Satellite Fleet Operations Using a Global Ground Station Network

With the emergence of small satellites and satellite constellations, there have been drastic changes in the overall methodology of satellite operation. Previously, satellite operators tended to operate 1 to 5 satellites using 1 to 3 ground stations. In this newly emerging paradigm, satellite operators will be operating tens to hundreds of satellites using tens of ground stations. Because manual operation of all these satellites is just not realistic, receiving telemetry and transmitting pre-planned commands will need to be automated.

On the ground station side, we find another problem. In many cases, it is extremely difficult for a single ground station operator to own and maintain tens of ground stations due to the costs involved. In order to solve this, ground station operators must collaborate with one another to develop an integrated ground station network.

In this presentation, we discuss methods for operating multiple satellite constellations using an integrated ground station network consisting of multiple ground station operators. Three key issues and constraints are considered in this study.

– Resolving satellite pass scheduling conflicts between different satellite operators. While resolving scheduling conflicts is relatively easy for a single operator, when and how should pass scheduling conflicts be resolved between multiple constellations?

– Frequency allocation for each geographic region.

– Radio licenses for each country.