Alcatel

Claude Argagnon

Philippe Voisin

Gerard Caille

Laurent Roullet

Luc Delamotte

Jean Bouin

R&eacute;gis Lenormand

G&eacute;rald Chretien

The invention concerns a method of communication between ground stations via satellites traveling around the Earth and forming part of a constellation overflying at least a major portion of the Earth, each ground station communicating during a particular time with a given satellite of the constellation. Two ground stations communicate via respective given satellites with which the stations are respectively communicating. To minimize the control means on board each satellite, the two satellites communicate via a predetermined communications link. A link of the above kind generally comprises one or more predetermined satellites.

Method of communication between earth stations using a constellation of satellites

A transmission relay system includes a receive antenna with first radiating elements, a transmit antenna with second radiating elements, and processing devices through which the first radiating elements and the second radiating elements are connected. The processing devices are in the form of processing systems all of which induce the same propagation time-delay. Each system connects a given first radiating element to a corresponding given second radiating element defined firstly by an angular position relative to a second axis of symmetry specific to the transmit antenna offset substantially 180.degree. relative to an angular position of the given first radiating element relative to a first axis of symmetry specific to the receive antenna and parallel to the second axis of symmetry and secondly by an eccentricity in the transmit antenna which is a function of an eccentricity of the given first radiating element in the receive antenna.

Transmission relay system

Growing community of inventors

Tournefeuille, France

Claude Argagnon