FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and/or corresponding method of use in at least the communications, aerospace, and cloud computing industries. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a satellite system using cloud computing virtualized gateways, radio transport protocol and on-ground beamforming.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The background description provided herein gives context for the present disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art.

As the need for high bandwidth satellite communications continuously increases so does the need for greater flexibility in delivering the communications services in the manner that best suites the applications supported and associated customer requirements.

Satellite communications architectures suffer from several problems with their implementations and critically from an inflexibility that leads to the inability to maximize the efficiency of the end-to-end satellite communication resource. With current architectures it is extremely difficult to contract one-hundred percent (100%) of the available radio frequency (RF) spectrum and/or power on a satellite with the customer base (especially with HTS, VHTS and UHTS), but crucially these systems prohibit achieving anywhere near high levels of satellite communications resource utilization as multiple segments of all sizes can lie dormant for frequent and/or extensive periods while the end customers no longer use the assets. This represent two fundamental issues, firstly the customer pays for an asset that they neither utilize completely or fully need, and secondly there are no effective solutions or technologies to significantly increase the overall satellite communications resource utilization across a varied and varying customer base. This situation further suffers when specific customers wish the ability to modify their contracted satellite communications resources in a dynamic, scheduled and/or ad-hoc sporadic manner, to no avail.

This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that satellite communications cover huge geographic areas, which means that its ‘last-mile’ segment (satellite-subscriber terminal) can capture huge customer numbers, segments and/or applications, representing a huge, stymied demand. This stymied demand is represented by different customer segments with differing applications of varying network configurations, beam laydowns and coverage, demand schedules, satellite baseband air interface types, and/or associated remote end subscriber terminal support. Current technology suffers from the inability to flexibly manage and operate effectively and efficiently across a customer base representing unique segments requiring network bandwidth in different places, in different times, and/or in differing formats.

Such inflexibility is caused by current architectural issues in both the ground and space segment components.

Current gateway architectures are highly dependent on vast implementations of multiple bespoke, vendor proprietary dedicated hardware infrastructure. Many of which are non-interoperable and all of which operate significant portions within the hardware analog RF domain to transmit signals internally and externally of the gateway. This leads to a highly fractalized or stove-piped infrastructure that is cumbersome, inflexible, and exceedingly difficult to operate, maintain, upgrade, augment and/or reconfigure at short notice and/or in a dynamic manner.

Current architectures utilize gateway-satellite links that are operated in the analog RF domain, one of the few communications infrastructures left that operates the middle-mile (gateway-satellite) in a restrictive analog domain.

The analog RF domain is an extensive and inherently hard-coded environment to operate within and satellite communications suffers from restricting the analog RF domain solely to the last-mile (satellite-subscriber terminal).

The RF gateway-satellite feeder link architectures require many concurrent geographically dispersed gateways to support high throughput satellites (HTS), very high throughput satellites (VHTS) and ultra high throughput satellites (UHTS). Even the availability of 5 GHz at V band, and dual polarization, a satellite with terabit/second (Tbps) capacity would need between forty (40) and seventy (70) gateways depending on spectral efficiency achieved, as described in the conference paper titled “Optical Feeder Links for VHTS—System Perspectives”, by Mata-Calvo et al. (Conference Proceedings of the Ka Band Communications, Navigation and Earth Observation Conference 2015. Ka Conference 2015, 12-14 Oct. 2015, Bologna Italy). Note that Q/V band and Ka band gateways typically require additional resiliency and redundancy implementations to achieve high availability.

Satellite communications offer large swath views of the Earth's surface provides an ideal platform for beamforming and the laydown of capacity. Emerging and developing high-throughput satellite communications beamforming technologies are focusing on complex, physically limited and highly expensive satellite onboard processing hardware where the beamforming computational burden is placed on the satellite and hard-coded for the duration of the mission, which can run anywhere up to fifteen to twenty (15-20) years or higher. This limits the investment in a satellite as the hardware specification and capabilities are locked typically at least 2 year prior to launch and will be obsolete even prior to reaching orbit, let alone 15-20 years later. Such hardware dependent systems suffer from being fixed implementations and thus non-upgradeable after launch. They are highly dependent on the hardware capabilities coded and locked in at the level of technology available at best two (2) years prior to launch.

Such onboard satellite communications beamforming systems rely on the hard-coded gateway implementations, gateway hardware RF stove piping, analog RF gateway to satellite feeder links, and/or extensive and complex RF componentry onboard the satellite. Further, the onboard satellite communication beamforming systems do not support the complex issues of integration with the higher layers (OSI Layer 2 and above) of multiple and/or dynamic satellite baseband air interface operations of today let alone those of the future.

The satellite communications industry has developed a multi-vendor ecosystem through multiple satellite operators, service providers and/or satellite baseband air interface systems. Although this open-system approach enables multi-application and multi-vendor markets that delivers innovation and competition, it suffers from the hard-coded ecosystems that restrict the ability to holistically view, utilize, adapt, and maximize the return on available satellite communications resource such as RF spectrum, power, human resource, space and/or ground investments. Additionally, current technology does not allow implementations that deliver the ability to holistically view, utilize, adapt, coordinate, and maximize the return on available satellite communications resource across multiple satellites owned and operated by a single and/or multiple satellite operators.

U.S. Pat. No. 10,142,021 proposes a solution to some of the multiple RF gateway and onboard processing issues by utilizing an optical feeder link between the gateway and satellite and placing the beamforming burden on the ground with a ground based beamforming system (GBBF). However, it suffers from multiple limitations and problems, such as:expanding the rigid, inflexible, costly, and cumbersome hard-coded and stove-piped gateway environment and implementations;operation in the analog domain within the middle-mile;requiring extensive and inflexible hard-coded GBBF hardware and gateway analog RF to optical conversion hardware;requiring the utilization of much higher power demanding analog RF modulated optical terminal system (gateway and satellite);requiring complex, extensive and highly lossy analog RF chains on board the satellite;providing no effective operational system to manage multiple optical gateways to provide high availability. Even though optical feeder links provide vastly greater capacity when compared to RF variants even in V band, there is still a need to compensate link blockage by clouds through optical feeder link diversity. By analysis of long-term cloud data, it can be shown that in the Mediterranean, around eleven (11) gateway stations can be sufficient to fulfill availability requirements for satellite communications systems, while this number can even be reduced when an inter-hemispherical ground network exploiting anti-correlated seasonal weather statistics, as described in the paper titled “Preliminary Results of Terabit-per-second Long-Range Free-Space Optical Transmission Experiment THRUST”, by Giggenbach et al. (Proc. of SPIE 9647-21, 2015). Resiliency and redundancy suffer heavily when multiple hardware gateways must be exactly matched with hard-coded stove-piped configurations resulting in costly implementations that are impossible to modify in a real-time environment and entail complex coordination for any required systems upgrades;offers no solution to support beamforming integration with dynamic and/or multi satellite baseband air interface operation; andoperation only with an extensive hardware dependent fractalized gateway infrastructure including hard-coded satellite baseband air interface systems.

Several ground to space Terabit per second (Tbps) optical feeder link technologies that operate within the digital domain are currently in process, however these technologies only provide a baseband link from the gateway to the satellite (e.g., raw Internet Protocol (IP) user data between the gateway and the satellite). As such, they suffer from multiple limitations and problems, such as:onboard processing cost, obsolescence, and capability limitations;requiring extensive and multiple onboard modulation and demodulation technologies to convert RF to/from baseband;no comprehensive integration of onboard satellite baseband air interface, or multiple and/or dynamic satellite baseband air interface support;lack of onboard scalability and flexibility in matching satellite baseband air interface functions with beamforming functions;no holistic, comprehensive and/or effective management of end-to-end satellite communications resource such as RF spectrum, power, space and/or ground investments; andinability to holistically view, utilize, adapt, coordinate, and maximize the return on available satellite communications resource either across the satellite or multiple satellites owned and operated by a single and/or multiple satellite operators.

Thus, there exists a need in the art for satellite communications services that can be delivered via a highly flexible, scalable, dynamic, interchangeable, and easily adaptable end-to-end architecture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following objects, features, advantages, aspects, and/or embodiments, are not exhaustive and do not limit the overall disclosure. No single embodiment need provide each and every object, feature, or advantage. Any of the objects, features, advantages, aspects, and/or embodiments disclosed herein can be integrated with one another, either in full or in part.

It is a primary object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to improve on or overcome the deficiencies in the art.

It is a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to simultaneously accommodate and satisfy the multiple demands of multiple applications and multiple customer types in a dynamic environment.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to deliver effective interoperability of ground systems and space segment in highly dynamic, volatile, uncertain, complex and/or disruptive environments.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to quickly, easily and/or automatically adapt and morph to meet real-time changing demands.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to enable the visibility, operation, management and reporting of the entire satellite communications resource holistically across a single satellite and/or multiple satellites under a single or multiple of satellite owner operators.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to improve inter-coordination performance between satellites.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to decrease product development cycles and cost.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to enable feature augmentation and performance improvements in a software virtual environment without major and/or frequent hardware upgrades and capital investment.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide a platform to add new features and capabilities incrementally and frequently within an agile DevOps or DevSecOps environment.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide a solid software defined test and development environment that allows quick and easy transition to the beta and operational phases smoothly and quickly with minimal impact to existing operational services.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide an effective interface for advanced control and monitoring such as artificial intelligence and or machine learning algorithms. The advanced control and monitoring should minimize the obsolescence and maximize the futureproofing of both the space hardware and ground segment investment.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide a higher level of flexibility in satellite (platform) user beam laydown options and performance.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to be able to reconfigure a completely virtual gateway infrastructure near instantaneously.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to negates the traditional approach of extensive, complex, bespoke and cumbersome gateway radio frequency hardware equipment stove-piping.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to simplify gateway development.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to improve functionality by providing an ability to augment third party value-add services.

It is still yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to offer more total configuration options in network design, a higher performance capacity, and a larger number of performance capability options than those satellite systems known in the art.

It is preferred the apparatus be safe, cost effective, and durable. For example, satellite systems disclosed herein have a lower cost gateway investment and operating costs than those known in the art. Ideally, these satellite communication systems maximize total satellite communications resource efficiency and return on investment and to reduces capital and operational expenditures, simplify and standardize the satellite architecture and hardware capable of delivering highly unique services, are provided within an ecosystem that enables a satellite communications cloud marketplace to drive innovation, lower cost, maximize performance and enhance services. According to a more specific non-limiting aspect, the satellite system can include a higher gateway resiliency.

Methods can be practiced which facilitate use, manufacture, assembly, maintenance, and repair of satellite systems which accomplish some or all of the previously stated objectives. For example, there can exist an ability to easily upgrade features and performance in a software environment, and to allow for changes significantly and frequently with little to no physical hands-on tasking that is ideally suited to operate flawlessly under pandemic and/or social distancing situations. In yet another example, a higher level of oversight and management with holistic view of total resource is provided.

The satellite systems and their components disclosed herein can be incorporated into other systems which accomplish some or all of the previously stated objectives.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a method of wirelessly communicating using cloud computing virtualized gateways, radio transport protocol, and on-ground beamforming comprises: communicatively coupling at least one cloud computing gateway ecosystem (CCGE) to a plurality of subscriber terminals; illuminating specific regions of the Earth's surface with user spot beams containing the subscriber terminals, wherein each user spot beam includes a downlink channel and an uplink channel; allowing two-way communication between the CCGE and the communications platform over a feeder link within the field of view of the communications platform, wherein the feeder link includes a forward link and a return link; creating data signals for the forward link based upon data received from external networks under parameters controlled by a network management system (NMS); outputting the forward link user data signals to a controller configured to package the data signals together and map the forward link user data signals to an associated user spot beam; creating digitized RF carrier waves in a particular RF based upon the associated user spot beam; digitally modulating and mapping bit streams that are beamformed and transported within data packets (DP) and associated metadata packets (MP) to a ground optical communication feeder link system (GOCFLS) co-located or geographically distanced from the CCGE; forwarding the return link to the CCGE; and monitoring and controlling a feeder link resiliency system that allows for switching of CCGEs and associated GOCFLSs to ensure operator specified availability of the feeder link system to the communications platform.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subscriber terminal is selected from the group consisting of: a wireless modem, a cellular telephone, a wireless handset, a data transceiver, a paging or positioning determination receiver, or mobile radio-telephone, and a head end of a local network.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the communications platform includes a plurality of sub-systems selected from the group consisting of: a power source, solar panels, a propulsion system, a momentum control system, and an attitude control system.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the plurality of subsystems utilize core cloud computing resources that are provided at a cloud-computing data center (CDC) comprising one or more components selected form the group consisting of: a computer, a server, a database, a network, an analytics based software application, a control system, intelligence capabilities, and on-demand web-based services.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the network is selected from the group consisting of: the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a public switch telephone network, a mobile telephone network, a private server, and an intranet network.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the method further comprises delivering the CCGE via a private cloud on-premises solution where the software is installed locally or on a public/private hybrid cloud combination.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the method further comprises selecting an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and/or Software-as-a-Service offerings (SaaS) offering to operate the communications platform on based upon a nature and/or requirements of the communications platform.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the method further comprises sensing, monitoring, and/or controlling environmental aspects of the communications platform; and managing and/or coordinating at least a partial amount of resources of the communications platform based upon the sensed, monitored, and/or controlled environmental aspects.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the method further comprises storing software images, run-time data and other non-RAM functional data.

According to some other aspects of the present disclosure, a digitized ground based subsystem for use in transmitting an optical feeder uplink beam to a communications platform comprises an antenna array configured to receive the optical feeder uplink beam and to use the multiple element antenna feed array to produce and transmit a plurality of RF service downlink beams to a service terminal; a cloud-computing data center (CDC); a virtualized air interface system configured to accept a plurality of data streams, multiplex the data streams, and produce a plurality of user data signals; a virtualized user data signal-spot beam controller (VUDSSBC) configured to accept the user data signals from the virtualized air interface systems and combine subsets of the user data signals into a plurality of user spot beam signals; a virtualized digital modulator and mapper configured to accept the user spot beam signals from the VUDSSBC and convert each to a digitized RF user spot beam signal; a virtualized on-ground beamformer (VOGB) configured to accept the digitized RF user spot beam signals from the virtualized digital modulator and mapper, produce or otherwise obtain phase and amplitude coefficients, and output a plurality of digitized RF transmit antenna element signals in dependance of the plurality of the digitized RF user spot beam signals and phase and amplitude beamforming coefficients; a virtualized packet based radio transport (VPBRT) configured to accept the digitized RF transmit antenna element signals from the VOGB and packetizes in a plurality of information streams for multiplexing and transmission over a digital packet switched network; and a ground optical communications feeder link system (GOCFLS) configured to accept the digitized RF transmit antenna element signals in packetized form from the VPBRT and transmit the RF transmit antenna element signals to the communications platform.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subsystem further comprises a cloud computing gateway management and interface system (CCGMIS) configured to monitor the GOCFLSs performance and dynamically orchestrate the ground base subsystem, and the switching operations of the ground base subsystem between different CDCs and GOCFLSs supporting the communications platforms.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subsystem further comprises a CCGMIS configured to orchestrate a scheduled and/or dynamic operation of a plurality of virtualized air interface systems between active, dormant and/or modified states.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subsystem further comprises a CCGMIS configured with a plurality of communications platforms' inter-coordination agreement parameters to monitor and control the user spot beam RF frequency and power coordination across the plurality of the communications platforms.

According to some other aspects of the present disclosure, a system for a space based satellite comprises a ground optical communications feeder link system (GOCFLS) configured to accept digitized RF transmit antenna element signals in packetized form and to transmit the RF transmit antenna element signals to a communications platform; a cloud-computing data center (CDC); a satellite bus system; a space optical communication feeder link system (SOCFLS) configured to accept the digitized RF transmit antenna element signals in packetized form from the GOCFLS; an on-board digital network distribution system (OBDNDS) configured to accept the digitized RF transmit antenna element signals from the SOCFLS and perform packet based switched networking functions aboard the satellite; an on-board processor: packet based radio transport (OBPPBRT) configured to accept the digitized RF transmit antenna element signals in packetized form from the OBDNDS that de-multiplexes and de-packetizes the information streams; a plurality of on-board processor: digital-to-analog converters (OBPDAC) configured to accept the de-packetized digitized RF transmit antenna element signals from the OBPPBRT, and converting to a plurality of analog RF transmit antenna element signals; a transmit RF distribution system (TRFDS) configured to accept the analog RF transmit antenna element signals from the OBPDAC, and distribute through a plurality of analog RF chains; and a plurality of transmit antenna elements configured to accept a single analog RF transmit antenna element signal from the TRFDS to produce and transmit a plurality of RF service downlink beams to the service terminals.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subsystem further comprises a cloud computing gateway management and interface system (CCGMIS) configured to monitor the GOCFLS's performance and dynamically orchestrate the ground base subsystem, and the switching operations of the ground base subsystem between different CDCs and GOCFLSs supporting a satellite.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the CCGMIS is configured to orchestrate a scheduled and/or dynamic operation of a plurality of virtualized space link air interface system (VSLAIS) between active, dormant and/or modified states.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the CCGMIS is configured with a plurality of satellites' inter-coordination agreement parameters to monitor and control the user spot beam RF frequency and power coordination across the plurality of the satellites.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subsystem further comprises an OBPDAC configured to support operation across multiple RF spectrum bands; a TRFDS configured to support operation across multiple RF spectrum bands; a plurality of transmit antenna elements configured to support operation across multiple RF spectrum bands; and an antenna configured to support operation across multiple RF spectrum bands.

According to some additional aspects of the present disclosure, the subsystem further comprises a CCGMIS configured to orchestrate a scheduled and/or dynamic operation of a plurality of VSLAISs of various RF spectrum bands between active, dormant and/or modified states.

These and/or other objects, features, advantages, aspects, and/or embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reviewing the following brief and detailed descriptions of the drawings. Furthermore, the present disclosure encompasses aspects and/or embodiments not expressly disclosed but which can be understood from a reading of the present disclosure, including at least: (a) combinations of disclosed aspects and/or embodiments and/or (b) reasonable modifications not shown or described.

