AST & Science, LLC

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.

A satellite communication system includes a phased antenna array having a field of view (FoV) and configured to communicate with a plurality of cells in the FoV via a plurality of beams. Each of the plurality of beams is associated with one of the plurality of cells. A phased antenna array is configured to apply adaptive taper selection, based on both the satellite position (in relation to a satellite service beam) and its surrounding interference scenario.

A communication system has a first satellite, a second satellite, and a physical or wireless connection connecting the first satellite with the second satellite. The satellites each communicate with a different ground station and ensure continuous communication during handover.

A Satellite Radio Access Network includes a base station for communicating with standard compliant user equipment (UE) via a satellite having a field of view. A network broadcasting signal is provided via an inactive or access beam covering a plurality of cells in the field of view. An access request is detected from a user device, such as a smartphone, within an area covered by the inactive beam. In response to the access request, a beam is transitioned from inactive to active to provide network access to the user device. Once the user device is out of range, the active beam is transitioned back to an inactive beam. An inactivity timer is used to detect an idle active cell that should be transitioned to an inactive cell.

A GSM satellite communication system is in communication with a first satellite having a first field of view including a first plurality of cells in which a plurality of active User Equipment (UEs) is located. The plurality of active UEs is in direct communication with the first satellite. The satellite communication system includes a first feeder link and a first tracking antenna configured to communicate with the plurality of active UEs via the first satellite directly serving the first plurality of cells; a first processing device configured to communicate with the plurality of active UEs; and a second processing device configured to normalize delay for a plurality of beam centers of the first plurality of cells, and provide the normalized delay to the first processing device.

An antenna assembly has a solar layer having one or more solar cells generating solar power, an antenna layer connected to the solar layer and having electronic components utilizing the solar power generated by the solar layer, and a thermal dissipation device dissipating heat locally at the antenna assembly. A large number of antenna assemblies are connected to form an antenna array in which heat is generated locally at each antenna assembly and dissipated locally at each antenna assembly.

The technology provides a gateway system that enables satellite communication with user equipment (UE). A system includes multiple gateways, where each gateway includes processing devices, baseband units, a gateway channel routing block, and a set of antennas for communicating with a constellation of orbiting satellites. The gateways include a primary gateway and a diversity gateway. A set of communication links operatively connects the gateways together. A diversity combiner may be operatively coupled to the gateways via one or more of the communication links. The diversity combiner is configured to receive and combine signals from at least two of the gateways. The system is configured to determine when to switch a satellite communication link from the primary gateway to the diversity gateway according to a threshold level of communication requirement based on a status condition of the primary gateway and a status condition of the diversity gateway.

An antenna array has a plurality of square or rectangular antenna assemblies. Each assembly includes a first antenna assembly surface with a solar cell and a second antenna assembly with one or more antenna elements. The antenna assemblies are interconnected without gaps therebetween to form a first contiguous array surface comprised of the first antenna assembly surfaces and a second contiguous array surface comprised of the second antenna assembly surfaces. The antenna assemblies are connected together by mechanically stored-energy connectors, such as spring tape, that self-deploy the array in space without the use of electric energy.

Within a satellite communications system, a base station communicates with standard compliant user equipment (UE) via a satellite having a field of view. The base station has a processor that instructs the satellite to generate a wide beam signal covering a plurality of cells in the field of view, and detects an access request from a user equipment within the plurality of cells over the wide beam signal. The base station, comprising a processing device such as an eNodeB, then generates one or more network broadcast/access signals that is uplink to a satellite and broadcasted via one or more nominal beams generated by the satellite, covering all the inactive cells, one of the plurality of cells having the access request.

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.