Co-located satellites with ground based processing

A method, comprising:

• receiving, at each satellite of a set of co-located satellites that orbit together around Earth, a respective return link signal component of a return link signal transmitted from a terminal, wherein each satellite of the set of co-located satellites receives the respective return link signal component over a first frequency range and a second payload;
• transmitting, from each of multiple satellites of the set of co-located satellites to one or more ground stations of a ground segment, a respective representation of the respective return link signal component;
• and
• applying, at a central processor included in the ground segment, a set of beamforming coefficients to the representations of the respective return link signal components of the return link signal received by the one or more ground stations from the multiple satellites of the set of co-located satellites to obtain a first plurality of return link beam signals comprising a return link beam signal corresponding to the return link signal from the terminal, wherein the first plurality of return link beam signals corresponds to a first plurality of return link beams associated with a first plurality of return link coverage areas, wherein the first plurality of return link coverage areas are non-overlapping with each other, and wherein the return link beam signal corresponds to a return link beam of the first plurality of return link beams that is in a direction of the terminal.