Multi-antenna ground station for implementing a seamless handover with diversity from an origin moving satellite to a destination moving satellite, and corresponding handover method

Abstract

A ground station with P antennas for individually tracking a satellite out of an origin first moving satellite Sand a destination second moving satellite Scomprises, connected in series, a multi-channel reception and processing device and a combination device with configurable diversity, and comprises a device for managing diversity and seamless handover of a reception communication link from the origin first satellite Sto the destination second satellite SThe diversity and seamless handover management device is configured to manage and coordinate the execution of a succession of k seamless and unitary antenna handovers Bi, and during each seamless and unitary handover Bi, control the antennas, the multi-channel reception and processing device and the combination device with configurable diversity by determining and sending to them respectively: satellite acquisition pointing commands, and commands for alignment in time and in phase of the P signals received as input of the multi-channel reception and processing device generated as a function of measurements of time and phase deviations of P-signals received as input in relation to the signal received as input taken as reference signal, and a setpoint for selection of the output processed signals to be combined as a function of the scheduling of the handover from the first diversity configuration Cto the second diversity configuration Cand as a function of measurements of qualities of the signals received as input of the reception and processing device.