| CPC B64G 1/1085 (2013.01) [B64G 1/1007 (2013.01); B64G 1/1021 (2013.01); B64G 1/242 (2013.01); H04B 7/18521 (2013.01)] | 29 Claims |
|
1. A method for forming a unified satellite constellation serving as a one-piece communication medium, in which
a plurality of satellite constellation business apparatuses which manage individual satellite constellations, each having eight or more communication satellites on one orbital plane, are present,
all of the plurality of individual satellite constellations form the unified satellite constellation with eight or more orbital planes,
satellites on a same orbital plane each form inter-satellite cross-links with ones ahead and behind of the satellites,
satellites on adjacent orbital planes each form inter-satellite cross-links with ones in left and right adjacent orbits of the satellites,
the plurality of satellite constellation business apparatuses construct a total of N orbital planes and form a mesh communication network in collaboration, and
a communication satellite business apparatus which provides a communication service using the communication network as a communication medium performs unified control over the plurality of satellite constellation business apparatuses, the method comprising:
determining an orbital plane A serving as a representative among orbital planes with a largest number of communication satellites constituting each of the orbital planes;
determining a satellite constellation business apparatus A including the orbital plane A as a satellite constellation business apparatus serving as a representative;
determining a communication satellite A serving as a representative among communication satellites constituting the orbital plane A;
performing control such that an average orbital altitude and an average orbital inclination of all communication satellites constituting the communication satellite business apparatus are equal to an average orbital altitude and an average orbital inclination of the communication satellite A;
performing control such that angular distances between normal vectors of all orbital planes constituting the communication satellite business apparatus are equally spaced in a longitudinal direction with reference to a normal vector of the orbital plane A;
performing control such that in-orbital-plane phases of all the communication satellites constituting the orbital plane A are equally spaced with reference to the communication satellite A;
making in-orbital-plane phases of communication satellites for each of an orbital plane B to an orbital plane N other than the orbital plane A equivalent to the in-orbital-plane phases in the orbital plane A and, if the number of satellites on the orbital plane is insufficient, arranging a virtual satellite;
determining a communication satellite B to a communication satellite N serving as respective representatives for the orbital plane B to the orbital plane N other than the representative orbital plane A;
performing, by each of all the satellite constellation business apparatuses, control such that an average orbital altitude and an average orbital inclination of all satellites are equal to the average orbital altitude and the average orbital inclination of the communication satellite A; and
performing control such that ascending node passage times at the time of crossing of a sky above the equator from south to north for the communication satellite A to the communication satellite N have same time lags with reference to the communication satellite A.
|