WO2025015955A1 - On-satellite regenerative satellite network operating method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application discloses an on-satellite regenerative satellite network operating method and system, solving the problem in the prior art that satellite regenerative transmission of R17 and R18 NTN systems cannot be networked. The on-satellite regenerative satellite network operating method is applied to a satellite having a partial base station function, and comprises the following steps: between a PDCP layer and an RLC layer, or between the RLC layer and an MAC layer, providing an adaptive layer having a routing function; the adaptive layer determining a next address and a path ID in a received packet header; when a destination address is not the current satellite node, selecting an egress link corresponding to a corresponding inter-satellite link on the basis of the path ID, and transmitting a data packet to a DU corresponding to the selected egress link; and when the destination address is the current satellite node, selecting an egress link corresponding to a service link, and transmitting the data packet to a DU corresponding to the selected egress link. According to the present application, a constructed satellite achieves lower network delay and more flexible deployment.

Description

On-board regenerative satellite network operation method and system

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on July 18, 2023, with application number 202310882985.4 and invention name “A method and system for operating an on-board regenerative satellite network”. The entire contents of the prior application are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of space communication technology, and in particular to an on-board regenerative satellite network operation method and system.

Background Art

For space communication services, 3GPP defines non-terrestrial networks (NTN) to provide global network and information services for users in the air, space, land and sea. NTN networks refer to networks that use radio frequency and information processing resources carried on high, medium and low orbit satellites or other high-altitude communication platforms to provide communication services to users.

In the 5G-based satellite communication system, the user terminal completes information interaction with the data network through the satellite service link (Service Link) and the feeder link (Feeder Link) via the gateway. The satellite platform can be a high, medium or low orbit satellite. According to the satellite's onboard payload capacity, it can be applied to two typical scenarios: transparent forwarding and onboard regeneration. Among them, the transparent forwarding mode means that the satellite will not process the signal, waveform, etc. in the communication service, and only forwards the data as a radio frequency amplifier; the regenerative mode means that in addition to radio frequency amplification, the satellite also has processing capabilities such as modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching, and routing. For satellites based on the regenerative mode, because they have certain onboard processing capabilities, they have the ability to provide terminals with partial access network functions (DU) or all access network functions (CU+DU), and even core network functions. In this mode, satellites can exchange information between satellites through inter-satellite links (ISL).

For R17 and R18 NTN systems, only the NTN system architecture in transparent forwarding mode has been standardized. Satellites in regenerative mode have not yet been discussed. Therefore, an NTN system architecture based on on-board regeneration mode is needed.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide an on-board regeneration satellite network operation method and system, which solves the problem that the satellite regeneration transmission of the R17 and R18 NTN systems in the prior art cannot be networked.

The present application embodiment provides an on-board regenerative satellite network operation method, comprising the steps of:

An adaptation layer with a routing function is provided between the PDCP layer and the RLC layer or between the RLC layer and the MAC layer;

The adaptive layer determines the next hop address and path ID in the received packet header;

In response to the destination address not being the current service satellite node, selecting an egress link corresponding to the corresponding intersatellite link according to the path ID, and delivering the data packet to the selected egress link; the service satellite nodes are connected via intersatellite links;

In response to the destination address being the current service satellite node, an egress link corresponding to the service link is selected, and the data packet is transmitted to the selected egress link; the service satellite node and the terminal are connected via the service link.

Furthermore, the method further comprises the steps of:

The service satellite node receives data packets sent by the gateway through the feeder link;

The current serving satellite node is connected to the inter-satellite link interface unit of the next serving satellite node through an inter-satellite link via a service link interface unit;

The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

Furthermore, the method further comprises the steps of:

The service satellite node receives data packets sent by the gateway through the feeder link;

The current serving satellite node is connected to the service link interface unit inter-satellite link of the next serving satellite node through the service link interface unit;

The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

Furthermore, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal via a single service satellite node, the transmission method further includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the serving link.

Furthermore, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal via a single service satellite node, the transmission method further includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit terminating at a gateway.

Furthermore, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, the transmission method also includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current service node, delivering the data packet to other service satellite nodes via an intersatellite link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the service link.

Furthermore, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, the transmission method also includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current serving satellite node, delivering the data packet to other serving satellite nodes via an intersatellite link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit being terminated at a gateway.

An embodiment of the present application also provides an on-board regenerative satellite network system, which is used to implement the method described in any of the above embodiments, and includes a satellite node, a ground gateway and a routing unit. The satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit. The service link interface unit is used to connect to a terminal. The inter-satellite link interface unit is used to connect to a ground gateway. Adjacent satellites are connected to the inter-satellite link interface unit through a service link interface unit, or are connected between two inter-satellite link interface units. The ground gateway includes a gateway centralized unit and a gateway distributed unit. The gateway centralized unit is used to uniformly schedule and control the gateway distributed units. The gateway distributed unit is used to provide a feed connection with the satellite. The routing unit is used for inter-satellite routing calculation.

Furthermore, the gateway is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link. The service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit. The current service satellite node is connected to the inter-satellite link interface unit of the next service satellite node via the service link interface unit. The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

Furthermore, the gateway is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link. The service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit. The current service satellite node is connected to the service link interface unit of the next service satellite node via an inter-satellite link. The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

At least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of the present application can achieve the following beneficial effects:

The satellite constructed by this application has lower network latency and more flexible deployment. Satellites in renewable mode can transmit information through inter-satellite links (ISL) without mapping the information back to the ground. There is no need for many gateways on the ground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the overall network architecture of the prior art;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an example of a prior art network architecture;

FIG3 is a flow chart of an on-board regeneration satellite network operation method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a structural diagram of an on-board regeneration satellite network system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a structural diagram of another on-board regeneration satellite network system according to an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solution of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

The technical solutions provided by various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the overall network architecture of the prior art.

The network architecture of the 5G-based satellite communication system mainly considers geosynchronous orbit satellites and low-orbit satellites as typical satellite platforms. Based on the research progress of NTN in the 3GPP R16 and R17 stages, research is mainly carried out on satellite communication systems based on the transparent forwarding mode, forming an overall network architecture as shown in Figure 1.

Among them, both high-orbit and low-orbit satellites serve as important nodes of the access network, providing access services to terminals through the function of transparently forwarding signals between business links and feeder links.

The terminals mainly cover handheld terminals and VSAT terminals.

Both high-orbit and low-orbit satellites can provide access services for user terminals. Low-orbit satellites are mainly responsible for communication services with high transmission delay requirements due to their shorter round-trip communication delay compared to geosynchronous orbits; while geosynchronous orbit satellites can provide higher guarantees for the return of data services due to their geostationary and wide coverage.

The gateway is a communication node for data exchange between satellites and backhaul networks. In order to realize data backhaul to the data network, both geosynchronous orbit satellites and low-orbit satellites must pass through the gateway. In the 5G-based satellite communication system, geosynchronous orbit satellites and low-orbit satellites can use 5G air interfaces to access ground gateways to achieve data landing, reuse the ground 5G industry chain, reduce the complexity of satellite design and operation, and further ensure the continuity of communication services.

The satellite acts as a transparent bent-pipe transmission between users and the ground-based access network. It is completely transparent to the 5G NR protocol including the physical layer, and has no impact on the 5G network architecture, transmission protocols and systems.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of a network architecture of the prior art.

As shown in Figure 2(1), the satellite payload implements frequency conversion, with one RF amplifier in each of the uplink and downlink directions, corresponding to one analog RF repeater. Therefore, the satellite copies and forwards the air interface signal from the feeder link to the service link, and vice versa.

Based on the processing and forwarding network architecture, it is necessary to add some/all access network functions on the satellite. It can realize unified access authentication without user perception, and realize unified, intelligent and flexible scheduling of network resources, topology, functions and data. However, this mode requires increasing on-board processing capabilities and has high requirements for satellite payload design.

There are two types of network architecture based on on-board processing and forwarding.

The first type of satellite acts as a 5G access network base station, implementing the full stack functions of gNB on board, as shown in Figure 2(2).

The second method is that because 5G RAN has the function of CU-DU separation, the CU can be placed on the ground station for processing, reducing the burden on the satellite payload. The satellite payload implements the gNB-DU function, and the ground gateway station implements the gNB-CU function. The satellite radio interface (SRI) transmits the F1 protocol between the ground CU and the satellite DU. As shown in Figure 2(3).

FIG3 is a flow chart of an on-board regeneration satellite network operation method according to an embodiment of the present application.

The present application embodiment provides an on-board regenerative satellite network operation method, comprising the steps of:

Step 101: An adaptation layer with a routing function is set between the PDCP layer and the RLC layer or between the RLC layer and the MAC layer;

The adaptation layer may be located between the PDCP layer and the RLC layer, or between the RLC layer and the MAC layer.

Step 102: The adaptive layer determines the next hop address and path ID in the received packet header;

Step 103: In response to the destination address not being the current serving satellite node, selecting an egress link corresponding to the corresponding intersatellite link according to the path ID, and delivering the data packet to the selected egress link;

The service satellite nodes are connected via inter-satellite links.

Step 104: In response to the destination address being the current serving satellite node, selecting an egress link corresponding to the serving link, and transmitting the data packet to the selected egress link;

The service satellite node and the terminal are connected via a service link.

The routing function is executed according to the next address and path ID in the packet header. If the destination address is not the current satellite node, the egress link corresponding to the corresponding intersatellite link is selected according to the path ID, and the data packet is passed to the DU corresponding to the selected egress link.

If the destination address is the current satellite node, the egress link corresponding to the service link is selected, and the data packet is delivered to the DU corresponding to the selected egress link.

Furthermore, the functions of the adaptation layer also include QoS flow mapping, flow control and congestion control.

The adaptive layer functions include: routing, QoS flow mapping, flow control and congestion control.

Furthermore, the method further comprises the steps of:

The service satellite node receives data packets sent by the gateway through the feeder link;

The current serving satellite node is connected to the inter-satellite link interface unit of the next serving satellite node through an inter-satellite link via a service link interface unit;

The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

Furthermore, the method further comprises the steps of:

The service satellite node receives data packets sent by the gateway through the feeder link;

The current serving satellite node is connected to the service link interface unit inter-satellite link of the next serving satellite node through the service link interface unit;

The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

For example, the service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit.

An embodiment of the present application also provides an on-board regeneration satellite network system for implementing the method described in any one of the above embodiments, comprising a satellite node 1, a ground gateway station 2 and a routing unit.

The satellite node comprises a service link interface unit 11 and an inter-satellite link interface unit 12 .

The service link interface unit is used to connect to a terminal.

The intersatellite link interface unit is used to connect to a ground gateway station.

Adjacent satellites are connected via a service link interface unit and an intersatellite link interface unit, or via two intersatellite link interface units.

Furthermore, the satellite service node functions include radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, power amplification, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching and routing.

For example, the satellite service node may include a satellite distributed unit (SLT-DU) or a service link interface unit, a satellite mobile terminal unit (SLT-MT) or an inter-satellite link interface unit, wherein

Satellite service node functions include: RF filtering, frequency conversion, power amplification, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching, and routing.

The main functions of SLT-MT include providing feeder connection with ground gateway stations;

The main functions of SLT-DU include providing connection with the terminal.

Both can be used for intersatellite link connections with adjacent satellites.

The ground gateway station includes a gateway station centralized unit 21 and a gateway station distributed unit 22 .

The centralized unit of the gateway is used for unified scheduling and control of the distributed units of the gateway.

The gateway distributed unit is used to provide a feed connection with the satellite.

The routing unit is used for inter-satellite routing calculation.

It should be noted that the routing unit may be a separate module or may be integrated in a gateway or a satellite service node, which is not further limited here.

For example, the routing module is on the centralized unit of the gateway station, and the centralized unit of the gateway station uniformly controls the configuration of the satellite, that is, the routing calculation between satellites is performed on the GW-CU of the gateway station, and then executed by the adaptive layer. The functional module of the adaptive layer is located in the satellite service node.

Furthermore, the ground gateway functions include radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, power amplification, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching and routing.

For example, the ground gateway may include a gateway centralized unit (GW-CU) and a gateway distributed unit (GW-DU).

The functions of the ground gateway station include: RF filtering, frequency conversion, power amplification, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching, and routing.

The main functions of GW-DU include providing a feeder connection with the ground gateway.

The main functions of GW-CU include providing unified scheduling and control for GW-DU.

Furthermore, the links existing in the system include feeder links, service links and inter-satellite links.

The satellite mobile terminal unit is connected to the gateway station distributed unit via a feeder link.

The satellite distributed unit is connected with the satellite mobile terminal unit via an inter-satellite link.

The satellite distributed unit is connected to the terminal via a service link.

Furthermore, the gateway distributed unit is connected to one or more satellite mobile terminal units.

Furthermore, the feeder link and the intersatellite link are connected via an Xn interface, and the service link is connected via a wireless UU port.

Furthermore, the satellite nodes perform routing and path selection through network IP.

For example, the adaptive layer is on the satellite service node, and the module for calculating routing is on the GW-CU. The GW-CU uniformly controls the configuration of the satellite, which is executed by the adaptive layer.

Example 1

FIG4 is a structural diagram of an on-board regeneration satellite network system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Furthermore, the gateway is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link. The service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit. The current service satellite node is connected to the inter-satellite link interface unit of the next service satellite node via the service link interface unit. The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

For example, a satellite distributed unit (SLT-DU) and a satellite mobile terminal unit (SLT-MT). The intersatellite link interface unit is a satellite mobile terminal unit (SLT-MT), the service link interface unit is a satellite distributed unit (SLT-DU), and a satellite mobile terminal unit of a service satellite node is connected to a satellite distributed unit of another service satellite node via an intersatellite link.

The gateway is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link. The service satellite nodes are connected to each other via a service link. The service satellite node is connected to the terminal via a service link.

The intersatellite link is the architecture connecting SLT-DU and SLT-MT:

GW-CU is a logical node that carries the RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of gNB or the RRC and PDCP protocols of en gNB, and controls the operation of one or more GW-DUs. GW-CU terminates the F1 interface connected to the GW-DU.

GW-DU is a logical node that carries the RLC, MAC and PHY layers of gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is controlled by GW-CU. One GW-DU supports one or more cells. GW-DU terminates the F1 interface connected to GW-CU.

The SLT-MT function acts as a UE and reuses UE procedures to connect to:

- GW-DU on parent satellite node or gateway for access and backhaul via UU air interface protocol;

- GW-CU at the gateway via RRC to control access and backhaul links;

-Connect to 5GC via NAS protocol, such as AMF.

It is relatively easy to connect SLT-DU to SLT-MT, and the intersatellite link implements the UU port protocol.

Furthermore, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal via a single service satellite node, the transmission method further includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the serving link.

For example, as shown in Figure 4, for the downlink traffic of UE1, the data packet is transmitted from the core network to the gateway (GW), and the gateway transmits it to the service satellite node SLT-node1 of UE1 through the feeder link terminated at GW-DU and SLT-MT. At this time, the destination address of the packet header of the data packet adaptation layer is SLT-node1. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the data packet is itself, it transmits the data packet to the DU corresponding to the service link, where the service link terminates at UE1 and SLT-DU. Among them, GW-CU uniformly allocates the data packet path and the destination address of the data packet.

Furthermore, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal via a single service satellite node, the transmission method further includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit terminating at a gateway.

For example, as shown in Figure 4, for the uplink traffic of UE1, the data is generated by the UE and sent to the service satellite node SLT-node1. At this time, the destination address of the packet adaptation layer header is SLT-node1, and the service link is terminated between UE1 and SLT-DU. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the uplink data packet is itself, it passes the data packet to the SLT-MT corresponding to the feeder link, and the feeder link is terminated between GW-DU and SLT-MT. SLT-MT passes the data to the connected GW-DU through the feeder link.

Furthermore, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, the transmission method also includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current service node, delivering the data packet to other service satellite nodes via an intersatellite link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the service link.

For example, as shown in Figure 4, for the downlink traffic of UE2, the data packet is transmitted from the core network to the gateway (GW), and the gateway transmits it to the service satellite node SLT-node1 of UE2 through the feeder link terminated at GW-DU and SLT-MT, and then to the service satellite node SLT-node3 of UE1. At this time, the destination address of the packet header of the data packet adaptation layer is SLT-node3. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the data packet is not itself, the data packet is transmitted to the DU corresponding to the intersatellite link (the intersatellite link terminates at SLT-DU and SLT-MT). When SLT-node3 finds that the destination address of the data packet is itself, it transmits the data packet to the DU corresponding to the service link, where the service link terminates at UE2 and SLT-DU. Among them, GW-CU uniformly allocates the data packet path and the destination address of the data packet.

Furthermore, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, the transmission method also includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current serving satellite node, delivering the data packet to other serving satellite nodes via an intersatellite link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit being terminated at a gateway.

For example, as shown in Figure 4, for the uplink traffic of UE2, the data is generated by UE and sent to the service satellite node SLT-node3. At this time, the destination address of the packet adaptation layer header is SLT-node1, and the service link terminates at UE2 and SLT-DU. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the uplink data packet is not itself, the data packet is passed to the DU corresponding to the intersatellite link (the intersatellite link terminates at SLT-DU and SLT-MT). When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the uplink data packet is itself, it passes the data packet to the SLT-MT corresponding to the feeder link, and the feeder link terminates at GW-DU and SLT-MT. SLT-MT passes the data to the connected GW-DU via the feeder link.

Example 2

FIG5 is a structural diagram of another on-board regeneration satellite network system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Furthermore, the gateway is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link. The service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit. The current service satellite node is connected to the service link interface unit of the next service satellite node via an inter-satellite link. The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.

For example, a satellite distributed unit (SLT-DU) and a satellite mobile terminal unit (SLT-MT). The intersatellite link interface unit is a satellite mobile terminal unit (SLT-MT), the service link interface unit is a satellite distributed unit (SLT-DU), and a service satellite connects the satellite mobile terminal unit of a node with the satellite mobile terminal unit of another service satellite node through an intersatellite link.

The gateway is connected to the service satellite node through a feeder link. The service satellite nodes are connected to each other through inter-satellite links. The service satellite node is connected to the terminal through a service link.

The architecture of intersatellite link is connected by SLT-MT and SLT-MT:

GW-CU is a logical node that carries the RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of gNB or the RRC and PDCP protocols of engNB, and controls the operation of one or more GW-DUs. GW-CU terminates the F1 interface connected to the GW-DU.

GW-DU is a logical node that carries the RLC, MAC and PHY layers of gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is controlled by GW-CU. One GW-DU supports one or more cells. GW-DU terminates the F1 interface connected to GW-CU.

The SLT-MT function acts as a UE and reuses UE procedures to connect to:

-Connect to SLT-MT via D2D or sidelink technology;

- GW-CU at the gateway via RRC to control access and backhaul links;

-Connect to 5GC via NAS protocol, such as AMF.

SLT-MT connection SLT-MT networking is relatively flexible, and D2D, sidelink, or laser connections can be performed between them.

Furthermore, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal via a single service satellite node, the transmission method further includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the serving link.

For example, as shown in Figure 5, for the downlink traffic of UE1, the data packet is transmitted from the core network to the gateway (GW), and the gateway transmits it to the service satellite node SLT-node1 of UE1 through the feeder link terminated at GW-DU and SLT-MT. At this time, the destination address of the packet header of the data packet adaptation layer is SLT-node1. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the data packet is itself, it transmits the data packet to the SLT-DU corresponding to the service link, where the service link terminates at UE1 and SLT-DU. Among them, GW-CU uniformly allocates the data packet path and the destination address of the data packet.

Furthermore, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal via a single service satellite node, the transmission method further comprises the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit terminating at a gateway.

For example, as shown in Figure 5, for the uplink traffic of UE1, the data is generated by UE and sent to the service satellite node SLT-node1. At this time, the destination address of the packet adaptation layer header is SLT-node1, and the service link is terminated between UE1 and SLT-DU. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the uplink data packet is itself, it passes the data packet to the SLT-MT corresponding to the feeder link, and the feeder link is terminated between GW-DU and SLT-MT. SLT-MT passes the data to the connected GW-DU through the feeder link.

Furthermore, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, the transmission method also includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current service node, delivering the data packet to other service satellite nodes via an intersatellite link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the service link.

For example, as shown in FIG5 , the downlink traffic of UE2 has two links to UE2:

PATH1: GW-DU→SLT-node1→SLT-node4→UE;

PATH2: SLT-node1→SLT-node2→SLT-node3→SLT-node4→UE.

The data packet is transmitted from the core network to the gateway (GW), which transmits it to the service satellite node SLT-node1 of UE2 through the feeder link terminating at GW-DU and SLT-MT. At this time, the destination address of the packet header of the data packet adaptation layer is SLT-node4. When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the data packet is not itself, the data packet selects a suitable path according to the path ID and transmits it to the SLT-MT corresponding to the intersatellite link of the selected path (the intersatellite link terminates at SLT-MT and SLT-MT). When SLT-node4 finds that the destination address of the data packet is itself, it transmits the data packet to the DU corresponding to the service link, where the service link terminates at UE2 and SLT-DU. The GW-CU uniformly allocates the data packet path and the destination address of the data packet.

Furthermore, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, the transmission method also includes the steps of:

The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current serving satellite node, delivering the data packet to other serving satellite nodes via an intersatellite link;

In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit being terminated at a gateway.

For example, as shown in FIG5 , the uplink traffic of UE2 has two links to UE2:

PATH1:UE→SLT-node4→SLT-node1→GW-DU;

PATH2:UE→SLT-node4→SLT-node3→SLT-node2→SLT-node1→GW-DU.

The data is generated by the UE and sent to the service satellite node SLT-node4. At this time, the destination address of the packet adaptation layer header is SLT-node1, and the service link terminates at UE2 and SLT-DU. When SLT-node4 finds that the destination address of the uplink data packet is not itself, the data packet selects a suitable path according to the path ID and passes it to the SLT-MT corresponding to the intersatellite link of the selected path. The data packet is passed to the MT corresponding to the intersatellite link (the intersatellite link terminates at SLT-MT and SLT-MT). When SLT-node1 finds that the destination address of the uplink data packet is itself, it passes the data packet to the SLT-MT corresponding to the feeder link, and the feeder link terminates at GW-DU and SLT-MT. SLT-MT passes the data to the connected GW-DU via the feeder link.

It should be noted that when a satellite node includes complete base station functions, the satellite node functions include: RF filtering, frequency conversion, power amplification, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching, and routing.

The ground gateway station contains complete base station functions, including: RF filtering, frequency conversion, power amplification, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, switching, and routing.

The main links in the system include feeder link, service link and intersatellite link:

The feeder link and intersatellite link are connected through the Xn interface, and the service link is connected through the wireless UU port.

In the regenerative satellite system, satellite nodes perform routing and path selection through network IP.

3GPP R17 is the first version to support NTN (Non-terrestrial networks), and R18's NTN enhancement is the evolution standard of R17 NTN. NR R18 NR NTN enhancement's WID specifies four discussion goals, namely, coverage enhancement, NTN-TN, NTN-NTN mobility and service continuity enhancement, network-verified UE location, and deployment of NR-NTN in frequency bands above 10GHz, among which NTN-TN and NTN-NTN mobility and service continuity enhancement are important discussion goals of R18 NR NTN enhancement. This patent will make corresponding enhancements to NTN-TN and NTN-NTN mobility and service continuity.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

Therefore, the present application also proposes a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the method described in any embodiment of the present application is implemented.

Furthermore, the present application also proposes an electronic device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the method described in any embodiment of the present application when executing the computer program.

The present invention is described with reference to the flowchart and/or block diagram of the method, device (system), and computer program product according to the embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and/or box in the flowchart and/or block diagram, as well as the combination of the process and/or box in the flowchart and/or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and/or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a manufactured product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and/or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, whereby the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and/or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPU), input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory. The memory may include non-permanent storage in a computer-readable medium, random access memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory (flash RAM). Memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

The above is only an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims (10)

An on-board regenerative satellite network operation method, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: An adaptation layer with a routing function is provided between the PDCP layer and the RLC layer or between the RLC layer and the MAC layer; The adaptive layer determines the next hop address and path ID in the received packet header; In response to the destination address not being the current service satellite node, selecting an egress link corresponding to the corresponding intersatellite link according to the path ID, and delivering the data packet to the selected egress link; the service satellite nodes are connected via intersatellite links; In response to the destination address being the current service satellite node, an egress link corresponding to the service link is selected, and the data packet is transmitted to the selected egress link; the service satellite node and the terminal are connected via the service link. The on-board regenerative satellite network operation method according to claim 1 is characterized in that it also comprises the steps of: The service satellite node receives data packets sent by the gateway through the feeder link; The current serving satellite node is connected to the inter-satellite link interface unit of the next serving satellite node through an inter-satellite link via a service link interface unit; The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link. The on-board regenerative satellite network operation method according to claim 1 is characterized in that it also comprises the steps of: The service satellite node receives data packets sent by the gateway through the feeder link; The current serving satellite node is connected to the service link interface unit inter-satellite link of the next serving satellite node through the service link interface unit; The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link. According to the on-board regenerative satellite network operation method of claim 1, it is characterized in that, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through a single service satellite node, its transmission method further comprises the steps of: The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link; In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the serving link. According to the on-board regenerative satellite network operation method of claim 1, it is characterized in that, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through a single service satellite node, its transmission method further comprises the steps of: The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link; In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current serving satellite node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit terminating at a gateway. According to the on-board regenerative satellite network operation method of claim 1, it is characterized in that, for the downlink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, its transmission method further comprises the steps of: The serving satellite node receives the data packet via the feeder link; In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current service node, delivering the data packet to other service satellite nodes via an intersatellite link; In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to the terminal via the service link. According to the on-board regenerative satellite network operation method of claim 1, it is characterized in that, for the uplink traffic of the gateway connecting the terminal through multiple service satellite nodes, its transmission method further comprises the steps of: The serving satellite node receives data via the serving link; In response to the destination address of the data packet not being the current serving satellite node, delivering the data packet to other serving satellite nodes via an intersatellite link; In response to the destination address of the data packet being the current service node, the data packet is delivered to a feeder circuit, the feeder circuit being terminated at a gateway. An on-board regenerative satellite network system, used to implement the method described in claims 1-7, characterized in that it comprises a satellite node, a ground gateway station and a routing unit; The satellite node comprises a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit; The service link interface unit is used to connect to a terminal; The intersatellite link interface unit is used to connect to a ground gateway station; Adjacent satellites are connected via a service link interface unit and an intersatellite link interface unit, or via two intersatellite link interface units; The ground gateway station includes a gateway station centralized unit and a gateway station distributed unit; The centralized unit of the gateway is used to uniformly dispatch and control the distributed units of the gateway; The gateway distributed unit is used to provide a feed connection with the satellite; The routing unit is used for inter-satellite routing calculation. The on-board regenerative satellite network system according to claim 8 is characterized in that the gateway station is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link; The service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit; The current serving satellite node is connected to the intersatellite link interface unit of the next serving satellite node through the service link interface unit; The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link. The on-board regenerative satellite network system according to claim 8 is characterized in that the gateway station is connected to the service satellite node via a feeder link; The service satellite node includes a service link interface unit and an inter-satellite link interface unit; The current serving satellite node is connected to the service link interface unit inter-satellite link of the next serving satellite node through the service link interface unit; The service satellite node of the destination address is connected to the terminal via a service link.