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.

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.

A satellite system operates at altitudes between 100 and 350 km relying on vehicles including a self-sustaining ion engine to counteract atmospheric drag to maintain near-constant orbit dynamics. The system operates at altitudes that are substantially lower than traditional satellites, reducing size, weight and cost of the vehicles and their constituent subsystems such as optical imagers, radars, and radio links. The system can include a large number of lower cost, mass, and altitude vehicles, enabling revisit times substantially shorter than previous satellite systems. The vehicles spend their orbit at low altitude, high atmospheric density conditions that have heretofore been virtually impossible to consider for stable orbits. Short revisit times at low altitudes enable near-real time imaging at high resolution and low cost. At such altitudes, the system has no impact on space junk issues of traditional LEO orbits, and is self-cleaning in that space junk or disabled craft will de-orbit.

A transmitting station includes an amplifier unit that amplifies a transmitting signal, a transmitting antenna that wirelessly transmits the transmitting signal that has been amplified, and a controller unit that regulates a frequency of the transmitting signal and an input power to the amplifier unit on the basis of an estimation value of reception quality that is a signal quality when the transmitting signal is received by a receiving station.

A system includes a computer that is programmed to actuate to switch from a first satellite link between a terminal and a first satellite to a second satellite link upon determining that a data throughput of the first satellite relative to a first satellite throughput capacity exceeds a threshold.

The invention relates to a system, a receiver and a method for satellite signal transmission, wherein the method includes the steps of grouping the signals into a data stream, splitting the data stream into at least a first and one or more second packets, transmitting the first packet via a first transmission channel (Ch #1), transmitting the one or more second packets via one or more second transmission channels (Ch #2), wherein the one or more second transmission channels (Ch #2) are distinct from the first transmission channel (Ch #1) and from one another.

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.

A system and method for providing backup recovery from outage at a primary gateway in a satellite communication system. Upon detecting an alert indicative of an outage, communication between the primary gateway and a plurality of terminals located within spot beams serviced by the primary gateway is suspended. A pre-switchover routine is performed to initialize a backup gateway capable of being substituted for the primary gateway, and a switchover routine is performed to transfer operations from the primary gateway to the backup gateway. Communication is subsequently enabled between the backup gateway and the plurality of terminals.

A method for providing a multipath satellite backbone is disclosed. The method includes: creating sub-backbone flows over multipaths between a first peer and a second peer, wherein each of the sub-backbone flows is associated with one of the multipaths; retrieving a policy corresponding to each of the multipaths, the first peer and the second peer; receiving a transport metric for at least one of the multipaths; calculating distribution weights for the sub-backbone flows based on the policy and the transport metric; and transporting traffic over the sub-backbone flows based on the distribution weights, wherein at least one of the multipaths is relayed by a satellite.

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.