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Introduction
Published in Wen Sun, Qubeijian Wang, Nan Zhao, Haibin Zhang, Chao Shen, Ultra-Dense Heterogeneous Networks, 2023
Wen Sun, Haibin Zhang, Nan Zhao, Chao Shen, Lawrence Wai-Choong Wong
Space network, first initiated by NASA, aims at combining space and ground elements to support spacecraft communications in Earth vicinity, i.e., supporting communication services for satellites, space shuttles, and space robots [9], and further provide satellite Internet access to most of the Earth. Nowadays, the satellite network plays an essential role in communication services such as voice calling and video broadcasting. Nowadays, several satellite constellations are moving towards commercialization [10]. Starlink, operated by SpaceX, is a satellite internet constellation providing satellite Internet access to most of the terrestrial users. The constellation has grown to over 1700 satellites through 2021, arrange another 30,000 additional satellites, and will eventually consist of many thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), which communicate with designated ground transceivers. By November 2021, the beta service offering is available in 21 countries. Moreover, on February 27, 2019, OneWeb authorized by UK and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched six satellites into the expected orbit. The success of the launch laid the foundation for subsequent satellite deployment, OneWeb plans to eventually build a satellite constellation consisting of 720 LEO satellites. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) will also launch 9 LEO satellites as a pilot demonstration of the Hongyan system. The Hongyan system will eventually include 320 satellites and is expected to be completed by 2025 [4]. While non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system faces challenges in the comprehensive deployment and the integration with mobile wireless network, LEO satellite system has found its applications in real scenarios. It is expected that in the near future, the satellite communication system will provide UEs with uninterrupted, high-quality connections and ultra-fast network access services at data rates up to 10 Gbps.
Digital earth: yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Published in International Journal of Digital Earth, 2023
Alessandro Annoni, Stefano Nativi, Arzu Çöltekin, Cheryl Desha, Eugene Eremchenko, Caroline M. Gevaert, Gregory Giuliani, Min Chen, Luis Perez-Mora, Joseph Strobl, Stephanie Tumampos
One ongoing technological development is the (global) satellite internet constellations – for example, by Starlink, OneWeb, Project Kuiper, Hongwan, and Sfera. Satellite internet constellations refer to a new generation of very large constellations (aka mega constellations), which orbit in low Earth orbit (LEO) to provide low-latency, high bandwidth (broadband) internet service. These innovative infrastructures promise to provide 5G/6G connectivity (virtually) anywhere on the planet. For continental distances, LEO satellite internet networks should be able to provide lower latency than optical fibre links (Handley 2018). 5G/6G and these satellite infrastructures appear to be the key components of the nervous system that will characterize a cyber-physical society – where (ultra-high bandwidth) connectivity is everywhere and anytime. The number of possible applications (at the global/regional/local scale), enabled by these infrastructures, is almost infinite and affects all human and natural domains.