Satellite with transition beam size

1. A satellite, comprising:

a power source; and

an antenna system configured to provide a plurality of spot beams that provide continuous coverage of a coverage area, the plurality of spot beams including:

one or more small spot beams illuminating a first region of the coverage area;

one or more large spot beams illuminating a second region of the coverage area separate from the first region; and

one or more intermediate sized spot beams illuminating a third region of the coverage area,

wherein the small spot beams do not illuminate either of the second region or the third region, the large spot beams do not illuminate either the first region or the third region, and the intermediate sized spot beams do not illuminate either the first region or the second region, and

wherein the third region is located between the first region and the second region so that the first region is separated from the second region by the third region so that the one or more intermediate sized spot beams serve to mitigate C/I for the one or more small spot beams.

2. The satellite of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more large spot beams have a beam size that is a function of a beam size of the one or more small spot beams.

3. The satellite of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more large spot beams have a first beam size, the one or more small spot beams have a second beam size, the ratio of the first beam size to the second beam size is no more than 1.5.

4. The satellite of claim 3 , wherein:

the plurality of spot beams operate using three color frequency reuse.

5. The satellite of claim 1 , wherein:

the plurality of beams operate using four color reuse; and

the plurality of beams include at least one small spot beam communicating in each color of the four color reuse, one large spot beam communicating in each color of the four color reuse, and one intermediate size spot beam communicating in each color of the four color reuse.

6. The satellite of claim 1 , wherein:

antenna system includes multiple reflectors; and

each reflector of the multiple reflectors communicates at least one small spot beam, at least one large spot beam and at least one intermediate sized spot beam.

7. The satellite of claim 6 , wherein:

the plurality of beams employ multiple color reuse; and

each reflector communicates using one color.

8. A satellite, comprising:

a first aperture configured to provide a first plurality of spot beams including a first small spot beam illuminating a first portion of a first region of a coverage area, a first large spot beam illuminating a first portion of a second region of the coverage area and a first intermediate sized spot beams illuminating a first portion of a third region of the coverage area that is located between the first region and the second region; and

a second aperture configured to provide a second plurality of spot beams including a second small spot beam illuminating a second portion of the first region of the coverage area, a second large spot beam illuminating a second portion of the second region of the coverage area and a second intermediate sized spot beam illuminating a second portion of the third region of the coverage area, whereby the small spot beams are separated from the large spot beams by the intermediate spot beams so that the intermediate sized spot beams serve to mitigate C/I for the small spot beams.

9. The satellite of claim 8 , wherein:

the first large spot beam has a beam size that is a function of a beam size of the first small spot beam.

10. The satellite of claim 8 , wherein:

the satellite employs multiple color reuse;

all spot beams for the first aperture use a first color; and

all spot beams for the second aperture use a second color.

11. The satellite of claim 8 , further comprising:

a third aperture configured to provide a third plurality of spot beams including a third small spot beam illuminating a third portion of the first region of the coverage area, a third large spot beam illuminating a third portion of the second region of the coverage area and a third intermediate sized spot beam illuminating a third portion of the third region of the coverage area; and

a fourth aperture configured to provide a fourth plurality of spot beams including a fourth small spot beam illuminating a fourth portion of the first region of the coverage area, a fourth large spot beam illuminating a fourth portion of the second region of the coverage area and a fourth intermediate sized spot beam illuminating a fourth portion of the third region of the coverage area;

the satellite employs four color reuse, all spot beams for the first aperture use a first color, all spot beams for the second aperture use a second color, all spot beams for the third aperture use a third color and all spot beams for the fourth aperture use a fourth color.

12. A method of operating a satellite, comprising:

providing continuous communication coverage over a coverage area, including:

communicating between the satellite and users in a first region of the coverage area using one or more small spot beams;

communicating between the satellite and users in a second region of the coverage area using one or more large spot beams; and

communicating between the satellite and users in a third region of a coverage area using one or more intermediate sized spot beams, wherein communicating between the satellite and the users does not use either of the large spot beams or the intermediate sized spot beams in the first region, does not use either of the small spot beams or the intermediate sized spot beams in the second region, and does not use either of the small spot beams or the large spot beams in the third region, and wherein the third region is between the first region and the second region so that the one or more small spot beams are separated from the one or more large spot beams by at least the one or more intermediate sized spot beams so that the one or more intermediate sized spot beams serve to mitigate C/I for the one or more small spot beams.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

the communicating between the satellite and users in the second region of the coverage area comprises creating the large spot beam to have a beam width that is a function of a beam width of the small spot beam.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

the first region has a high population density; and

the second region has a lower population density than the first region.

15. A method for manufacturing a satellite, comprising:

identifying one or more high demand regions of a coverage area;

locating one or more small spot beams over the high demand regions;

locating one or more large spot beams over regions of the coverage area that are not high demand regions;

locating one or more intermediate sized spot beams between the one or more small spot beams and the one or more large spot beams, wherein the small spot beams, intermediate sized spot beams and large spot beams provide continuous coverage over the coverage area such that the small spot beams are separated from the large spot beams by the intermediate spot beams so that the intermediate sized spot beams serve to mitigate C/I for the small spot beams;

designing a satellite to implement the located small spot beams, intermediate sized spot beams and large spot beams; and

building the satellite, the satellite having a power source and an antenna system configured to provide the small spot beams, intermediate sized spot beams and large spot beams.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining a size of the small spot beams; and

determining a size of the large spot beams to be a factor of no more than 1.5 of the size of the small spot beams.