A Parallel Discrete Event Simulation Engine for the Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite Constellation Networks

Low-Earth-Orbit satellite constellation networks(LEO-SCN)can provide low-cost,largescale,flexible coverage wireless communication services.High dynamics and large topological sizes characterize LEO-SCN.Protocol development and application testing of LEO-SCN are challenging to carry out in a natural environment.Simulation platforms are a more effective means of technology demonstration.Currently available simulators have a single function and limited simulation scale.There needs to be a simulator for full-featured simulation.In this paper,we apply the parallel discrete-event simulation technique to the simulation of LEO-SCN to support large-scale complex system simulation at the packet level.To solve the problem that single-process programs cannot cope with complex simulations containing numerous entities,we propose a parallel mechanism and algorithms LP-NM and LP-YAWNS for synchronization.In the experiment,we use ns-3 to verify the acceleration ratio and efficiency of the above algorithms.The results show that our proposed mechanism can provide parallel simulation engine support for the LEO-SCN.

Low Altitude Satellite Constellation for Futuristic Aerial-Ground Communications

This paper discusses the significance and prospects of low altitude small satellite aerial vehicles to ensure smooth aerial-ground communications for next-generation broadband networks.To achieve the generic goals of fifthgeneration and beyondwireless networks,the existing aerial network architecture needs to be revisited.The detailed architecture of low altitude aerial networks and the challenges in resource management have been illustrated in this paper.Moreover,we have studied the coordination between promising communication technologies and low altitude aerial networks to provide robust network coverage.We talk about the techniques that can ensure userfriendly control and monitoring of the low altitude aerial networks to bring forth wireless broadband connectivity to a new dimension.In the end,we highlight the future research directions of aerial-ground communications in terms of access technologies,machine learning,compressed sensing,and quantum communications.

Spacecraft potential variations of the Swarm satellites at low Earth orbital altitudes

In this study, we provide the first detailed analysis of variations in the spacecraft potential (Vs) of the three Swarm satellites, which are flying at about 400-500 km. Unlike previous studies that have investigated extreme charging events, usually with spacecraft potentials as negative as −100 V, this study is focused on variations of Swarm Vs readings, which fall within a few negative volts. The Swarm observations show that spacecraft at low Earth orbital (LEO) altitudes are charged only slightly negatively, varying between −7 V and 0 V, with the majority of recorded potentials at these altitudes clustering close to −2 V. However, a second peak of Vs data is found at −5.5 V, though the event numbers for these more-negative observations are less, by an order of magnitude, than for incidents near the −2 V peak. These two distinct Vs peaks suggest two different causes. We have thus divided the Swarm spacecraft Vs data into two categories: less-negatively charged (−5 < Vs < 0 V) and more-negatively-charged (−6.5 < Vs < −5 V). These two Vs categories exhibit different spatial and temporal distributions. The Vs observations in the first category remain relatively closer to 0 V above the magnetic equator, but become much more negative at low and middle latitudes on the day side;at high latitudes, these first-category Vs readings are relatively more-negative during local summer. Second-category Vs events cluster into two bands at the middle latitudes (between ±20°-50° magnetic latitude), but with slightly more negative readings at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region;at high latitudes, these rarer but more-negative second-category Vs events exhibit relatively more-negative values during local winter, which is opposite to the seasonal pattern seen in the first category. By comparing Vs data to the distributions of background plasma density at Swarm altitudes, we find for the first category that more-negative Vs readings are recorded at regions with higher background plasma density, while for the second category the more-negative Vs data are observed at regions with lower background plasma density. This can be explained as follows: the electron and ion fluxes incident on Swarm surface, whose differences determine the potential of Swarm, are dominated by the background “cold” plasma (due to ionization) and “hot” plasma (due to precipitated particles from magnetosphere) for the two Vs categories, respectively.

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.

WITHDRAWN: High-Resolution Radiometer for Remote Sensing of Solar Flare Activity from Low Earth Orbit Satellites

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

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.

A Novel Probability-Based Handoff Strategy for Multimedia LEO Satellite Communications

A novel bandwidth allocation strategy and a connection admission control technique arc proposed to improve the utilization of network resource and provide the network with better quality of service （QoS） guarantees in multimedia low earth orbit （LEO） satellite networks. Our connection admission control scheme, we call the probability based dynamic channel reservation strategy （PDR）, dynamically reserves bandwidth for real-time services based on their handoff probability. And the reserved bandwidth for real-time handoff connection can also be used by new connections under a certain probability determined by the mobility characteristics and bandwidth usage of the system. Simulation results show that our scheme not only lowers the call dropping probability （CDP） for Class I real-time service but also maintains the call blocking probability （CBP） to certain degree. Consequently, the scheme can offer very low CDP for rcal-time connections while keeping resource utilization high.

Precise orbit determination for low Earth orbit satellites using GNSS:Observations,models,and methods

Spaceborne global navigation satellite system(GNSS)has significantly revolutionized the development of autonomous orbit determination techniques for low Earth orbit satellites for decades.Using a state-of-the-art combination of GNSS observations and satellite dynamics,the absolute orbit determination for a single satellite reached a precision of 1 cm.Relative orbit determination(i.e.,precise baseline determination)for the dual satellites reached a precision of 1 mm.This paper reviews the recent advancements in GNSS products,observation processing,satellite gravitational and non-gravitational force modeling,and precise orbit determination methods.These key aspects have increased the precision of the orbit determination to fulfill the requirements of various scientific objectives.Finally,recommendations are made to further investigate multi-GNSS combinations,satellite high-fidelity geometric models,geometric offset calibration,and comprehensive orbit determination strategies for satellite constellations.

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.

GNSS rapid precise point positioning enhanced by low Earth orbit satellites

The Low Earth Orbit(LEO)satellites can be used to efectively speed up Precise Point Positioning(PPP)convergence.In this study,180 LEO satellites with a global distribution are simulated to evaluate their contribution to the PPP convergence.LEO satellites can give more redundant observations and improve satellite geometric distributions,particularly for a single Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS).The convergence speed of the PPP foat solution using the Global Positioning System(GPS,G)or BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS,C)single system as well as the G/C/Galileo navigation satellite system(Galileo,E)/GLObal NAvigation Satellite System(GLONASS,R)combined system with LEO satellites added is improved by 90.0%,91.0%,and 90.7%,respectively,with respect to the system without LEO satellites added.We introduced LEO observations to assist GNSS in PPP-AR(Ambiguity Resolution)and PPP-RTK(Real Time Kinematic).The success fx rate of a single system is signifcantly improved,and the Time-To-First-Fix(TTFF)of G and G/C/E is reduced by 86.4%and 82.8%,respectively,for the PPP-AR solution.We analyzed the positioning performance of LEO satellite assisted G/C/E PPP-RTK in the reference networks of diferent scales,namely diferent atmospheric delay interpolation accuracies.The success fx rate of the G/C/E combined system is improved from 86.8 to 94.9%,and the TTFF is reduced by 36.8%,with the addition of LEO satellites in the 57 km reference network.In the 110 km reference network,the success fx rate of the G/C/E combined system is improved from 64.0 to 88.6%,and the TTFF is reduced by 32.1%.GNSS PPP-RTK with adding the LEO satellites in the reference networks of diferent scales shows obvious improvement because the atmospheric correlation decreases with increasing distance from the reference networks.

MULTI-CLASS TRAFFIC QOS ROUTING FOR LEO SATELLITE NETWORKS

Due to the diversified demands of quality of service（QoS） in volume multimedia application, QoS routings for multiservice are becoming a research hotspot in low earth orbit（LEO） satellite networks. A novel QoS satellite routing algorithm for multi-class traffic is proposed. The goal of the routing algorithm is to provide the distinct QoS for different traffic classes and improve the utilization of network resources. Traffic is classified into three classes and allocated priorities based on their QoS requirements, respectively. A priority queuing mechanism guarantees the algorithm to work better for high-priority classes. In order to control the congestion, a blocking probability analysis model is built up based on the Markov process theory. Finally, according to the classification link-cost metrics, routings for different classes are calculated with the distinct QoS requirments and the status of network resource. Simulations verify the performance of the routing algorithm at different time and in different regions, and results demonstrate that the algorithm has great advantages in terms of the average delay and the blocking probability. Meanwhile, the robustness issue is also discussed.

Analysis of detection capabilities of LEO reconnaissance satellite constellation based on coverage performance

In the design problem of low earth orbit(LEO) reconnaissance satellite constellation, optimization of coverage performance is the design goal in most current methods. However,in the using process, the user only concerns with the detection capabilities rather than coverage performance. To establish the relationship between these two aspects, the reconnaissance processes of normal stochastic targets are considered and the mathematic models of detection processes are built. The indicators of coverage performance are used to evaluate the detection probability and expectation of detection time delay, which are important factors in reconnaissance constellation estimation viewed from military intelligence discipline. The conclusions confirmed by the final simulation will be useful in LEO reconnaissance constellation design, optimization and evaluation.

A DISTRIBUTED QOS ROUTING BASED ON ANT ALGORITHM FOR LEO SATELLITE NETWORK

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites provide short round-trip delays and are becoming in- creasingly important. One of the challenges in LEO satellite networks is the development of specialized and efficient routing algorithms. To satisfy the QoS requirements of multimedia applications, satellite routing protocols should consider handovers and minimize their effect on the active connections. A distributed QoS routing scheme based on heuristic ant algorithm is proposed for satisfying delay bound and avoiding link congestion. Simulation results show that the call blocking probabilities of this al- gorithm are less than that of Shortest Path First (SPF) with different delay bound.

A Power Reduction Method for Pilot Channel of LEO Satellite Based on Dynamic Compensation

Since the lower power requirement of code division multiple access(CDMA) than that of other multiple access, the CDMA technology is suitable to be used in low earth orbit(LEO) satellite communication system whose space power is limited due to the small size of satellite. The pilot channel of CDMA technology is very important for earth mobile station(EMS) in LEO system to recover carrier and code, but the power requirement of pilot channel is very higher than that of other channels. In this paper, a power reduction method for pilot channel is proposed. By the new method, the power of pilot channel transmitted from LEO satellite is reduced to a lower level. For improving the signal to noise ratio(SNR) of pilot channel with lower power, coherent integration is employed in EMS at the pre-processing stage. Considering the high dynamic situation of LEO satellite, the long period of time for integration will deteriorate the receiving performance of EMS, therefore, a dynamic compensation module is added to carrier tracking loop against the high dynamic. Meanwhile, the transfer function of the new tracking loop and the condition for steadystate zero error are deduced. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed approach.

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.

Long Range Wireless Sensor Network Employing Cooperative Relaying-UAVs via LEO Satellite

In this study we proposed unique system model for wireless sensor network data telemetry in a wide area and long range. This system is made up with a wide area wireless sensor nodes, UAVs （unmanned aerial vehicles） and LEO （low earth orbit） communication satellite. Wirelessly data signals relaying from sensor nodes on ground to flying UAVs and relaying them to LEO satellite were studied. Three cases of studies were conducted： system without UAV-relay case, one UAV-relay case and two UAV-relay cases. In all the cases, the outage probabilities of data signal channel in Rayleigh fading environment were analyzed and overall system performance was quantified while considering an adaptive decode-and-forward relaying protocol scheme for UAVs. Then, the overall system channel signal-to-noise ratio required in order to achieve a predefined outage probability was analyzed at different channel data rate.

PACKET ROUTING ALGORITHM FOR LEO SATELLITE CONSTELLATION NETWORK

A novel distributed packet routing algorithm for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks based on spiderweb topology is presented. The algorithm gives the shortest path with very low computational complexity and without on-board routing tables, which is suitable and practical for on-board processing. Simulation results show its practicability and feasibility.

Multicast Routing in Satellite Network

There are some problems in the dual-layer satellite MPLs metworks to be composed of LEO and MEO. In order to solve the problems, this paper presents a plan by means of unicast LSP to implement multicast in the dual-layer satellite MPLs networks. It has advantages of saving space and reducing extra charge.

A MEO Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System Constellation Scheme for China

A medium earth orbit （MEO） tracking and data relay satellite system （TDRSS） constellation scheme for China is proposed. This system consists of MEO satellite constellation, inter-satellite links （ISLs） and terrestrial gateway station, which can provide continuous bidirectional data transmission links between low altitude spacecrafls and the terrestrial gateway station in China. Theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed constellation can cover the global low altitude space sphere and earth surface of China continuously, and has a preferable practical perspective.