A method of switching from a first gateway within a plurality of first gateways to a second gateway in a network includes precaching configuration information on the second gateway, that is within the first gateways, prior to switch-over to the second gateway. The first gateway from which the second gateway is being switched is identified. The second gateway is configured in accordance with the configuration of the first gateway based on the precached configuration information prior to the switch-over to the second gateway. Data traffic from data applications using the network is replicated and sent to the first gateway and the second gateway. Bandwidths allocated to terminals in the network are frozen in association with the switch-over to the second gateway. The bandwidths allocated to the terminals in the network are unfrozen based at least in part on an indication of completion of the switch-over to the second gateway.

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 system may have a constellation of communications satellites that provides services to users with electronic devices such as portable electronic devices and home/office equipment. A network operations center may use gateways to communicate with the satellite constellation. The satellite constellation may include sets of satellites with different orbits such as circular orbits with different inclinations, sets of satellites with elliptic orbits, sets of satellites with circular orbits of different altitudes including low earth orbits, medium earth orbits, and/or geosynchronous orbits, sets of satellites with sun synchronous orbits, and/or sets of satellites with other orbits. The orbits of the satellites in the constellation may be selected to provide coverage to desired user population concentrations at different locations on the Earth, while reducing the amount of capacity that goes unused (e.g., is idle) at one or more times of day.

A terminal according to the present invention includes an array antenna including an aperture, and an antenna pattern calculation unit. The antenna pattern calculation unit calculates antenna patterns of the array antenna that divide the aperture to correspondingly orient each of the aperture divisions toward a plurality of relay stations when control frames are received, and orient the aperture toward one of the plurality of relay stations when a data frame is received.

A method of switching from a first gateway within a plurality of first gateways to a second gateway in a network includes precaching configuration information on the second gateway, that is within the first gateways, prior to switch-over to the second gateway. The first gateway from which the second gateway is being switched is identified. The second gateway is configured in accordance with the configuration of the first gateway based on the precached configuration information prior to the switch-over to the second gateway. Data traffic from data applications using the network is replicated and sent to the first gateway and the second gateway. Bandwidths allocated to terminals in the network are frozen in association with the switch-over to the second gateway. The bandwidths allocated to the terminals in the network are unfrozen based at least in part on an indication of completion of the switch-over to the second gateway.

A method of switching from a first gateway within a plurality of first gateways to a second gateway in a network includes precaching configuration information on the second gateway, that is within the first gateways, prior to switch-over to the second gateway. The first gateway from which the second gateway is being switched is identified. The second gateway is configured in accordance with the configuration of the first gateway based on the precached configuration information prior to the switch-over to the second gateway. Data traffic from data applications using the network is replicated and sent to the first gateway and the second gateway. Bandwidths allocated to terminals in the network are frozen in association with the switch-over to the second gateway. The bandwidths allocated to the terminals in the network are unfrozen based at least in part on an indication of completion of the switch-over to the second gateway.

A base station for communication with a terminal station having a plurality of terminal station antennas. The base station has a plurality of directional antennas, each of the plurality of directional antennas in communication with satellites in view. The base station also has a processing device (e.g., eNodeB) to transmit each of the multiple base-station antenna signals via each of the plurality of directional antennas to satellites and/or the beams of the same satellite seen by the terminal station for retransmission to the plurality of terminal station antennas.

Provided is a control apparatus for controlling a plurality of flying bodies including a first flying body having an antenna for forming a communication area by a beam irradiated toward the ground to provide wireless communication service for a user terminal in the communication area. The control apparatus comprises a selection unit configured to select a flying body of a combination target to be combined with the first flying body from the plurality of flying bodies; and a flying body control unit configured to control combination of the first flying body and the flying body of a combination target.

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.

Methods and systems are described for providing end-to-end beamforming. For example, end-to-end beamforming systems include end-to-end relays and ground networks to provide communications to user terminals located in user beam coverage areas. The ground segment can include geographically distributed access nodes and a central processing system. Return uplink signals, transmitted from the user terminals, have multipath induced by a plurality of receive/transmit signal paths in the end to end relay and are relayed to the ground network. The ground network, using beamformers, recovers user data streams transmitted by the user terminals from return downlink signals. The ground network, using beamformers generates forward uplink signals from appropriately weighted combinations of user data streams that, after relay by the end-end-end relay, produce forward downlink signals that combine to form user beams.