Persistent LEO spacecraft communications

A method comprising:

• configuring a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)-based Communication Satellite (ComSat) to provide a communication link, the communication link being a persistent and on-demand communication link;
• and
• configuring one or more space vehicles to communicate with the GEO-based ComSat using the communication link employing a Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) compliant wideband code-division multiple-access (WCDMA) waveform within an ultra-high frequency (UHF) band by:
• providing radio circuitry configured to enable communicating over the UHF band used by the communication link,
• wherein the one or more space vehicles are enabled to travel around a Low Earth Orbit.

A satellite communication system, the system comprising:

• one or more Low Earth Orbit (LEO)-space vehicles configured to communicate with a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)-based Communication Satellite (ComSat) using a persistent and on-demand communication link employing a Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) compliant wideband code-division multiple-access (WCDMA) waveform within an ultra-high frequency (UHF) band;
• and
• one or more ground control stations configured to access the one or more LEO space vehicles through an IP access network,
• wherein:
• each of the one or more LEO space vehicles includes radio circuitry configured to enable communicating over the UHF band used by the communication link, and
• the one or more LEO space vehicles are configured to travel around the Earth in an orbit lower than GEO.