Design parameters evaluation of the IoT 5G information satellites constellation

Abstract

The paper presents technique for evaluating design parameters of a satellite constellation operating on the Internet-of-Things principle and making it possible to determine the impact on the constellation general design parameters on characteristics of the fifth generation 5G communication technology used in data transmission between spacecraft, as well as in communication between a spacecraft and the ground stations. Examples of the satellite communication constellation with the data transfer rate of 24 Gbit/s operating in circular orbits with the height of 1000 km are considered. It is shown that the upper limiting parameter for selecting the signal transmission frequency from the satellite to the Earth is the spacecraft power consumption, and the lower limits are the data transfer rate and the signal level. Besides, it is necessary to consider the antenna gain, which depends on the signal transmission frequency and has limitations. Results of studying dependence of the distance between the satellites in the Earth orbit constellation on the power consumed on board the spacecraft are presented. It is shown that with an increase in the number of satellites in constellation and due to a decrease in the onboard equipment power, the mass of a single spacecraft would decrease by 1.4 times. However, total mass of the constellation grows by almost 1.5 times, which potentially increases the project total cost.