The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 05, 2024
Filed:
May. 28, 2021
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, CA (US);
Martin S. McCormick, Studio City, CA (US);
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, CA (US);
Abstract
In an embodiment, an apparatus includes an antenna assembly configured to transmit and receive beams in time-varying directions, and a beam steering controller configured to determine a first beam pointing vector by searching for a satellite from a plurality of satellites included in the communication system. The antenna assembly maintains a communication link with a satellite of the plurality of satellites by determining a plurality of beam pointing vectors that converge to increasing signal quality measurements, the satellite associated with the first beam pointing vector. The beam steering controller is configured to obtain, from the satellite, satellite ephemeris information of the satellite and one or more of remaining satellites of the plurality of satellites. The beam steering controller is configured to determine an orientation of the antenna assembly based on the satellite ephemeris information and the plurality of beam pointing vectors.