Radio system using nodes with high gain antennas

A radio communication route for data communication from an originating ground station to a destination ground station, the route comprising at least one of multiple satellites orbiting the earth without attitude control in random orbits that communicate with the ground stations, each including a plurality of antennas for receiving radio signals from multiple directions and transmitting radio signals in multiple directions, wherein the satellite includes:

• a plurality of antennas for receiving radio signals from multiple directions and transmitting radio signals in multiple directions, each of multiple satellite antennas comprising a reflector with a plurality of feeds for transmitting radio signals in a like plurality of directions different from each other and for receiving radio signals in the respective different directions;
• antenna pairing circuitry for storing address information identifying a destination ground station from which an initial information signal was transmitted and antenna information identifying the satellite antenna and the feed thereof on which the initial information signal was received;
• and
• route creation circuitry for transmitting linking information signals from a plurality of the satellite antennas, the linking information signals including linking information identifying the satellite to an originating ground station receiving the linking information signal on one of the ground station antennas, whereby data transmissions received at the originating ground station and designating a particular destination ground station are transmitted by the originating ground station using the ground station antenna on which the linking information was received and the satellite transmits the data transmission using the satellite antenna feed identified by the stored antenna information.

A method for transmitting data between two nodes over a radio communication route including another node, wherein each node includes a plurality of antennas each comprising a reflector with a plurality of feeds for transmitting radio signals in a like plurality of directions different from each other and for receiving radio signals in the respective different directions, the method comprising:

• a) transmitting a first routing message from a plurality of the antennas of a first node N1;
• b) identifying one or more feeds of a first antenna and one or more feeds of a second antenna at a node N2 that receive the first routing message from node N1;
• c) designating the feed of the first antenna at node N2 with the highest quality signal and the feed of the second antenna with the highest quality signal;
• d) selecting from the designated feeds at node N2 the feed with the higher signal quality;
• e) transmitting from node N2 a second routing message including the transmitting node identity, the identity of node N1, and the signal quality of a radio link between node N1 and node N2;
• f) identifying one or more feeds of a first antenna and one or more feeds of a second antenna at a node N3 that receive the first routing message from node N1;
• g) designating the feed of the first antenna at node N3 with the highest quality signal and the feed of the second antenna with the highest quality signal;
• h) selecting from the designated feeds at node N3 the feed with the higher signal quality;
• i) transmitting from node N3 a third routing message including the transmitting node identity, the identity of node N1, and the signal quality of a radio link between node N1 and node N3;
• and
• j) providing the data to a fourth node N4 that received the second and third routing messages, sending the data to the node N2 or N3 that provides the higher quality radio route to node N1, and transmitting the data to node N1 from the selected feed of the node N2 or N3 receiving the data sent from the node N4.