Architecture Study of Low Earth Orbit Commercial Satellite Data Relay Systems

This paper presents a systems architecture methodology that has been developed to analyse architectures for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) commercial satellite data relay systems, here named as Earth Orbiting Support Systems (EOSS). LEO relay constellations are crucial to provide affordable services to a whole range of missions for which traditional GEO data relay is not an option, due to antenna size or link capacity constraints. These missions are becoming more relevant in the space business nowadays due to the increasing role taken by small satellites in Earth Observation and Earth Science, in addition to the multitude of conventional Earth Observation spacecraft operating in Sun Synchronous Low Earth Orbits. The proposed methodology enumerates, evaluates, and downselects EOSS architectures for more detailed design work. The methodology is demonstrated on two case studies for a varying number of customers. Pareto efficient EOSS constellations are identified and illustrated for each case study. Designers can use the proposed model to better understand which pricing strategy and customer target fits their constellation project, and to architect their system accordingly choosing from a variety of Pareto optimal alternatives.