APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING SATELLITE VISIBILITY FOR EARTH-BASED ANTENNA SYSTEMS
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a device for detecting a zone of communication between a user terminal and a satellite constellation including a plurality of satellites in non-geosynchronous (non-GEO) orbit includes one or more processors and memory. The memory stores instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to: determine a location of the device, wherein the location corresponds to a field of regard for detecting the zone of communication, and wherein the field of regard corresponds to an antenna aperture of the phased array antenna; evaluate a level of communication between the phased array antenna and the satellite constellation associated with the field of regard; and output, to a user of the device, an indication of the level of communication between the phased array antenna and the satellite constellation associated with the field of regard.
1 . A device for detecting a zone of communication between a phased array antenna and a satellite constellation including a plurality of satellites in non-geosynchronous (non-GEO) orbit, the device comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing thereon instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to:
determine an initial zone of communication of the phased array antenna, wherein the initial zone of communication is determined based on a location of the device;
identify a set of factors for modifying the initial zone of communication, wherein the set of factors are identified based on the location of the device;
calculate a shape of a mask corresponding to a modified zone of communication, wherein the shape is calculated by applying the set of factors to the initial zone of communication;
map the mask onto a spherical section corresponding to a full sky view to a horizon to generate the modified zone of communication; and
output, to a user of the device, the modified zone of communication.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the initial zone of communication is tilted at an angle corresponding to a tilt of the phased array antenna at the location of the device.
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the device to:
determine a minimum elevation angle for the phased array antenna, wherein the minimum elevation angle is determined based on the location of the device; and
modify the initial zone of communication to remove areas of the initial zone of communication corresponding to the minimum elevation angle.
4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein:
the set of factors includes a GEO-belt interference zone, wherein the GEO-belt interference zone is determined based on the location of the device; and
the instructions further cause the device to modify the initial zone of communication according to the GEO-belt interference zone.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the device to:
process a set of geographic coordinates corresponding to the location of the device to determine a communication range for a set of visible satellites of the satellite constellation; and
modify the initial zone of communication to omit a portion of the initial zone of communication that does not overlap with the communication range.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the set of factors includes a set of load balancing requirements for the satellite constellation.
7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the device to:
expand the modified zone of communication to incorporate a buffer region, wherein the buffer region provided additional tolerance for configuration issues associated with the device.
8 . A method for detecting a zone of communication between a phased array antenna and a satellite constellation including a plurality of satellites in non-geosynchronous (non-GEO) orbit, the method comprising:
determining an initial zone of communication of the phased array antenna, wherein the initial zone of communication is determined based on a location of a device;
identifying a set of factors for modifying the initial zone of communication, wherein the set of factors are identified based on the location of the device;
calculating a shape of a mask corresponding to a modified zone of communication, wherein the shape is calculated by applying the set of factors to the initial zone of communication;
mapping the mask onto a spherical section corresponding to a full sky view to a horizon to generate the modified zone of communication; and
outputting, to a user of the device, the modified zone of communication.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the initial zone of communication is tilted at an angle corresponding to a tilt of the phased array antenna at the location of the device.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises:
determining a minimum elevation angle for the phased array antenna, wherein the minimum elevation angle is determined based on the location of the device; and
modifying the initial zone of communication to remove areas of the initial zone of communication corresponding to the minimum elevation angle.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the set of factors includes a GEO-belt interference zone, wherein the GEO-belt interference zone is determined based on the location of the device; and
the method further comprises modifying the initial zone of communication according to the GEO-belt interference zone.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises:
processing a set of geographic coordinates corresponding to the location of the device to determine a communication range for a set of visible satellites of the satellite constellation; and
modifying the initial zone of communication to omit a portion of the initial zone of communication that does not overlap with the communication range.
13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the set of factors includes a set of load balancing requirements for the satellite constellation.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises:
expanding the modified zone of communication to incorporate a buffer region, wherein the buffer region provided additional tolerance for configuration issues associated with the device.
15 . A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to:
determine an initial zone of communication of a phased array antenna, wherein the initial zone of communication is determined based on a location of the computing device;
identify a set of factors for modifying the initial zone of communication, wherein the set of factors are identified based on the location of the computing device;
calculate a shape of a mask corresponding to a modified zone of communication, wherein the shape is calculated by applying the set of factors to the initial zone of communication;
map the mask onto a spherical section corresponding to a full sky view to a horizon to generate the modified zone of communication; and
output, to a user of the computing device, the modified zone of communication.
16 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the initial zone of communication is tilted at an angle corresponding to a tilt of the phased array antenna at the location of the computing device.
17 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computing device to:
determine a minimum elevation angle for the phased array antenna, wherein the minimum elevation angle is determined based on the location of the computing device; and
modify the initial zone of communication to remove areas of the initial zone of communication corresponding to the minimum elevation angle.
18 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein:
the set of factors includes a GEO-belt interference zone, wherein the GEO-belt interference zone is determined based on the location of the computing device; and
the executable instructions further cause the computing device to modify the initial zone of communication according to the GEO-belt interference zone.
19 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computing device to:
process a set of geographic coordinates corresponding to the location of the computing device to determine a communication range for a set of visible satellites of a satellite constellation; and
modify the initial zone of communication to omit a portion of the initial zone of communication that does not overlap with the communication range.
20 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the set of factors includes a set of load balancing requirements for a satellite constellation.
21 . The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computing device to:
expand the modified zone of communication to incorporate a buffer region, wherein the buffer region provided additional tolerance for configuration issues associated with the computing device.