Ast & Science, LLC

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Inc.

Huiwen Yao

Abel Avellan

Adam H Halperin

Javier Hernandez Bahlsen

Sriram Jayasimha

Ryan D Honour

Aitor Martinez De Osaba Fernandez

Zhi Zhong Yu

William Edward Bialke

George D Case

Darren J Zanon

Daniele Addari

Darko Filipi

Mariano T Gomez

Avi Braun

Christos Kasparis

Peter King

David Wheeler

Praveen Kumar Tangutoori

Mark Andrew Benson

Martin Edwards

Mohammad Sarehraz

An antenna array has a plurality of square or rectangular antenna assemblies. Each assembly includes a first antenna assembly surface with a solar cell and a second antenna assembly with one or more antenna elements. The antenna assemblies are interconnected without gaps therebetween to form a first contiguous array surface comprised of the first antenna assembly surfaces and a second contiguous array surface comprised of the second antenna assembly surfaces. The antenna assemblies are connected together by mechanically stored-energy connectors, such as spring tape, that self-deploy the array in space without the use of electric energy.

Low earth orbit mechanical deployable structure

A spacecraft has a flat antenna array having an edge and a middle portion. A reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel is coupled to the antenna array to roll and/or pitch the antenna array in small magnitudes. The reconfigurable reaction-momentum has a reaction operating state or mode (high-torque, low momentum) and a momentum operating state or mode (low-torque, high momentum). A thruster is coupled to the antenna array to move the antenna array.

Momentum wheels and reaction wheels for objects in space

OFDM-BPSK symbol sequences are used for mutual-coupling based phase array calibration. Such substitution allows phase to be estimated more accurately using a given estimation duration without compromising other estimates (amplitude and group delay) accuracies.

Mutual coupling based calibration

Within a satellite communications system, a base station communicates with standard compliant user equipment (UE) via a satellite having a field of view. The base station has a processor that instructs the satellite to generate a wide beam signal covering a plurality of cells in the field of view, and detects an access request from a user equipment within the plurality of cells over the wide beam signal. The base station, comprising a processing device such as an eNodeB, then generates one or more network broadcast/access signals that is uplink to a satellite and broadcasted via one or more nominal beams generated by the satellite, covering all the inactive cells, one of the plurality of cells having the access request.

Network access management

A satellite communication system includes a phased antenna array having a field of view (FoV) and configured to communicate with a plurality of cells in the FoV via a plurality of beams. Each of the plurality of beams is associated with one of the plurality of cells. A phased antenna array is configured to apply adaptive taper selection, based on both the satellite position (in relation to a satellite service beam) and its surrounding interference scenario.

Adaptive taper selection for beamforming

A communication system has a control module with a control processing device, and a plurality of common modules. Each of the common modules has a common processing device. The control module and the plurality of common modules are connected with at least one adjacent common module to form a communication array. The control module and the common modules communicate via a first routing path having a first path of common modules of the plurality of common modules, and a second routing path having a second path of common modules of the plurality of common modules different than the first path of common modules. The control module and the plurality of common modules communicate via the second routing path when one of the first set of common modules fails.

Phase array routing connectivity

A satellite communication system leverages the carrier offset detection capability of the demodulator contained in an on-board modem of M&C channel. The modem detects the frequency error Δf introduced in the signal path from the output of the base station at ground to the output of baseband conversion on the satellite, by analyzing the baseband signal at the baseband conversion to estimate the received carrier f'c and subtracting it the from the expected frequency (fc).

System with modulated signal to compensate frequency errors in LTE signals

An antenna assembly has a solar layer having one or more solar cells generating solar power, an antenna layer connected to the solar layer and having electronic components utilizing the solar power generated by the solar layer, and a thermal dissipation device dissipating heat locally at the antenna assembly. A large number of antenna assemblies are connected to form an antenna array in which heat is generated locally at each antenna assembly and dissipated locally at each antenna assembly.

Thermal management system for structures in space

A phased array has a plurality of antenna element structures each having a planar surface. The antenna element structures are connected to form a structural array with a planar array surface. A processing device generates a beam having a beam phase at the plurality of antenna element structures, monitors and determines in real time for structural displacement of the plurality of structures, determines a correction, and adjusts the beam phase based on the correction.

Compensating oscillations in a large-aperture phased array antenna

A base station for communication with a terminal station having a plurality of terminal station antennas. The base station has a plurality of directional antennas, each of the plurality of directional antennas in communication with satellites in view. The base station also has a processing device (e.g., eNodeB) to transmit each of the multiple base-station antenna signals via each of the plurality of directional antennas to satellites and/or the beams of the same satellite seen by the terminal station for retransmission to the plurality of terminal station antennas.

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Potomac, MD, United States of America

Huiwen Yao