A space-based communications network (100) includes at least one central ground station (116) having a transceiver that is configured to communicate with satellites, such as cube satellites (110). The cube satellites (110) form an ad hoc network of orbital cube satellites, in which each of the cube satellites (110) communicate with each other. One of the cube satellites communicates with the ground station (116). A ground-based control system (1000) communicates with the central ground station (116). The control system (1000) continuously determines a configuration of the ad hoc network (100) and communicates network control information for the cube satellites (110) to maintain communications in the ad hoc network (100). The cube satellites (110) disseminate the network control to each other via the ad hoc network (100).

The receiver captures an electromagnetic transmission carrying a bauded signal, such as a transmission from an orbiting satellite, and processes it for Doppler shift analysis. The electromagnetic transmission is captured and a non-linear operation is performed to expose a cyclostationary feature of the captured transmission that will define a rate-line. This rate-line will exist at a frequency that is related to the bauded signal and Doppler shift relative to the motion of the transmitter to the receiver. The rate-line frequency is tracked in time to generate data indicative of a Doppler shift associated with the satellite and processed by an estimator fed by satellite propagator to supply positioning, navigation and timing services at the receiver output.

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for managing beam configurations and parameters for non-terrestrial networks. In some implementations, a UE may detect a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by a satellite via a first beam. Aspects of the present disclosure recognize that each beam may be identified by a unique SSB index based at least in part on a time or frequency on which the SSB is received. Thus, the SSB may be identified based on a frequency-domain SSB index or a time-domain SSB index. The UE may further determine one or more wireless communication parameters associated with the first beam. The UE may generate a mapping between the SSB and the wireless communication parameters associated with the first beam, and thereafter communicate with the satellite using the mapping.

Aspects relate to delay management techniques to handle delays introduced by high latency links in non-terrestrial networks for non-access stratum (NAS) mobility management and session management procedures. The NAS timers within the user equipment (UE) and core network utilized for mobility management and session management procedures may be configured with different durations, such as a normal duration, an extended duration, or a reduced duration, based on whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial or non-terrestrial radio access network (RAN), one or more capabilities of the UE, and/or the various RAN types (e.g., terrestrial or non-terrestrial) within a registration area that the UE is located in.

Techniques for dynamic adjustment of the frequency offset and timing advance for a UE in a non-terrestrial (NTN) are described. Details of Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) and Downlink Control Information (DCI) based methods for indicating the timing and/or frequency adjustment commands either separately or jointly in the presence of delay and/or Doppler variations in NTN are provided. A terminal, also known as a user equipment (UE), can use DCI or MAC signaling to update the timing and frequency adjustment in presence of delay and Doppler variations in NTN. Further, a configurable MAC-CE design is provided for indicating commands related to timing and/or frequency adjustment. Procedures are also provided to report, during a random access procedure, the timing and frequency adjustment applied in preamble transmission.

A method and system for mitigating inter-satellite interference are provided. The method includes modifying a beam bore-sight of a satellite according to a hexagonal mapping, identifying beams of the satellite positioned outside of the hexagonal mapping, and reducing power of the beams positioned outside of the hexagonal mapping.

A ground station processes downlink signals received from respective satellites. The ground station has a plurality of signal conditioning devices each receiving a respective one of the downlink signals and providing a conditioned downlink signal. A plurality of Doppler and/or Delay compensator devices each receive a respective conditioned downlink signal from a respective one of the plurality of signal conditioning devices. The compensator devices conduct Doppler and/or Delay compensation on the received conditioned downlink signal, and provide a compensated downlink signal output. A selector or diversity combiner receives the compensated downlink signal from each of the plurality of Doppler and/or Delay compensators. The selector or diversity combiner selects one of the received compensated downlink signals based on received signal strength of each received compensated downlink signal to provide a selected downlink signal, or diversity combines all of the received compensated downlink signals to provide a diversity combined signal. The selector or diversity combiner provides the selected downlink signal or the diversity combined signal to an eNodeB.

32 The present disclosure proposes schemes, techniques, designs and methods pertaining to frequency synchronization for integration of terrestrial network (TN) and non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications. Communications between a user equipment (UE) and a terrestrial network (TN) and communications between the UE and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) are established. A frequency shift in the communications between the UE and the NTN is compensated regardless of availability of information related to a movement of the UE and a relative location of the NT network node of the NTN with respect to the UE.

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.

A method and system for improving link performance for a user terminal (UT) in a satellite network is disclosed. The method including: providing a first beam servicing a first service area that is adjacent a second service area serviced by a second beam; transmitting, from the first service area, a transmission via the first beam to a receiver via a satellite; beamforming the first beam and the second beam at the receiver; extracting the first beam and a remnant signal of the first beam from the second beam; and processing the first beam and the remnant signal to receive the transmission, wherein the remnant signal may include a portion of the transmission received by a second beam antenna of the satellite.