Waves Satellite Constellation Phasing for High-Latitude Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing satellite constellation designs face challenges in optimizing latitude coverage, data link efficiency, and reducing satellite congestion and collision risks, particularly in mega-constellations with thousands of satellites.
Innovation Solution
A satellite constellation system called the Waves constellation, where satellites are synchronized and phased to form waves that evenly space orbital planes, ensuring consistent coverage at high latitudes with a minimal number of satellites, facilitating efficient data links within and across planes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional Polar-Star orbits are used to reduce the number of satellite planes, then the number of satellite planes is reduced by half, but coverage gaps are created in equatorial regions and routing between halves is impeded
Solution Approach 1:
The constellation is divided into multiple independent orbital shells, each optimized for specific latitude bands. This segmentation allows each shell to be designed independently with optimal inclination and phasing, avoiding the coverage gaps created by single-configuratio n designs while maintaining reduced satellite plane counts.
Solution Approach 2:
Different orbital shells are assigned to different latitude regions with locally optimized parameters. High-latitude shells use higher inclinations while low-latitude shells use lower inclinations, ensuring optimal coverage quality for each region without compromising overall system reliability.
2Reliability
If Walker-Delta constellations are used to provide good Earth coverage, then coverage is improved at lower latitudes, but Doppler shifts vary widely and hamper cross-plane datalinks
Solution Approach 1:
The constellation segments satellites into multiple shells with controlled inclination differences. This segmentation limits the Doppler frequency variation between adjacent shells, enabling efficient cross-plane datalinks while maintaining good Earth coverage through the distributed shell architecture.
3Reliability
If multiple shells with different inclinations are used to address suboptimal high-latitude coverage, then high-latitude coverage is improved, but the total number of satellites increases to thousands
Solution Approach 1:
The constellation uses dynamic phasing relationships between shells where satellites in adjacent shells are phased to form consistent geometric patterns. This dynamic phasing allows fewer satellites per shell while maintaining coverage continuity, reducing the total satellite count compared to static traditional designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes specific orbital parameters (inclination, phasing, spacing) for each shell to maximize coverage efficiency. By carefully controlling these parameters, the system achieves improved high-latitude coverage with fewer satellites per shell, reducing the overall constellation size.
4Reliability
If satellites are densely deployed to maximize coverage, then coverage is improved, but collision risk and congestion increase
Solution Approach 1:
The constellation segments satellites into multiple shells spaced vertically in altitude. This segmentation distributes satellite density across different altitude layers, reducing horizontal congestion and collision risk in any single orbital plane while maintaining comprehensive coverage through the multi-shell architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A system can include a plurality of satellites synchronized in a Waves constellation tailored to maximize coverage of a target ground location at one or more predetermined latitudes with a minimal number of satellites. The plurality of satellites can orbit the Earth in a plurality of orbital planes evenly spaced in right ascension of ascending node. The plurality of satellites can be evenly spaced in true anomaly within each orbital plane. The Waves constellation can phase the plurality of orbital planes, such that satellites in neighboring orbital planes simultaneously cross the Equator together with synchronized true anomaly positions, all in ascending or descending motion, thereby forming a wave of satellites in all orbital planes that rise and fall together.