Microsatellite array and related method
US6002360A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 7, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 14, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 7, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04B7/18576
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A communication relay having a large number of free-flying, self-powered miniature spacecraft (10M) that cooperate to form a large antenna array with sufficient aperture and gain to focus transmit and receive beams much more accurately than in conventional satellite communication relays. The miniature spacecraft, or microsatellites, fly in a single constellation (10) but are allowed to drift in relative position because no rigid structure is provided to restrain their relative movement. Operation as a large phased-array antenna system is achieved by providing for accurate measurements of the microsatellite positions in real time. In one disclosed form of the array, a control satellite (20) conditions the microsatellites (10M) to form receive and transmit beams in desired directions. Received uplink signals are transmitted over communication crosslinks (42) to the control satellite (20), which forwards signals back to the microsatellites after conditioning them to form a transmit beam when forwarding the signals on as a downlink, transmission. A constellation (10) of microsatellites of the type disclosed may also be used as a deep-space communication relay, or as a radio-telescope.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.