Coverage optimization for the preliminary design of multibeam satellite systems using regular and irregular beams

Resumen

VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellites) play a key role in future 5G networks to complement terrestrial networks . VHTS satellite systems suppose a uniform traffic requested by beam, but it is anticipated that future traffic demands will be non-uniform in the service area. The uniform distribution of traffic capacity means that some beams are overstretched, while others may not have enough resources. This results in real VHTS systems not fully utilizing their capacity advantage. Therefore, the design of the new generation of satellite payloads must be able to have a flexible allocation of resources. The optimization of the coverage is an intermediate step and too important in the design of the flexible payload. In this sense, this article presents a preliminary analysis for the optimization of coverage. We explain the definition of the problem, as well as the approach of the methodology to analyze it in a study case.