GEO-LEO Optical Relay for Satellite Data Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations face challenges in routing high-data-rate communications efficiently to terrestrial destinations with low latency, requiring numerous and expensive globally distributed gateways, and encountering issues with spectrum and landing rights, especially when inter-satellite links are not used.
Innovation Solution
A high-data-rate distribution network architecture that utilizes geostationary earth orbit (GEO) spacecraft to relay communications traffic between ground gateways and LEO spacecraft, aggregating and disaggregating data optically, allowing all gateways to be concentrated in a local geographic area and reducing the need for numerous global gateways.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If numerous globally distributed gateways are used to route data from LEO constellations to terrestrial destinations, then data transmission speed and low latency are improved, but system cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple geographically distributed gateway functions into a single gateway location by utilizing optical inter-satellite links to connect LEO satellites. This consolidation reduces the number of ground gateways from numerous global locations to just one or a few strategic locations, thereby reducing system complexity and cost while maintaining high data transmission speeds through the optical mesh network in space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces optical inter-satellite links as intermediary communication channels between LEO satellites and the ground gateway. These optical links act as mediators that enable high-speed data transmission through space without requiring multiple ground-based gateway locations, thus resolving the contradiction between transmission speed and gateway distribution complexity.
2Productivity
If inter-satellite links are implemented to connect adjacent satellites, then data routing efficiency is improved, but the ground gateway architecture problems with spectrum and landing rights persist
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional radio frequency (RF) inter-satellite links with optical inter-satellite links. This substitution maintains high data routing efficiency through the mesh network while eliminating the spectrum allocation issues and landing right requirements that plague RF-based gateway distributions, as optical communications do not require spectrum licenses in the same manner.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental communication parameter from RF to optical wavelengths for inter-satellite links. This parameter change enables high-speed data routing through space while avoiding the regulatory constraints of RF spectrum allocation and ground gateway location restrictions, thereby improving adaptability in gateway placement.
3Quantity of substance
If RF and optical data streams are aggregated at GEO spacecraft, then gateway infrastructure cost is reduced, but data aggregation and disaggregation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the GEO spacecraft with multi-functional capabilities to handle both RF and optical data streams through a unified aggregation and disaggregation system. This universal approach consolidates multiple communication modalities into a single platform, reducing the number of gateways needed while managing complexity through integrated processing rather than separate systems for each data type.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables efficient, low-latency data transmission between LEO constellations and the ground without the need for expensive, globally distributed gateways, addressing spectrum and landing right issues by concentrating gateway infrastructure and optimizing data aggregation and disaggregation processes.
Implementation Method 1
The GEO spacecraft is configured to receive forward communication traffic including radio-frequency (RF) and/or optical data streams uplinked from the ground gateways, it then converts the received forward communication traffic into an forward aggregated traffic
Implementation Method 2
The GEO spacecraft is configured to receive forward communication traffic including radio-frequency (RF) and/or optical data streams uplinked from the ground gateways, it then converts the received forward communication traffic into an forward aggregated traffic, and downlinks the forward aggregated traffic optically to line of sight (LOS) LEO spacecraft
Implementation Method 3
The LOS LEO spacecraft of each LEO constellation are configured to receive the downlinked forward aggregated traffic, dis-aggregate, and distribute to each LEO spacecraft of the plurality of LEO spacecraft orbiting in the LEO constellation
Implementation Method 4
The LEO spacecraft of a plurality of LEO spacecraft in a LEO constellation are configured to aggregate return communication traffic to a LOS LEO spacecraft in that LEO constellation
Implementation Method 5
The LOS LEO spacecraft of a plurality LEO constellations are configured to transmit the aggregated return communications traffic optically to GEO spacecraft
Implementation Method 6
The GEO spacecraft are configured to receive aggregated return communication traffic and convert it to return traffic including RF and/or optical data streams for being downlinked to a plurality of ground gateways
Data Source
AI summary
LEO satellites of orbital planes are configured to communicate with at least one GEO satellite based at least on present line of sight. GEO satellites are configured to communicate with ground gateways and convert among uplink communications and optical communications of GEO-to-LEO optical links established with selected LEO satellites and comprising optical beams within a wavelength multiplexed arrangement individually assigned to corresponding LEO satellites in each orbital plane. Selected LEO satellites are configured to optically demultiplex a GEO-to-LEO optical link into local optical beams on optical fibers, direct a demultiplexed assigned optical beam of an incoming LEO optical link from a previous in-plane LEO satellite to an onboard destination with an optical splitter on a corresponding optical fiber, and multiplex the local optical beams on the optical fibers for an outgoing free space LEO optical link directed to a subsequent in-plane LEO satellite.