Improvement of Battery Lifetime Based on Communication Resource Control in Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite Constellations

Abstract

The market needs for satellite communication networks have changed recently. Accordingly, low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, which are expected to meet these demands, have been attracting increasing attention. In the existing communication method that uses LEO satellite constellations, the satellite located in the vicinity of the satellite terminal that issues the communication request processes it, regardless of the state of its battery. However, this communication method shortens the lifetime of the satellite in instances of severe battery deterioration. Thus, this communication method is ineffective in large-scale satellite constellations wherein running costs are an issue. Therefore, in this study, we develop a communication method that controls the transmission power and transmission gain of a satellite antenna based on the deterioration state of the battery to increase the battery's lifetime. The reduction in running costs following the prolongation of the battery's lifetime will allow the development and use of large-scale LEO satellite constellations. The implemented system is expected to be able to meet future satellite communication demands. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through simulation.