High data rate distribution network for satellite constellations

A system comprising:

• low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites configured to communicate within orbital planes over free space LEO optical links, with selected LEO satellites of each orbital plane configured to communicate optically with at least one among a set of geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites based at least on present line of sight;
• each of the set of GEO satellites configured to communicate over communication links with ground gateways and convert among uplink communications of the communication links and optical communications of free space GEO-to-LEO optical links established with the selected LEO satellites of each orbital plane, wherein the free space GEO-to-LEO optical links each comprise optical beams within a wavelength multiplexed arrangement individually assigned to corresponding LEO satellites in each orbital plane;
• and
• each of the selected LEO satellites configured to optically demultiplex a GEO-to-LEO optical link into local optical beams on individual optical fibers, direct a demultiplexed assigned optical beam of an incoming LEO optical link from a previous in-plane LEO satellite to an onboard destination with an optical splitter on a corresponding optical fiber, and multiplex the local optical beams on the individual optical fibers for an outgoing free space LEO optical link directed to a subsequent in-plane LEO satellite.