Resilient Virtual Ground Receivers for Satellite Signal Combining
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current satellite communication systems face challenges in increasing channel capacity and resilience due to congested and contested frequency bands, as well as high transmit power requirements, which drive up costs and limit data throughput.
Innovation Solution
A resilient virtual ground (RVG) system utilizing multiple spatially diverse receivers networked together to achieve redundancy and increased channel capacity through coherent signal combining, allowing for flexible trade-offs between satellite power/antenna gain and data rate, and leveraging existing infrastructure for cost-effective deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple spatially diverse receivers are networked together for coherent signal combining, then channel capacity and data throughput are increased, but device complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the ground reception infrastructure into multiple spatially distributed receivers, each independently receiving signals from the satellite. These segmented receivers are then networked together to achieve coherent combining, effectively dividing the complex task of high-capacity reception into manageable distributed units that can be deployed incrementally across different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple distributed receiver signals are merged through coherent combining at a central processing node or cloud platform. The patent describes networked receivers that transmit their received signals over a network to a combining processor that coherently combines the signals, achieving increased channel capacity and data throughput while leveraging existing network infrastructure.
2Use of energy by moving object
If satellite transmit power is reduced to decrease costs, then energy consumption is reduced, but signal strength and communication reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs coherent combining of signals from multiple distributed receivers to compensate for reduced satellite transmit power. By merging the weak signals from multiple ground-based receivers with precise timing and phase alignment, the system achieves reliable communication at lower satellite power levels, effectively trading satellite power for ground-based signal processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates multiple copies of the satellite signal by distributing receivers across different geographic locations. Each receiver captures a copy of the transmitted signal, and these copies are then coherently combined to reconstruct a high-quality signal even when the original satellite transmission power is reduced, providing redundancy and improving reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing terrestrial infrastructure is leveraged for receiver deployment, then deployment cost is reduced, but spatial distribution and coverage area are constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages existing terrestrial communication towers and infrastructure for mounting satellite receivers, making the infrastructure serve multiple functions - both its original terrestrial communication purpose and the new satellite reception function. This universal use of existing structures reduces deployment costs while the networked architecture across multiple tower locations extends the effective coverage area beyond what any single location could provide.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a storage device configured to store location information of multiple receivers and auxiliary data associated with a space vehicle. A motion compensation block configured to correct timing of a received signal by a receiver from a space-vehicle transmitter and to generate a motion-compensated signal having corrected timing for motions of the space-vehicle transmitter. The corrected timing is determined based on stored location information of the receiver and the auxiliary data. The frequency correction block is configured to correct a carrier frequency of the motion-compensated signal using information associated with a synch channel of the received signal and to generate a processed signal.