Cooperative User-Scheduling and Resource Allocation Optimization for Intelligent Reflecting Surface Enhanced LEO Satellite Communication

Lower Earth Orbit(LEO) satellite becomes an important part of complementing terrestrial communication due to its lower orbital altitude and smaller propagation delay than Geostationary satellite. However, the LEO satellite communication system cannot meet the requirements of users when the satellite-terrestrial link is blocked by obstacles. To solve this problem, we introduce Intelligent reflect surface(IRS) for improving the achievable rate of terrestrial users in LEO satellite communication. We investigated joint IRS scheduling, user scheduling, power and bandwidth allocation(JIRPB) optimization algorithm for improving LEO satellite system throughput.The optimization problem of joint user scheduling and resource allocation is formulated as a non-convex optimization problem. To cope with this problem, the nonconvex optimization problem is divided into resource allocation optimization sub-problem and scheduling optimization sub-problem firstly. Second, we optimize the resource allocation sub-problem via alternating direction multiplier method(ADMM) and scheduling sub-problem via Lagrangian dual method repeatedly.Third, we prove that the proposed resource allocation algorithm based ADMM approaches sublinear convergence theoretically. Finally, we demonstrate that the proposed JIRPB optimization algorithm improves the LEO satellite communication system throughput.

OFDMA-Based Unsourced Random Access in LEO Satellite Internet of Things

This paper investigates the low earth orbit(LEO)satellite-enabled coded compressed sensing(CCS)unsourced random access(URA)in orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA)framework,where a massive uniform planar array(UPA)is equipped on the satellite.In LEO satellite communications,unavoidable timing and frequency offsets cause phase shifts in the transmitted signals,substantially diminishing the decoding performance of current terrestrial CCS URA receiver.To cope with this issue,we expand the inner codebook with predefined timing and frequency offsets and formulate the inner decoding as a tractable compressed sensing(CS)problem.Additionally,we leverage the inherent sparsity of the UPA-equipped LEO satellite angular domain channels,thereby enabling the outer decoder to support more active devices.Furthermore,the outputs of the outer decoder are used to reduce the search space of the inner decoder,which cuts down the computational complexity and accelerates the convergence of the inner decoding.Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Multi-network-region traffic cooperative scheduling in large-scale LEO satellite networks

A low-Earth-orbit(LEO)satellite network can provide full-coverage access services worldwide and is an essential candidate for future 6G networking.However,the large variability of the geographic distribution of the Earth’s population leads to an uneven service volume distribution of access service.Moreover,the limitations on the resources of satellites are far from being able to serve the traffic in hotspot areas.To enhance the forwarding capability of satellite networks,we first assess how hotspot areas under different load cases and spatial scales significantly affect the network throughput of an LEO satellite network overall.Then,we propose a multi-region cooperative traffic scheduling algorithm.The algorithm migrates low-grade traffic from hotspot areas to coldspot areas for forwarding,significantly increasing the overall throughput of the satellite network while sacrificing some latency of end-to-end forwarding.This algorithm can utilize all the global satellite resources and improve the utilization of network resources.We model the cooperative multi-region scheduling of large-scale LEO satellites.Based on the model,we build a system testbed using OMNET++to compare the proposed method with existing techniques.The simulations show that our proposed method can reduce the packet loss probability by 30%and improve the resource utilization ratio by 3.69%.

Covert LEO Satellite Communication Aided by Generative Adversarial Network Based Cooperative UAV Jamming

In this paper,we study the covert performance of the downlink low earth orbit(LEO)satellite communication,where the unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)is employed as a cooperative jammer.To maximize the covert rate of the LEO satellite transmission,a multi-objective problem is formulated to jointly optimize the UAV’s jamming power and trajectory.For practical consideration,we assume that the UAV can only have partial environmental information,and can’t know the detection threshold and exact location of the eavesdropper on the ground.To solve the multiobjective problem,we propose the data-driven generative adversarial network(DD-GAN)based method to optimize the power and trajectory of the UAV,in which the sample data is collected by using genetic algorithm(GA).Simulation results show that the jamming solution of UAV generated by DD-GAN can achieve an effective trade-off between covert rate and probability of detection errors when only limited prior information is obtained.

For LEO Satellite Networks: Intelligent Interference Sensing and Signal Reconstruction Based on Blind Separation Technology

In LEO satellite communication networks,the number of satellites has increased sharply, the relative velocity of satellites is very fast, then electronic signal aliasing occurs from time to time. Those aliasing signals make the receiving ability of the signal receiver worse, the signal processing ability weaker,and the anti-interference ability of the communication system lower. Aiming at the above problems, to save communication resources and improve communication efficiency, and considering the irregularity of interference signals, the underdetermined blind separation technology can effectively deal with the problem of interference sensing and signal reconstruction in this scenario. In order to improve the stability of source signal separation and the security of information transmission, a greedy optimization algorithm can be executed. At the same time, to improve network information transmission efficiency and prevent algorithms from getting trapped in local optima, delete low-energy points during each iteration process. Ultimately, simulation experiments validate that the algorithm presented in this paper enhances both the transmission efficiency of the network transmission system and the security of the communication system, achieving the process of interference sensing and signal reconstruction in the LEO satellite communication system.

Delay-optimal multi-satellite collaborative computation offloading supported by OISL in LEO satellite network

By deploying the ubiquitous and reliable coverage of low Earth orbit(LEO)satellite networks using optical inter satel-lite link(OISL),computation offloading services can be provided for any users without proximal servers,while the resource limita-tion of both computation and storage on satellites is the impor-tant factor affecting the maximum task completion time.In this paper,we study a delay-optimal multi-satellite collaborative computation offloading scheme that allows satellites to actively migrate tasks among themselves by employing the high-speed OISLs,such that tasks with long queuing delay will be served as quickly as possible by utilizing idle computation resources in the neighborhood.To satisfy the delay requirement of delay-sensi-tive task,we first propose a deadline-aware task scheduling scheme in which a priority model is constructed to sort the order of tasks being served based on its deadline,and then a delay-optimal collaborative offloading scheme is derived such that the tasks which cannot be completed locally can be migrated to other idle satellites.Simulation results demonstrate the effective-ness of our multi-satellite collaborative computation offloading strategy in reducing task complement time and improving resource utilization of the LEO satellite network.

Survivability model of LEO satellite constellation based on GERT with limited backup resources

Survivability is used to evaluate the ability of the satellite to complete the mission after failure,while the duration of maintaining performance is often ignored.An effective backup strategy can restore the constellation performance timely,and maintain good network communication performance in case of satellite failure.From the perspective of network utility,the low Earth orbit(LEO)satellite constellation survivable graphical eva-luation and review technology(GERT)network with backup satel-lites is constructed.A network utility transfer function algorithm based on moment generating function and Mason formula is proposed,the network survivability evaluation models of on-orbit backup strategy and ground backup strategy are established.The survivable GERT model can deduce the expected mainte-nance time of LEO satellite constellation under different fault states and the network utility generated during the state mainte-nance period.The case analysis shows that the proposed surviv-able GERT model can consider the satellite failure rate,backup satellite replacement rate,maneuver control replacement ability and life requirement,and effectively determine the optimal sur-vivable backup strategy for LEO satellite constellation with limi-ted resources according to the expected network utility.

NOMA-Based Collaborative Beam Hopping Frequency Allocation Mechanism for Future LEO Satellite Systems

Low Earth orbit(LEO) satellite systems provide terrestrial users with services that are not limited by geographical location. However, the conflict between existing allocation schemes and the business variability between beams is becoming increasingly prominent. Beam hopping technology allows for a more flexible and versatile approach to satellite resource allocation. This paper proposes a beam hopping pattern optimization scheme that jointly considers the interference threshold distance and beam service priority, reducing the inter-beam co-channel interference(CCI). In the cluster area, a non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)-based collaborative beam hopping(NCBH) scheme is proposed to minimize the cell-edge user(CEU) interference. Since there is a difference in channel gain between the CEU and cellcenter user(CCU), this scheme forms a NOMA cluster to perform power domain multiplexing and formulates a NOMA cluster pairing strategy according to the user location to reduce the CCI of the CEU. After NOMA cluster pairing, the optimal carrier frequency of the NOMA cluster is selected by a reinforcement learning algorithm. The simulation results verify the excellent performance of the proposed NCBH scheme regarding the user’s received power, transmission rate, and outage probability.

Resource allocation for uplink grant-free access in beam-hopping based LEO satellite systems

The low earth orbit(LEO) satellite system provides a promising solution for the global coverage of Internet of Things(IoT) services.Confronted with the sporadic uplink transmission from massive IoT terminals, this work investigates the grant-free access scheme and resource allocation algorithm for the beam-hopping(BH) based LEO satellite systems.To improve the packet success rate, the time slots are pre-allocated to each cell according to the number of terrestrial terminals and the probability of packet arrival.When the packets arrive, the terrestrial terminals perform contention-free or contention-based grant-free access with packet repetition in the time slots allocated to their cells.The analytical expression of the packet collision probability for the grant-free access scheme is derived to provide reference for the resource allocation.To reduce the computational complexity, a heuristic resource allocation algorithm is proposed to minimize the maximum cell packet collision probability in the system.Simulation results show that the proposed resource allocation scheme achieves lower packet collision probability and higher resource utilization ratio when compared with the uniform resource allocation scheme.

Jamming-Aided Secure Communication in Ultra-Dense LEO Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial Networks

The ultra-dense low earth orbit(LEO)integrated satellite-terrestrial networks(UDLEO-ISTN)can bring lots of benefits in terms of wide coverage,high capacity,and strong robustness.Meanwhile,the broadcasting and open natures of satellite links also reveal many challenges for transmission security protection,especially for eavesdropping defence.How to efficiently take advantage of the LEO satellite’s density and ensure the secure communication by leveraging physical layer security with the cooperation of jammers deserves further investigation.To our knowledge,using satellites as jammers in UDLEO-ISTN is still a new problem since existing works mainly focused on this issue only from the aspect of terrestrial networks.To this end,we study in this paper the cooperative secrecy communication problem in UDLEOISTN by utilizing several satellites to send jamming signal to the eavesdroppers.An iterative scheme is proposed as our solution to maximize the system secrecy energy efficiency(SEE)via jointly optimizing transmit power allocation and user association.Extensive experiment results verify that our designed optimization scheme can significantly enhance the system SEE and achieve the optimal power allocation and user association strategies.

Beam Position and Beam Hopping Design for LEO Satellite Communications

The numbers of beam positions(BPs)and time slots for beam hopping(BH)dominate the latency of LEO satellite communications.Aiming at minimizing the number of BPs subject to a predefined requirement on the radius of BP,a low-complexity user density-based BP design scheme is proposed,where the original problem is decomposed into two subproblems,with the first one to find the sparsest user and the second one to determine the corresponding best BP.In particular,for the second subproblem,a user selection and smallest BP radius algorithm is proposed,where the nearby users are sequentially selected until the constraint of the given BP radius is no longer satisfied.These two subproblems are iteratively solved until all the users are selected.To further reduce the BP radius,a duplicated user removal algorithm is proposed to decrease the number of the users covered by two or more BPs.Aiming at minimizing the number of time slots subject to the no co-channel interference(CCI)constraint and the traffic demand constraint,a low-complexity CCI-free BH design scheme is proposed,where the BPs having difficulty in satisfying the constraints are considered to be illuminated in priory.Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.

LEO卫星通信终端的RTT定位技术

低地球轨道(LEO)卫星通信互联网是未来满足万物智联、天空地一体化网络连接的6G移动通信网络重要组成部分。LEO卫星通信终端的移动性管理是LEO卫星网络运行管理的基本功能,而获取卫星终端的位置是实现移动性管理的基础。目前,全球卫星导航系统(GNSS)能够提供比较高的定位精度,但是当GNSS位置服务在受到环境遮蔽、外部干扰时可能失效,因此卫星通信终端需要一种独立于外部GNSS服务的自主定位方案。以未来LEO卫星互联网的通信信号为背景,提出一种基于往返时延(Round Trip Time,RTT)测量的LEO卫星通信终端自主定位体制,对OFDM卫星互联网信号的时延估计算法精度以及定位误差进行了理论计算和数字仿真,获得了本定位方案的均方根误差(RMSE)和几何稀度因子(GDOP),计算结果表明可以实现百米量级的快速定位,满足了移动性管理所需的千米量级位置信息的应用需求。

High-Risk LEO Satellite Network Path Detection Based on Spatial and Temporal Delay Anomaly Analysis

The gradual deployment of Low-Earth Orbit(LEO)mega constellations with inter-satellite links(ISLs)promises ubiquitous,low-latency,and high-throughput satellite network services.However,networked LEO satellites with ISLs are also at risk of routing attacks such as hijacking.Existing defenses against route hijacking in terrestrial networks can hardly work for the LEO satellite network due to its high spatiotemporal dynamics.To deal with it,we propose RPD,a high-risk routing path detection method for LEO mega-constellation networks.RPD detects abnormal high-risk LEO network paths by checking the consistency between the path delay and the geographical distance.This is efficiently achieved by combining in-band measurements and out-of-band statistical processing to detect the anomaly of the clustering feature in the reference delay matrix.RPD avoids the recalculation of the header cryptographic marks when the handover occurs,thus greatly reducing the cost and improving the performance of highrisk path detection.Experiments showed that the proposed RPD mechanism achieves an average detection accuracy of 91.64%under normal network conditions,and maintain about 89%even when congestion occurs in multiple areas of the network and measurement noise is considered.In addition,RPD does not require any cryptographic operation on the intermediate node,only minimal communication cost with excellent scalability and deployability.

Challenges,Opportunities,and Future Research in the Integration of 5G/6G Networks,LEO Satellites,and IoT for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development at ECSTAR

The rapid proliferation of connected IoT(Internet of Things)devices,along with the increasing demand for 5G mobile networks and ubiquitous high-speed connectivity,poses significant challenges in the telecommunications sector.To address these challenges,a comprehensive understanding of the integration of 5G/6G networks and LEO(Low Earth Orbit)satellite networks is required,forming the concept of“integrated networks”.Integration offers valuable advantages,including service continuity,wide-area coverage,and support for critical communications and emerging applications.This paper provides a high-level overview of the convergence of 5G/6G,LEO satellites,and IoT devices,shedding light on the technological challenges and standardization issues associated with the transition from 5G to 6G networks using NTNs(Non-Terrestrial Networks)based on LEO satellites.Furthermore,this research delves into the emerging social issues,potential possibilities,and the paradigm shift from the IoT to the IoI(Internet of Intelligence),which is poised to revolutionize the landscape of 6G wireless networks.By highlighting the interconnectedness of 5G/6G networks,LEO satellite systems,and IoT devices,it underscores the importance of leveraging these converging technologies to address environmental protection and achieve the United Nations SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals).In addition to providing valuable insights for readers seeking to comprehend the convergence of 5G/6G networks,LEO satellite systems,and IoT devices,this paper represents the outcomes of a comprehensive analysis conducted at the ECSTAR(Excellence Center of Space Technology and Research).Through an examination of technological challenges and advancements,it identifies future research directions and potential avenues for exploration at ECSTAR,thereby contributing to a broader understanding of integrated networks and their profound impact on future telecommunications systems.This research serves as a significant resource for advancing the knowledge and discourse surrounding the linkages between the convergence of these technologies,environmental protection,and the pursuit of the SDGs.

LoS MIMO Transmission for LEO Satellite Communication Systems

To provide global service with low latency, the broadband low earth orbits (LEO) satellite constellation based communication systems have become one of the focuses in academic and industry. To allow for wideband access for user links, the feeder link of LEO satellite is correspondingly required to support high throughput data communications. To this end, we propose to apply line-of-sight (LoS) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission for the feeder link to achieve spatial multiplexing by optimizing the antenna arrangement. Unlike the LoS MIMO applications for static scenarios, the movement of LEO satellites make it impractical to adjust the optimal antenna separation for all possible satellite positions. To address this issue, we propose to design the antenna placement to maximize the ergodic channel capacity during the visible region of the ground station. We first derive the closed-form probability distribution of the satellite trajectory in visible region. Based on which the ergodic channel capacity can be then calculated numerically. The antenna placement can be further optimized to maximize the ergodic channel capacity. Numerical results verify the derived probability distribution of the satellite trajectory, and show that the proposed LoS MIMO scheme can significantly increase the ergodic channel capacity compared with the existing SISO one.

OTFS Enabled NOMA for MMTC Systems over LEO Satellite

As a complement of terrestrial networks,non-terrestrial networks(NTN)have ad⁃vantages of wide-area coverage and service continuity.The NTN is potential to play an impor⁃tant role in the 5G new radio(NR)and beyond.To enable the massive machine type communi⁃cations(mMTC),the low earth orbit(LEO)satellite is preferred due to its lower transmission delay and path loss.However,the LEO satellite may generate notable Doppler shifts to de⁃grade the system performance.Recently,orthogonal time frequency space(OTFS)modulation has been proposed.It provides the opportunity to allocate delay Doppler(DD)domain resourc⁃es,which is promising for mitigating the effect of high mobility.Besides,as the LEO satellite constellation systems such as Starlink are thriving,the space spectrum resources have become increasingly scarce.Therefore,non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)is considered as a candidate technology to realize mMTC with limited spectrum resources.In this paper,the ap⁃plication of OTFS enabled NOMA for mMTC over the LEO satellite is investigated.The LEO satellite based mMTC system and the OTFS-NOMA schemes are described.Subsequently,the challenges of applying OTFS and NOMA into LEO satellite mMTC systems are discussed.Fi⁃nally,the potential technologies for the systems are investigated.

A multi-path routing algorithm of LEO satellite networks based on an improved ant colony system

Geography rectangle is used to reduce signaling overhead of the LEO satellite networks.Moreover,a multi-path routing algorithm based on an improved ant colony system(MPRA-AC) is proposed.Matrix indicating the importance of the link between satellites is introduced into MPRA-AC in order to find the optimal path more quickly.Simulation results show that MPRA-AC reduces the number of iterations to achieve a satisfactory solution.At the same time,the packet delivery ratio of LEO satellite networks when running MPRA-AC and DSR-LSN(dynamic source routing algorithm for LEO satellite networks) is compared.The packet delivery ratio is about 7.9%lower when running DSR-LSN.Moreover,because of the mechanism of active load balancing of MPRA-AC,simulation results show that MPRA-AC outperforms DSR-LSN in link utilization when data packets are transmitted in the networks.

Key issues of multiple access technique for LEO satellite communication systems

The large carrier frequency shift caused by the high-speed movement of satellite (Doppler effects) and the propagation delay on the up-down link are very critical issues in an LEO satellite communication system, which affects both the selection and the implementation of a suitable access method. A Doppler based multiple access technique is used here to control the flow and an MPRMA-HS protocol is proposed for the application in LEO satellite communication systems. The extended simulation trials prove that the proposed scheme seems to be a very promising access method.

Rain Attenuation Impact on Performance of Satellite Ground Stations for Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) Satellites in Europe

Low Earth Orbits (LEO) satellites are used for public communication and for scientific purposes. These satellites provide opportunities for investigations for which alternative techniques are either difficult or impossible to apply. Ground stations have to be established in order to communicate with such satellites. Usually these satellites communicate with ground stations at S-band. The communication quality depends on the performance of the satellite ground station, in addition to that of satellite. The performance of the satellite ground stations is expressed through Figure of Merit. The aim of this paper is to analyze the rain attenuation impact on the performance of the respective ground station. Rain attenuation depends on geographical location where the satellite ground station is implemented. In order to compare this effect on satellite ground station performance, some cities of Europe are considered. Finally, the rain attenuation impact on the satellite ground station Figure of Merit for the hypothetical satellite ground station installed in Prishtina is analyzed.

HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响

通常使用无电离层(IF)线性组合(LC)消除低地球轨道(LEO)卫星简化动力学精密定轨(POD)一阶电离层延迟误差,忽略了高阶电离层(HOI)延迟误差。随着LEO卫星POD技术的发展,计算不同轨道高度的HOI延迟并探索其变化已成为进一步提高POD精度的重要手段。首先,使用国际参考电离层-2016(IRI-2016)和国际地磁参考场第13代(IGRF-13)模型,计算电离层穿刺点(IPP)位置和地磁场强度。其次,使用平滑星载GNSS数据计算电离层斜路径总电子含量(STEC)。然后,分别计算GOCE、GRACE-A和SWARM-A/B卫星的二阶和三阶电离层延迟。最后,评估了HOI延迟对LEO卫星重叠轨道分析、卫星激光测距(SLR)检核和精密科学轨道(PSO)比较结果的影响。实验结果表明:HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响大约在毫米至厘米的数量级上;HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD外符合精度的影响分别达到0.92,0.22,0.21和0.18 mm;随着LEO卫星轨道高度的增加,HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响减小。