Communication scheduler

1. A method of operating one or more processors in a satellite communications network to schedule forward link data transmissions to a set of user equipment devices via a constellation of communications satellites, the method comprising:

receiving forward link traffic requests for the set of user equipment devices;

receiving satellite information that identifies thermal constraints of the communications satellites in the constellation;

generating forward link traffic grants for the set of user equipment devices based on the forward link traffic requests and the thermal constraints identified by the satellite information; and

controlling one or more gateways to transmit forward link signals to the set of user equipment devices via the constellation of communications satellites based on the forward link traffic grants.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the satellite information identifies power availability for the communications satellites in the constellation and wherein generating the forward link traffic grants comprises:

assigning data rates to the set of user equipment devices based on the power availability and the thermal constraints identified by the satellite information.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the satellite information comprises receiving the satellite information from an application programming interface (API) of an operator of the constellation of communications satellites.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grants comprises:

generating a thermal model for a communications satellite in the constellation;

generating a predicted temperature for the communications satellite based on the thermal model and the thermal constraints identified by the satellite information; and

assigning a user equipment device from the set of user equipment devices to the satellite when the predicted temperature is less than a threshold temperature.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grants further comprises:

assigning the user equipment device to an additional satellite when the predicted temperature exceeds the threshold temperature.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the thermal constraints comprise a sun incident angle at the communications satellite.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grants comprises:

generating first forward link traffic grants having a first message priority prior to second forward link traffic grants having a second message priority that is less than the first message priority;

ordering the first forward link traffic grants on a first-come-first serve basis; and

ordering the second forward link traffic grants on a first-come-first serve basis.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, via the constellation, reverse link signals from the set of user equipment devices, wherein the reverse link signals identify geographic locations of the set of user equipment devices and wherein generating the forward link traffic grants comprises generating the forward link traffic grants based on the geographic locations.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

identifying a set of communications satellites in the constellation having visibility to the set of user equipment devices based on the geographic locations and based on communications satellite positions identified by the satellite information, wherein generating the forward link traffic grants comprises:

generating thermal models for the set of communications satellites,

generating predicted temperatures for the set of communications satellites based on the thermal models and the thermal constraints identified by the satellite information, and

assigning user equipment devices from the set of user equipment devices to the communications satellites in the set of communications satellites having predicted temperatures that are less than a threshold temperature.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grants comprises:

generating a first forward link traffic grant for a first user equipment device in a cell of a communications satellite in the constellation; and

generating a second forward link traffic grant for a second user equipment device in the cell of the communications satellite that is contiguous with the first forward link traffic grant.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forward link traffic requests for the set of user equipment devices are generated by one or more entities other than the set of user equipment devices.

12. A method of operating one or more processors in a satellite communications network to schedule forward link data transmissions via a constellation of communications satellites, the method comprising:

receiving, via the constellation, a registration request transmitted by a user equipment device, wherein the registration request identifies a geographic location of the user equipment device and a two-line element (TLE) identifier that identifies a version of a TLE that is stored on the user equipment device;

receiving a forward link traffic request for the user equipment device, wherein the forward link traffic request includes forward link data;

generating a forward link traffic grant for the user equipment device based on the forward link traffic request, the geographic location of the user equipment device, and the TLE identifier; and

controlling a gateway to transmit the forward link data to the user equipment device via the constellation based on the forward link traffic grant.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grant comprises:

identifying, using the TLE identified by the TLE identifier, a communications satellite in the constellation having a signal beam that overlaps the geographic location.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

receiving, from an operator of the constellation, an additional TLE that is more recent than the TLE identified by the TLE identifier; and

storing the additional TLE in a database.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grant further comprises:

receiving a thermal constraint associated with the communications satellite;

generating a thermal model for the communications satellite;

generating a predicted temperature for the communications satellite based on the thermal model and the thermal constraint; and

assigning the communications satellite to the user equipment device when the predicted temperature is less than a threshold temperature.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grant comprises buffering the forward link traffic grant for a later forward link transmission cycle when the predicted temperature exceeds the threshold temperature.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising, when the predicted temperature exceeds the threshold temperature:

identifying, using the TLE identified by the TLE identifier, an additional communications satellite in the constellation having an additional signal beam that overlaps the geographic location, wherein generating the forward link traffic grant further comprises:

generating an additional thermal model for the additional communications satellite,

generating an additional predicted temperature for the additional communications satellite based on the additional thermal model, and

assigning the additional communications satellite to the user equipment device when the additional predicted temperature is less than the threshold temperature.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein generating the forward link traffic grant comprises buffering the forward link traffic grant for a later forward link transmission cycle when there are no communications satellites in the constellation having a signal beam that overlaps the geographic location.

19. A method of operating a user equipment device to communicate with a gateway via a constellation of communications satellites, the method comprising:

receiving, from terrestrial network wireless communications equipment, a two-line element (TLE) associated with the communications satellite when the user equipment device is within a coverage area of the terrestrial wireless communications equipment;

storing the TLE on storage circuitry;

receiving, when the user equipment device is outside of the coverage area of the terrestrial network wireless communications equipment, a broadcast signal from the constellation of communications satellites; and

transmitting, in response to the receiving the broadcast signal, a registration request to the gateway via the constellation of communications satellites, wherein the registration request identifies a version of the TLE stored on the storage circuitry.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

identifying, when the user equipment device is outside of the coverage area of the terrestrial network wireless communications equipment, a geographic location of the user equipment, wherein the registration request identifies the geographic location; and

receiving, from a communications satellite in the constellation of communications satellites, forward link data scheduled for the communications satellite based on the geographic location and the version of the TLE stored on the storage circuitry, wherein the forward link data comprises an emergency response message generated by an emergency services provider.