicle trajectory.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: for each telemetry coverage request received at the DLT, determining which service beams of the SCS are needed at which times based on launch information included in the telemetry coverage request, the launch information indicating at least a launch time, a launch location, and a launch trajectory.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein determining which service beams of the SCS are needed at which times comprises the DLT mapping the launch location and the launch trajectory into a service beam coverage map associating respective service beams of the SCS with respective service beam coverage areas.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13-15, wherein the associated set of scheduled dwell events for at least one approved telemetry coverage request provides redundant communications coverage by scheduling redundant dwell events involving one or more of: different routing paths within the SCS, different ground stations of the SCS, and different satellites of the SCS.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-16, wherein at least one DLR requests communications coverage in a plurality of service beams of the SCS for the period during which the DLR is active, and wherein maintaining the capacity allocation schedule comprises defining a corresponding set of scheduled dwell events across the plurality of service beams to provide the requested communications coverage.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1-17, wherein the method further comprises providing an applications programming interface (API) via the DLT, for use by the one or more subscriber systems in creating DLRs.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising receiving schedule inquiries from the one or more subscriber systems via the API and, for each schedule inquiry, responding with resource availability information in view of a then existing state of the capacity allocation schedule.

20. A computer system operative as a dynamic lease tool (DLT) for dynamically leasing satellite communications capacity in a satellite communications system (SCS), the computer system comprising:a subscriber-facing interface configured for exchanging signaling with one or more subscriber systems;a network-facing interface configured for exchanging signaling with one or more nodes in the SCS; andprocessing circuitry configured to:receive, via the subscriber-facing interface, dynamic lease requests (DLRs) from the one or more subscriber systems, each DLR specifying, with respect to one or more service beams of the SCS, requested lease parameters including a lease start time and a lease end time defining a period during which the DLR is active and a requested dwell time and a requested dwell repetition rate for the one or more service beams;approve at least a portion of the DLRs based on reconciling the requested lease parameters against one or more operating constraints associated with available satellite resources of the SCS, thereby determining approved lease parameters for respective approved DLRs;maintain, according to the approved lease parameters, a capacity allocation schedule defining, for each approved DLR, a plurality of scheduled dwell events within the period during which the DLR is active, each scheduled dwell event being an allocation of satellite communications capacity for a corresponding subscriber system on a corresponding service beam for a dwell slot time that is based on the requested dwell time; and output, via the network-facing interface, control signaling for a global resource manager of the SCS to effectuate beam activations and deactivations in accordance with the capacity allocation schedule.

21. The computer system according to claim 20, wherein reconciling the requested lease parameters against the one or more operating constraints comprises modifying one or morerequested lease parameters for at least one of: temporal distribution of resource loading on the SCS, resolution of conflicts among DLRs, or optimization of one or more capacity utilization parameters of the SCS.

22. The computer system according to claim 20 or 21, wherein reconciling the requested lease parameters against the one or more operating constraints comprises adjusting at least one requested dwell time to comply with a minimum permitted dwell time.

23. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-22, wherein the dwell slot time of each scheduled dwell event is longer than the requested dwell time to accommodate resource setup time and resource teardown time associated with configuring and releasing satellite resources for the scheduled dwell event.

24. The computer system according to claim 23, wherein the resource setup time comprises a pre-activation interval preceding a start of the requested dwell time, and wherein the resource teardown time comprises a post-deactivation interval following an end of the requested dwell time.

25. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-24, wherein the capacity allocation schedule defines, for each approved DLR, a number of scheduled dwell events per day based on the requested dwell repetition rate.

26. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-25, wherein each DLR explicitly identifies at least one service beam of the SCS targeted by the DLR.

27. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-25, wherein each DLR specifies one or more geographic locations associated with the requested lease parameters, and wherein the DLT determines the one or more service beams corresponding to the DLR based on a service beam coverage map associating respective service beams of the SCS with respective service beam coverage areas.

28. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-27, wherein the SCS provides a plurality of service beams as fixed spot beams, each fixed spot beam providing coverage in a corresponding fixed service beam coverage area.

29. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-28, wherein the SCS provides a plurality of service beams, each service beam having a multiplexed plurality of communications channels, and wherein each scheduled dwell event corresponds to allocation of one or more of the communications channels on the corresponding service beam.

30. The computer system according to claim 29, wherein each communications channel corresponds to a respective frequency-and-polarization combination used in the corresponding service beam.

31. The computer system according to claim 29 or 30, wherein the plurality of service beams uses frequencies in L-band.

32. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-31, wherein at least one of the DLRs comprises a telemetry coverage request requesting communications coverage in support of telemetry from a space launch vehicle, and wherein maintaining the capacity allocation schedule comprises including, for each approved telemetry coverage request, an associated set of scheduled dwell events providing communications coverage at times and locations corresponding to a launch vehicle trajectory.

33. The computer system according to claim 32, further comprising: for each telemetry coverage request received at the DLT, determining which service beams of the SCS are needed at which times based on launch information included in the telemetry coverage request, the launch information indicating at least a launch time, a launch location, and a launch trajectory.

34. The computer system according to claim 33, wherein determining which service beams of the SCS are needed at which times comprises the DLT mapping the launch location and the launch trajectory into a service beam coverage map associating respective service beams of the SCS with respective service beam coverage areas.

35. The computer system according to any one of claims 32-34, wherein the associated set of scheduled dwell events for at least one approved telemetry coverage request provides redundant communications coverage by scheduling redundant dwell events involving one or more of: different routing paths within the SCS, different ground stations of the SCS, and different satellites of the SCS.

36. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-35, wherein at least one DLR requests communications coverage in a plurality of service beams of the SCS for the period during which the DLR is active, and wherein maintaining the capacity allocation schedule comprises defining a corresponding set of scheduled dwell events across the plurality of service beams to provide the requested communications coverage.

37. The computer system according to any one of claims 20-36, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to provide an applications programming interface (API), for use by the one or more subscriber systems in creating DLRs.

38. The computer system according to claim 37, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive, via the subscriber-facing interface, schedule inquiries from the one or more subscriber systems via the API and, for each schedule inquiry, respond with resource availability information in view of a then existing state of the capacity allocation schedule.

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