A method for pointing an antenna can include positioning, by a positioner, a beam of an antenna mounted on a vehicle to an initial angular position towards a target satellite based on an initial pointing direction for the antenna, the initial pointing direction being defined in a fixed reference plane and communicating, from the antenna, a signal with the target satellite, wherein the positioner controls an orientation of a pedestal of the antenna. The method also includes, executing, by an antenna control unit (ACU), an offset compensation operation of the antenna. The offset correction operation can include adjusting a pointing direction of the antenna to a plurality of angular positions and selecting a scan offset angle based on measured signal metrics for the plurality of angular positions. The method can include calculating a yaw compensation of the antenna based on the initial pointing direction and on a yaw pointing direction.

In one implementation, a receiver has a module to calculate the cross-correlation between a portion of a digital representation of a received signal and a reference signal. The receiver also has a module to generate an estimate of a portion of a message potentially included in the digital representation of the received signal and a screening module to determine the likelihood that the received signal includes a message. For a received signal that is determined likely to include a message, the receiver includes a carrier refinement module to shift the frequency of carrier pulses in the digital representation of the received signal toward a desired frequency and to align the phase of carrier pulses in the digital representation of the received signal with a desired phase and a coherent matched filter to recover the message from the digital representation of the received signal.

A MODMAN modem manager unit in an aviation broadband satellite terminal has a media interface slot integrated into the MODMAN. The media interface slot is exclusively dedicated to interface an external storage device. The external storage device is configured to be attached to or removed from the dedicated media interface slot, and the dedicated media interface slot is configured to allow transfer and storage of instructions and data specific for an APM Aircraft Personality Module via said dedicated media interface slot onto an attached external storage device. When interacting with the MODMAN via the dedicated media interface slot, the attached external storage device is configurable to act as dedicated APM in said aviation broadband satellite terminal.

A method of scheduling encryption key delivery communication sessions in a satellite quantum key distribution system comprising a constellation of one or more satellites and a plurality of user ground stations comprises producing a list of user ground stations requiring encryption keys. For each satellite of the constellation of satellites, determining a region of the earths surface within which the satellite can carry out encryption key delivery communication sessions to user ground stations using a quantum optical communications link during a scheduling period. Obtaining a cloud cover map. Comparing the locations of the listed user ground stations, the determined regions of the earths surface for the constellation of satellites, and the cloud cover map, to identify listed user ground stations to which encryption key delivery can be carried out by the constellation of satellites during the scheduling period. Determining which of the identified user ground stations each satellite of the constellation of satellites will carry out encryption key delivery communication sessions with at different times in the scheduling period based upon one or more of: an amount of unused encryption keys at each identified user ground station; and an expected time duration before each identified user ground station runs out of encryption keys.

Embodiments of this application provide a timing advance determining method and a communication apparatus, to improve precision of calculating a timing advance (Timing Advance, TA) by a terminal, and reduce inter-symbol interference (Inter-Symbol Interference, ISI). The method includes: A first network device determines a first parameter based on a first delay compensation value, where the first delay compensation value is delay compensation made by the first network device for receiving a signal sent by a terminal, the first parameter indicates a difference between a round-trip delay of a feeder link in a non-terrestrial network NTN and the first delay compensation value, and the difference is used to determine a TA used by the terminal for signal sending; and the first network device sends the first parameter.

There is disclosed a flight control system, the flight control system including a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and a ground-based control centre, wherein the RPA and the ground-based control centre are configured to communicate using a plurality of different communication systems, wherein the RPA includes a computer system configured to determine operation risk, wherein the computer system receives input from the ground-based control centre for use in the determination of operation risk, wherein the computer system is configured to select a communication system from the plurality of different communication systems, and to use the selected communication system for communication between the RPA and the ground-based control centre, based on the determined operation risk.

A communications system for line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communications using a single aperture includes one or more operators positioned within an environment, wherein each operator includes a common aperture, one or more low-earth orbit satellites communicatively coupled to a plurality of communications sub-systems disposed on the operators. In one embodiment, the communications sub-systems may include a first antenna element to transmit and receive first radio frequency signals along a first directional link via the common aperture. In another embodiment, the communications sub-systems may include a second antenna element to transmit and receive second radio frequency signals along a second directional link via the common aperture.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for random access. The method which may be performed by a terminal device includes determining a random access occasion based at least in part on random access configuration information for a non-terrestrial network. The method further includes transmitting a preamble to a network node in the non-terrestrial network, according to the determined random access occasion.

A method and apparatus for non-terrestrial network beam switching is provided. A non-terrestrial network base station includes a transmitter configured to transmit downlink data to user equipment and a receiver configured to receive uplink data from the user equipment. A channel bandwidth of the non-terrestrial network base station is divided into a plurality of bandwidth parts respectively corresponding to a plurality of geographic areas, and each bandwidth part is respectively associated with a satellite beam. When the user equipment is located in a first geographic area, the transmitter transmits the downlink data to the user equipment over a corresponding first bandwidth part. After the user equipment transitions from the first geographic area to a second geographic area, the transmitter transmits the downlink data to the user equipment over a corresponding second bandwidth part of the plurality of bandwidth parts.

Control circuitry is configured to establish a first connection with one or more onboard passenger service devices using a network interface. The control circuitry is further configured to receive a set of system log data from the one or more onboard passenger service devices via the network interface and store one or more log signatures in non-volatile data storage media. The control circuitry is further configured to detect a first fault related to a first onboard passenger service device of the one or more onboard passenger service devices and store a first set of transmission rule data in the non-volatile data storage media. The control circuitry is further configured to filter the set of system log data, establish a second connection with a remote computing device using the network interface, and transmit a subset of system log data to the remote computing device via the network interface.