Communication system with satellites on an elliptical sub-geostationary orbit

摘要

A communication system (40) has a plurality of ground stations (54) for communicating communication signal to a plurality of satellites located in an inclined elliptical subgeosynchronous orbit (34) with respect to the earth (10). The plurality of satellites (32) operate in a service area (52) in a synchronized manner to provide continuous coverage to the service area (52). The satellites (32) generate a plurality of beams with variable beamwidths to obtain a substantially uniform cell size covering the service area. A user terminal within the service area receives communication signals from the satellite (Fig. 2). <IMAGE>