Communication Constellation Design of Minimum Number of Satellites with Continuous Coverage and Inter-Satellite Link

Abstract

The recent advancement in research on distributed space systems that operate a large number of satellites as a single system urges the need for the investigation of satellite constellations. Communication constellations can be used to construct global or regional communication networks using inter-satellite and ground-to-satellite links. This study examines two challenges of communication constellations: continuous coverage and inter-satellite link connectivity. The bounded Voronoi diagram and APC decomposition are presented as continuous coverage analysis methods. For continuity analysis of the inter-satellite link, the relative motion between adjacent orbital planes is used to derive analytic solutions. The Walker-Delta constellation and common ground-track constellation design methods are introduced as examples to verify the analysis methods. The common ground-track constellations are classified into quasi-symmetric and optimal constellations. The optimal common ground-track constellation is optimized using the BILP algorithm. The simulation results compare the performance of the communication constellations according to various design methods.