Dynamic Networking for Continuable Transmission Optimization in LEO Satellite Networks

Abstract

Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite networks (LSN) are envisioned as complement and enhancement of terrestrial networks. The LEO constellation enables low-latency and high-speed data transmission for global users, especially in remote areas. However, due to the nature of mobility, LSN networking pattern must be pre-configured. Compared with a fixed mode, dynamic networking for LSN will bring more benefits, but simultaneously confront more challenges. The two main issues in dynamic LSN networking are how to increase network transmission capacities (NTC) and how to maintain an excellent NTC performance during service duration. Motivated by these two issues, we firstly build a time-varying connected graph to formulate the changes of LSN features over time. Then a Support-Vector-Machine (SVM) based LSN networking scheme is proposed to improve the NTC performance. Each link type is predicted by SVM model at each time slot to prioritize transmission for the type matching tasks. Next, a network performance graph (NPG) is constructed to show potential NTC performances with different time slot divisions. The dynamic programming is utilized to find the time slot sequence with optimal LSN service continuity. Simulation results show that the proposed SVM-based transmission contact planning with dynamic programming (NSDP) scheme can achieve superior NTC performance and service continuity, compared with existing LSN networking schemes.