System and method for high throughput fractionated satellites (HTFS) for direct connectivity to and from end user devices and terminals using flight formations of small or very small satellites
A high throughput fractionated satellite (HTFS) system and method where the functional capabilities of a conventional monolithic spacecraft are distributed across many small or very small satellites and a central command and relay satellite, the satellites are separated and flight in carefully design formations that allows the creation of very large aperture or apertures in space drastically reducing cost and weight and enabling high throughput capabilities by spatially reuse spectrum.
1. A high throughput satellite system, comprising:
a distributed array of coordinated remote satellites, each remote satellite having one or more antenna and maintaining a distance to each other to form a combined aperture system in space, wherein the remote satellites form a plurality of beams; and
a control satellite, in communication with the distributed array of remote satellites, that pre-compensates delay and doppler variations with respect to a center of the beam based on satellite ephemeris and beam-center latitude and longitude location,
wherein the array receives low frequency signals from Earth, and the control satellite aggregates and frequency translates a multitude of signals from the remote satellites and re-transmit the signals in higher frequency bands to communicate back to Earth or space, and to mitigate signal interference, said control satellite controls the remote satellites such that no neighbor beams utilize the same signal frequency.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the remote satellites are fractionated.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
said control satellite receives high frequency signals from the ground station and transmits the received signals; and
said remote satellites receive the high frequency signals and transmit the signals to end user devices via low frequency signals.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said control satellite controls the remote satellites to create spatially separated beams.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said control satellite controls the remote satellites to reuse the same frequencies in multiple cells.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said control satellite enables high throughput bandwidth processing.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein said control satellite distributes signal processing among the remote satellites to create the distributed array of remote satellites and reuse spectrum on the beam.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the combined aperture is magnitudes larger than apertures of the individual remote satellites of the distributed array of remote satellites.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the remote satellites maintain a predetermined or dynamic distance to each other.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the remote satellites maintain the distance to each other using first order gravitational forces.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the remote satellites maintain a distance between each other by electromagnetically coupling between the remote satellites.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein said array has a volumetric flight formation geometry that reduces cosine loss and increase footprint.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the volumetric shape minimizes position control actuations.
14. The system of claim 1 , wherein data on each beam is buffered so that the overall delay induced by the remote satellite at each bean-center is substantially constant.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein each beam-center is pre-compensated based on Doppler frequency shift induced by the satellite.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein array signal processing algorithms dynamically adapt to remote satellite rotating along a track of an ellipse.
17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the array of remote satellites are located in space and the combined aperture receive, amplify and redirect signals to and from Earth or space.
18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the array of remote satellites enable a multitude of commercial, telecommunications, scientific, educational, and situation awareness applications including communications, earth observation, radar, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), AIS, weather analysis, Internet of Things, signal collection and relay, deep space communication and observation, and geo location.
19. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of arrays of remote satellites located at different inclinations or orbits to improve revisit time and simultaneous earth coverage forming a constellation of arrays of remote satellites.
20. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system distributes signal processing among a multitude of remote satellites to create a distributed array.
21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the array provides direct connectivity to end user devices.
22. The system of claim 1 , wherein the remote satellites communicate with the control satellite via WiFi.
23. A high throughput satellite system, comprising:
a distributed array of coordinated remote satellites, each remote satellite having one or more antenna and maintaining a distance to each other to form a combined aperture system in space, wherein the remote satellites form a plurality of beams; and
a control satellite, in communication with the distributed array of remote satellites, that pre-compensates delay and doppler variations with respect to a center of the beam based on satellite ephemeris and beam-center latitude and longitude location,
wherein said control satellite distributes signal processing among the remote satellites to create the distributed array of remote satellites and reuse spectrum on the beam.
24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the array receives low frequency signals from Earth.
25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the control satellite aggregates and frequency translates a multitude of signals from the remote satellites and re-transmit the signals in higher frequency bands to communicate back to Earth or space.
26. The system of claim 25 , wherein said control satellite to mitigate signal interference, controls the remote satellites such that no neighbor beams utilize the same signal frequency.
27. The system of claim 26 , wherein:
said control satellite receives high frequency signals from the ground station and transmits the received signals; and
said remote satellites receive the high frequency signals and transmit the signals to end user devices via low frequency signals.
28. The system of claim 23 , wherein the combined aperture is magnitudes larger than apertures of the individual remote satellites of the distributed array of remote satellites.
29. The system of claim 23 , wherein data on each beam is buffered so that the overall delay induced by the remote satellite at each bean-center is substantially constant.
30. The system of claim 23 , wherein array signal processing algorithms dynamically adapt to remote satellite rotating along a track of an ellipse.
31. The system of claim 23 , further comprising a plurality of arrays of remote satellites located at different inclinations or orbits to improve revisit time and simultaneous earth coverage forming a constellation of arrays of remote satellites.
32. The system of claim 23 , wherein the system distributes signal processing among a multitude of remote satellites to create a distributed array.