Iostar Corporation

Teledesic LLC

Leo One Ip, L.l.c.

Pascal's Pocket Corporation

Calling Communications Corporation

James R Stuart

Robert F D'Ausilio

Franklin H Williams, Jr

Thomas N Giaccherini

Mark Alan Sturza

David Palmer Patterson

Bari M Southard

Douglas Gene Lockie

Edward F Tuck

Roger X Lenard

Alison K Brown

Moshe L Liron

Vilnis G Grencions

Asu Ram Jha

Michael Keddington

Donald A Ashford

H Beat Wackernagel, Deceased

Douglas Sallen

David A Bayer

Jose Manuel Villalvazo

Arthur K Peters

Erik J Goldman

Steven W Smith

David L Payne

Methods and apparatus for a Personal Digital Asset Manager are disclosed. One embodiment of the present invention is a miniature electronic device, which functions as a fully-powered personal computer, which stores digital files and content, and which communicates wirelessly with external input and output devices and a network such as the Internet. In one embodiment, the present invention may be carried in a pocket or purse, clipped on a belt or incorporated into a pair of glasses.

Personal digital asset manager

A preferred In Orbit Transportation & Recovery System (IOSTAR&#x2122;) () includes a space tug powered by a nuclear reactor (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; includes a collapsible boom () connected at one end to a propellant tank () which stores fuel for an electric propulsion system (). This end of the boom () is equipped with docking hardware () that is able to grasp and hold a satellite () and as a means to refill the tank (). Radiator panels () mounted on the boom () dissipate heat from the reactor (). A radiation shield () is situated next to the reactor () to protect the satellite payload () at the far end of the boom (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; () will be capable of accomplishing rendezvous and docking maneuvers which will enable it to move spacecraft between a low Earth parking orbit and positions in higher orbits or to other locations in our Solar System.

In orbit space transportation and recovery system

Orbit space transportation and recovery system

A preferred In Orbit Transportation & Recovery System (IOSTAR&#x2122;)() includes a space tug powered by a nuclear reactor (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; includes a collapsible boom () connected at one end to a propellant tank () which stores fuel for an electric propulsion system (). This end of the boom () is equipped with docking hardware () that is able to grasp and hold a satellite () and as a means to refill the tank (). Radiator panels () mounted on the boom () dissipate heat from the reactor (). A radiation shield () is situated next to the reactor () to protect the satellite payload () at the far end of the boom (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; () will be capable of accomplishing rendezvous and docking maneuvers which will enable it to move spacecraft between a low Earth parking orbit and positions in higher orbits or to other locations in our Solar System.

A preferred In Orbit Transportation & Recovery System (IOSTAR&#x2122;)() includes a space tug powered by a nuclear reactor (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; includes a collapsible boom () connected at one end to a propellant tank () which stores fuel for an electric propulsion system (). This end of the boom () is equipped with docking hardware () that is able to grasp and hold a satellite () and as a means to refill the tank (). Radiator panels () mounted on the boom () dissipate heat from the reactor (). A radiation shield () is situated next to the reactor () to protect the satellite payload () at the far end of the boom (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; () will be capable of accomplishing rendezvous and docking maneuvers which will enable it to move fully deployed spacecraft between a low Earth parking orbit and positions in higher orbits or to other locations in our Solar System.

An In Orbit Transportation & Recovery System (IOSTAR&#x2122;) (). One preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a space tug powered by a nuclear reactor (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; includes a collapsible boom () connected at one end to a propellant tank () which stores fuel for an electric propulsion system (). This end of the boom () is equipped with docking hardware () that is able to grasp and hold a satellite () and as a means to refill the tank (). Radiator panels () mounted on the boom () dissipate heat from the reactor (). A radiation shield () is situated next to the reactor () to protect the satellite payload () at the far end of the boom (). The IOSTAR&#x2122; () will be capable of accomplishing rendezvous and docking maneuvers which will enable it to move spacecraft between a low Earth parking orbit and positions in higher orbits or to other locations in our Solar System.

The Satellite Communication System disclosed in the specification is a dynamic constellation (C) of satellites (S). The present invention is capable of offering continuous voice, data and video service to customers across the globe on the land, on the sea, or in the air. The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a low Earth orbit satellite system that includes 40 spacecraft (S) traveling in each of 21 orbital planes at an altitude of 700 km (435 miles). This relatively large number of satellites employed by the preferred embodiment was selected to provide continuous coverage of the Earth's surface at a high minimum mask angle (1230a) of forty degrees. Each of the individual 840 spacecraft (S) functions as an independent sovereign switch of equal rank which knows the position of its neighbors, and independently handles traffic without ground control. The satellites (S) are capable of transporting calls to millions of customers using portable (P), mobile (M) and fixed (F) residential and business terminals, and gateways (G) to public phone networks. The constellation uses the 20 and 30 GHz frequency bands for communications between Earth and the constellation (C), and the 60 GHz band for communicating among the satellites (S). The present invention is designed to support in excess of 2,000,000 simultaneous connections, representing over 20,000,000 users at typical business usage levels, and over 350 billion minutes of use per year. Only a system such as the preferred embodiment, which utilizes 840 satellites at a preferred minimum mask angle of forty degrees, can accomplish these challenging objectives.

Satellite communication system

A communication system and methods for sharing a common communication frequency, without interfering with a second communication system which has a plurality of satellites operating in geostationary orbits (GO) and ground stations (GS) which communicate with the satellites (GEO) on the common communication frequency, is disclosed. Conventional geostationary satellites broadcast in C and K.sub.u bands. Ground stations (GS) which receive these signals must have their antennas pointed toward the plane of the Equator (EQ). Satellites (10) which occupy inclined orbits (LO) and communicate with terrestrial terminals (12) propagate beams of energy that do not intersect the plane of the Earth's Equator. Terrestrial terminals (12) in the northern hemisphere communicate with a satellite (10) only when the sub-satellite point of the satellite (10) is at a latitude more northerly than the terrestrial terminal (12). Terrestrial terminals (12) in the southern hemisphere communicate with a satellite (10) only when the sub-satellite point of the satellite (10) is at a latitude more southerly than the terrestrial terminal (12). The spatial isolation of signals achieved by this novel pointing method insures that both the geostationary and inclined orbit satellite systems do not interfere with each other.

Frequency sharing for satellite communication system

A satellite communications system is disclosed. One of the embodiments of the present invention includes six to fourteen satellites (12) which operate in a single Equatorial orbit (14). These satellites (12) are capable of providing communications services to locations on the Earth (E) which are within thirty degrees of the Equator (16). Another embodiment of the invention utilizes both the single Equatorial orbit plane (14) in combination with other satellites (12) moving in polar or inclined orbits (60, 63, 210). The embodiment that combines satellites (12) in Equatorial (14), polar (60) and inclined (63, 210) orbits will provide a wide variety of data services to virtually any point on the globe. In the preferred embodiments, the satellites (12) are designed to operate in a circular low Earth orbit at an altitude of from 800 to 1852 kilometers. Although the preferred embodiments utilize this specific range of altitudes, the satellites (12) are designed to fly in any orbit that is not a geosynchronous orbit. The satellites (12) are also capable of speeding packetized messages (225) around the globe either by working in combination with relay stations (34, 61, 65) on the ground, by transferring message payloads (225) across different orbits via the relay stations (34, 61, 65) or by conveying packetized payloads (225) through the use of inter-satellite links (55).

Satellite system using equatorial and polar orbit relays

One of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is a telecommunications system that includes twelve satellites (S) which are equally deployed in four polar low Earth orbits (OR). A preferred embodiment provides a system for transmitting a message between two terminals (G) on the ground through a store-and-forward network. A first satellite (S1/OR1) traveling in a first polar orbit (OR1) receives and stores a message from a sending terminal (GA) on the surface of the Earth (E). As the first satellite (S1/OR1) passes over the North Pole (NP), it transmits the stored message from the sending terminal (GA) down to a relay station (GB) located near the North Pole (NP). The message is stored at this polar relay station (GB) until a second satellite (S1/OR2) moving in a second orbit (OR2) flies within range. At that time, the polar relay station (GB) sends the stored message up to the second satellite (S1/OR2), which stores the message and finally transmits it to a receiving terminal (GC) somewhere on the ground. This store-and-forward relay method takes advantage of the geometry of a system that employs more than one satellite which each operate in different polar orbits. The different polar orbits allow the satellites to fly over different parts of the globe frequently. The rotation of the Earth beneath the satellites allows every satellite in the system to fly over vast regions of the Earth's surface and, therefore, to communicate with a very large number of terminals located virtually anywhere in the world. The present invention provides a wide variety of communication systems without requiring costly and complex intersatellite links.

Polar relay system for satellite communication

A series of spacecraft designs (10, 42 and 52) for a Satellite Communication System is disclosed. One of the preferred embodiments of the invention called 'Gearsat.TM.' (10) comprises a hollow torus which inflates when it reaches orbit. When viewed from the side along its circumference, Gearsat (10) looks like two flattened pyramids sharing a common base. Phased array antenna panels (14) are deployed across the top of the pyramid along an exterior cylindrical surface (12), while twin arrays of solar cells (16) cover the slanted surfaces. The satellite (10) rotates about its center, and individual antenna panels (14) are spatially synchronized to transmit and receive signals from particular regions on the ground. An alternative embodiment, called 'Batsat.TM.' (42, 52), includes a central cylindrical body (B) and a plurality of substantially circular linked antenna and solar/thermal panels (A1-A9 and S1 and S2) which carry individual antennas (X) and solar/thermal surfaces (Y). All of the embodiments (10, 42 and 52) are capable of being nested or stacked in a compact arrangement that fit within the payload bay of a launch vehicle (L).

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, CO, United States of America

James R Stuart