Optimal Satellite Constellation Altitude for Maximal Coverage

• Published in: IEEE wireless communications letters Vol. 10; no. 7; pp. 1444 - 1448
• Main Author: Al-Hourani, Akram
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.07.2021; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Altitude; Availability; Economic analysis; Geometry; Interference; IoT-over-satellite; land mobile-satellite; massive satellite constellation; Optimization; Satellite broadcasting; Satellite constellations; Satellite-to-ground; Satellites; stochastic geometry; Wireless communication
• ISSN: 2162-2337; 2162-2345
• DOI: 10.1109/LWC.2021.3069751

Recent deployments of dense satellite constellations will soon lead to a paradigm shift in the availability of wireless connectivity around the globe. Optimizing the characteristics of such constellations is vital for an adequate techno-economic performance. This letter presents an analytic framework for optimizing the altitude of dense satellite constellations to maximize the downlink probability of coverage. The framework leverages related research that formulates the probability of coverage which in turn is based on tools from stochastic geometry. A higher constellation altitude would usually lead to a better satellite availability, but it also causes higher losses in the signal power. Thus, there is an optimal altitude where the constellation strikes the balance between these two factors among others. The presented analytic framework shows the optimal altitude under different scenarios that are also validated using simulations.