Explore ISL routing and coexistence with Magister’s simulators for New Space
January 16, 2025
There are various challenges and opportunities related to the New Space landscape, caused by both new innovations and new players entering the field. Simulation tools provide an effective way to tackle these problems – such as LEO satellite routing, ISL links, and analyzing coexistence scenarios.
This blog article continues our New Space themed series that we kicked off in December. In case you missed the first part, we recommend you to read it first here.
The first part delves into the rise of New Space, the ways simulations can help verify the functionality of New Space applications, as well as challenges of emerging LEO mega-constellations.
We’re picking up from where we left off last time – continuing with the topic of LEO constellations. This time we consider the subject from the perspective of routing. We also address another theme that has become increasingly more important as the number of New Space players grows – coexistence.
Achieving global coverage: The importance of Inter-Satellite Links in LEO constellations
One of the challenges of large LEO mega-constellations regarding global coverage is the number and availability of gateway (GW) locations. There must either be a large number of GWs all over the world, or satellites must be equipped with Inter-Satellite Links (ISL) and routing capabilities.
ISLs create direct links between satellites, which eliminates the need for routing data through ground stations. Satellites linked together form a network in space, enabling shorter delays and full global coverage. They can exchange data among each other at high speeds, surpassing traditional methods.
Explore advanced ISL routing algorithms using simulation tools
Magister provides versatile solutions for simulating inter-satellite links (ISLs)
ISLs provide various advantages, but also present many challenges. These challenges are related to, for example, costs due to market immaturity, and operational difficulties. However, through simulators, the challenges of ISL implementation can be mitigated.
Through different projects, we have developed simulators for analyzing ISLs and ISL routing algorithms. For example, in the SCNE project, we developed a system simulator for LEO constellation protocol and performance optimization. It makes it possible to study advanced ISL routing algorithms, mobility management, and related higher layer and end-to-end performance.
During the 4SSTB project, we designed a non-real-time (NRT) simulator for LEO satellite systems. In practice, we implemented a model of the whole satellite constellation in software. It can be configured in terms of how many satellites, terminals, and the kind of traffic it contains. Different routing algorithms can then be analyzed in this network.
We’re currently in the process of developing our C-DReAM simulator towards studying ISLs. There are also opportunities for further expansion for modeling routing in the future. Therefore, we’re building our capability towards modeling the capacity and load of a constellation on a large scale.
The role of 3GPP standardization and coexistence in the New Space era
Due to so many New Space players entering the field, there’s a growing need for satellite spectrum. Spectrum refers to the range of radio frequency bands used for wireless communication between satellites, ground stations, and many devices on Earth.
With the rapid growth of commercial satellite networks, spectrum is getting more and more sparse. As a result, competition for it has intensified.
Because of this, coexistence has become an increasingly pressing issue. Adjacent channel coexistence must be studied to ensure that new satellite bands don’t interfere with existing bands in neighbour frequencies.
The work related to this is carried out on the standardization front. Regulatory and standardization efforts make it possible for non-terrestrial networks (NTN) to coexist with terrestrial networks (TN). Without these efforts, there wouldn’t be any 5G NTN-based SatCom systems.
Coexistence scenarios can be studied with Magister’s simulators
Although coexistence studies do not usually involve time dynamics, they are still quite complex. This is especially true in use cases related to directive antennas and beamforming. The complexity makes simulations crucial.
Intra-frequency coexistence, on the other hand, needs more dynamic analysis. The possibility of sharing the same band for TN and NTN is becoming a reality. For example, in the USA, TN operators are already joining forces with satellite operators.
Simulating coexistence scenarios with Magister’s simulators for New Space
Magister Solutions provides simulation tools for the SatCom industry to independently evaluate coexistence scenarios. We’ve also actively participated in 3GPP (the 3rd Generation Partnership Project) standardization through international projects, and by providing the results of our simulator work to the 3GPP.
This way, we contribute to standardization work that promotes higher quality systems and products, and healthy competition within the industry.
The 5G-SPECTRA project is a good example of our coexistence-related work. During the project, we developed simulation tools for evaluating how satellites can best coexist with terrestrial 5G.
We utilized C-DReAM for modeling the adjacent channel interference (ACI) calculations for NTN-TN. C-DReAM has also been used for simulating TN-TN and NTN-NTN interference scenarios.
The HELENA project, on the other hand, represents our project work on 3GPP standardization. The ESA-funded project aims to make NTN solutions more performant, enabling new use cases. Magister’s role in the project is to improve the mobility of the 5G satellite network, investigate use cases, and plan for Release 19.
Interested in analyzing coexistence scenarios? Read more about C-DReAM
We offer expert 5G NTN standardization support – learn more
We hope you enjoyed reading this article!
Do you have a New Space scenario that you’d like to optimize through simulations? Get in touch with our team!
Magister Solutions has extensive experience in solving challenges for the world’s leading space industry players. Our simulators have been developed in cooperation with the European Space Agency and verified through versatile ESA activities.
