Performance of a two-layer LEO satellite communication network

A novel two-layer low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite network is proposed. Comparing with a single layer global network, not only the system performance is improved but also the number of satellites can be reduced. The main ideas include (1) to raise the altitude of the original global network, and (2) to add several satellites at lower altitude to form a regional network to serve calls from the areas of heavy traffic. In order to fully utilize the benefits of the two-layer network, additional functions such as adjustable beam and dynamic channel management are added. Call blocking rate is derived. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate several interesting phenomena.