Systems, apparatuses, methods, and software are described herein that provide enhanced satellite communication nodes. In one example, a satellite communication interface is configured to communicate over one or more satellite communication links provided by at least a satellite communication service provider. A policy engine is configured to identify communication requirements related to execution of one or more applications by the communication node, and initiate changes to the one or more satellite communication links based at least on the communication requirements and monitored properties of the one or more satellite communication links.

A source terminal, for communications with a destination terminal via satellite links to two clusters of satellites, comprises a transmitter and a multibeam antenna system. The transmitter includes a preprocessor and a bank of modulators. The preprocessor performs a K-muxing transform, which has an inverse transform, on M concurrent input data streams to generate concurrently M output data streams, M>1. Each output data stream is a linear combination of the M concurrent input data streams. The bank of modulators transforms N of the M output data streams into N signal streams, N≤M. The multibeam antenna system transforms the N signal streams into N shaped beams and radiating N.sub.1 of the N shaped beams towards the first cluster of satellites and N.sub.2 of the N shaped beams towards the second cluster of satellites, where N.sub.1 and N.sub.2 are positive integers and N.sub.1+N.sub.2=N.

In one implementation, a communications satellite includes a main antenna system and a communications controller. The main antenna system is configured to send communications to and receive communications from one or more terrestrial terminal devices. The communications controller has a memory storing a plurality of terminal attribute sets, each of which specifies attributes for communicating with a corresponding class of terrestrial terminal devices. The communications controller is configured to receive 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 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.

A terminal, allowing bidirectional communication with a gateway, receives information from the gateway through a forward satellite and sends information towards the gateway through a return satellite. The terminal comprises an antenna arrangement having a receive aperture for receiving signals from forward satellite and a transmit aperture for transmitting signals to return satellite. A controller computes a pointing direction from receive aperture towards the forward satellite based on the terminal's position and orientation, the antenna arrangement's geometry, and the forward satellite's orbital position; and computes a pointing direction from the transmit aperture towards the return satellite based on the computed pointing direction from the receive aperture towards the forward satellite and the return satellite's orbital position. The invention also relates to a system comprising a terminal and a gateway, and to a method for operating a terminal.

A terminal, allowing bidirectional communication with a gateway, receives information from the gateway through a forward satellite and sends information towards the gateway through a return satellite. The terminal comprises an antenna arrangement having a receive aperture for receiving signals from forward satellite and a transmit aperture for transmitting signals to return satellite. A controller computes a pointing direction from receive aperture towards the forward satellite based on the terminal's position and orientation, the antenna arrangement's geometry, and the forward satellite's orbital position; and computes a pointing direction from the transmit aperture towards the return satellite based on the computed pointing direction from the receive aperture towards the forward satellite and the return satellite's orbital position. The invention also relates to a system comprising a terminal and a gateway, and to a method for operating a terminal.

A source terminal for communications with a destination terminal, both located near or on earth surface, via satellite links to a cluster of satellites in corresponding slightly inclined Geostationary Satellite Orbits (GSOs). The source terminal comprises a transmitter which includes a preprocessor to perform a K-muxing transform on M concurrent input data streams to generate concurrently M output data streams, M>1, each of the M output data streams being a linear combination of the M concurrent input data streams, the K-muxing transform having an inverse transform; a bank of modulators to transform the M output data streams into N signal streams destined for the destination terminal, N≤M; and a multibeam antenna system to dynamically track and communicate with the cluster of satellites. The multibeam antenna system transforms the N signal streams into shaped beams and radiates the shaped beams towards the cluster of satellites.

A method and system for determining inroute frame timing for a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) includes receiving an appointment to transmit, on an inroute, at a start of a slot X of a frame number M; establishing, at a VSAT, an arrival time of a super frame numbering packet (SFNP) including a satellite ephemeris vector and a frame number N; calculating, at the VSAT, a timing offset (T.sub.RO) to be applied to the arrival time to compensate for a time varying gateway-satellite-terminal propagation delay (T.sub.HS+T.sub.SR); setting a transmit instant as an end of the T.sub.RO after the arrival time; adding to the transmit instant a duration of X slots and a duration of (M−N) frames; and transmitting a burst, on the inroute from the VSAT, at the transmit instant. In the method, the calculating is based on computing T.sub.HS+T.sub.SR from the satellite ephemeris vector, a gateway transmits the SFNP and receives the burst in the slot X within the frame number M of the inroute, and N is greater than or equal to M. A method and system for using ephemeris data for inroute timing is disclosed.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) resistant telecommunications (telecom) system includes core components mounted within and shielded by a Faraday cage. The components include a data source or storage device. An ethernet switch selectively connects the data source or storage device to a primary satellite router and a post-EMP satellite router. Telecom signals are output from and input to the core components via low noise blocks (LNBs) and block upconverters (BUCs). A method of resisting EMP interference for a telecommunications system includes the steps of enclosing and shielding core components in a Faraday cage and providing output via LNBs and BUCs to an antenna subsystem. The antenna subsystem can include one or more antenna elements with configurations chosen from the group comprising: parabolic dish; array; unidirectional; and omnidirectional. The EMP-resistant telecom can optionally be combined with a signal regenerating subsystem and used with a signal regenerating method.

Interplanetary networks for space internet and space positioning are presented. The described networks deploy spacecraft swarms along the solar system to form a science and communications platform. The disclosed network nodes are placed around planetary Lagrange points. Creation of optical synthetic apertures using smallsat swarms for inter- and intranet communications is further described. Exemplary subnetworks such as the cislunar network are also presented.

A system and method for managing a transmit power of a terminal includes dividing a spectrum into frequency bins and an inroute layout including inroutes; mapping at least one of the frequency bins with each of the inroute; determining a respective normalized Transmit Power (TP) for each of the frequency bins; calculating a transmission TP based on the respective normalized TP of one or more of the frequency bins mapped to a selected inroute; and transmitting a radio signal with the transmission TP on the selected inroute. A first frequency bin is adjacent a second frequency bin, a respective normalized TP of the first frequency bin compared to a respective normalized TP of the second frequency bin varies no more than a threshold power delta, a count of frequency bins is greater than one and unequal to a count of the inroute layout.