Satellite communications with multiple classes of terrestrial terminal devices

1. A communications satellite comprising:

a main antenna system configured to send communications to and receive communications from one or more terrestrial terminal devices in a satellite communications network;

a communications controller having a memory storing a plurality of terminal attribute sets, each terminal attribute set specifying attributes for communicating with a corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices, the communications controller configured to:

receive, via the main antenna system, a terminal class identifier from an active terrestrial terminal device;

identify, from among the stored terminal attribute sets, a particular terminal attribute set as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device, wherein the particular terminal attribute set includes an antenna gain-to-noise temperature attribute; and

control the communications satellite to communicate with the active terrestrial terminal device according to the attributes for communicating specified in the particular terminal attribute set identified as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device, including the antenna gain-to-noise temperature attribute;

a crosslink antenna system configured to facilitate communications between the communications satellite and one or more other communications satellites within the satellite communications network; and

wherein the communications controller is further configured to process communications received from the active terrestrial terminal device as radio frequency signals, the radio frequency signals complying with one or more of the attributes for communicating specified in the particular terminal attribute set identified as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device.

2. The communications satellite of claim 1 , wherein the communications controller is further configured to receive an update to the plurality of terminal attribute sets, the update comprising a new terminal attribute set for a new class of terrestrial terminal devices.

3. The communications satellite of claim 2 , wherein the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device corresponds to the new terminal attribute set, and wherein the active terrestrial terminal device is designed to communicate according to the attributes for communicating specified in the new terminal attribute set.

4. The communications satellite of claim 3 , wherein the new terminal attribute set corresponds to a new class of terrestrial terminal devices introduced to the satellite communications network after the launch of the communications satellite.

5. The communications satellite of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of terminal attribute sets specifies attributes for communicating with a corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices, comprising:

antenna attributes for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices; and

carriers supported by the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices.

6. The communications satellite of claim 5 , wherein the antenna attributes for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices comprise:

the antenna gain-to-noise-temperature attribute for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices; and

an equivalent isotropically radiated power attribute for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices.

7. The communications satellite of claim 5 , wherein the carriers supported by the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices comprise supported carrier modulation schemes for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices.

8. The communications satellite of claim 1 , wherein the communications controller is further configured to control the communications satellite to retransmit the communications received from the active terrestrial terminal device to a terrestrial earth terminal via one or more other communications satellites in the satellite communications network using the crosslink antenna system.

9. The communications satellite of claim 1 , wherein the communications received from the active terminal device are voice communications.

10. The communications satellite of claim 1 , wherein the communications received from the active terminal device are data communications.

11. A method of operating a communications satellite, the method comprising:

storing, in a memory associated with a communications controller of the communications satellite, a plurality of terminal attribute sets, each terminal attribute set specifying attributes for communicating with a corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices;

receiving, via a main antenna system of the communications satellite configured to send communications to and receive communications from one or more terrestrial terminal devices in a satellite communications network, a terminal class identifier from an active terrestrial terminal device;

identifying, from among the stored terminal attribute sets, a particular terminal attribute set as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device wherein the particular terminal attribute set includes an equivalent isotropically radiated power attribute; and

controlling the communications satellite to communicate with the active terrestrial terminal device according to the attributes for communicating specified in the particular terminal attribute set identified as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device, including the equivalent isotropically radiated power attribute;

processing communications received from the active terrestrial terminal device as radio frequency signals, the radio frequency signals complying with one or more of the attributes for communicating specified in the particular terminal attribute set identified as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

receiving an update to the plurality of terminal attribute sets at the communications controller, the update comprising a new terminal attribute set for a new class of terrestrial terminal devices; and

storing the new attribute set in the memory.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device corresponds to the new terminal attribute set, and wherein the active terrestrial terminal device is designed to communicate according to the attributes for communicating specified in the new terminal attribute set.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of terminal attribute sets specifies attributes for communicating with a corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices, comprising:

antenna attributes for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices; and

carriers supported by the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the carriers supported by the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices comprise supported carrier modulation schemes for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

receiving communications from the active terrestrial terminal device as radio frequency signals that comply with one or more of the attributes for communicating specified in the particular terminal attribute set identified as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

retransmitting the communications received from the active terrestrial terminal device to a terrestrial earth terminal via one or more other communications satellites in the satellite communications network.

18. A communications satellite comprising:

a main antenna system configured to send communications to and receive communications from one or more terrestrial terminal devices in a satellite communications network; and

a communications controller having a memory storing a plurality of terminal attribute sets, each terminal attribute set specifying attributes for communicating with a corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices including an antenna gain-to-noise temperature attribute, an equivalent isotropically radiated power attribute, and one or more supported digital modulation schemes for carrier signals for the corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices, the communications controller configured to:

receive, via the main antenna system, a terminal class identifier from an active terrestrial terminal device;

identify, from among the stored terminal attribute sets, a particular terminal attribute set as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device; and

control the communications satellite to communicate with the active terrestrial terminal device according to the antenna gain-to-noise temperature attribute, the equivalent isotropically radiated power attribute, and a particular one of the supported digital modulation schemes for carrier signals specified in the particular terminal attribute set identified as corresponding to the terminal class identifier received from the active terrestrial terminal device.