Intersatellite communications systems

An intersatellite communications system utilizing bent-pipe multi-beam architecture including:

• means in a first communications satellite to receive a first incoming beam containing a first incoming channel from a first information source and a second incoming beam containing a second incoming channel from a second information source, said first incoming channel containing a first plurality of incoming subchannels and said second incoming channel containing a second plurality of incoming subchannels, one of said first plurality of incoming subchannels containing first communications information and one of said second plurality of incoming subchannels containing second communications information;
• means in said first satellite to combine said subchannels containing said first and second communication information respectively and to place said combined subchannels in a single channel in an electromagnetic beam carrier;
• means to transmit said carrier to a second communications satellite;
• means in said second satellite to receive said carrier and to separate the combined subchannels in said single channel in said carrier;
• means in said second communications satellite to transmit a first outgoing beam containing a first outgoing channel to a first information destination and a second outgoing beam containing a second outgoing channel to a second information destination, said first outgoing channel containing a first plurality of outgoing subchannels and said second outgoing channel containing a second plurality of outgoing subchannels;
• means in said second communications satellite to place said first communications information contained in one of said separated subchannels in one of said first plurality of outgoing subchannels;
• and means in said second communication satellite to place said second communications information contained in the other of said separated subchannels in one of said second plurality of outgoing subchannels.

A multi-beam bent-pipe satellite comprising:

• a plurality of receivers for receiving incoming information beams from the ground, wherein the incoming information beams include channels of information, and at least one channel in each of the incoming information beams further includes subchannels of information;
• a partial subchannelizing processor connected to the plurality of receivers, said partial subchannelizing processor including a coaxial switching network for switching the channels of information, a subchannel switching network connected to some, but not all of the channels of information that extracts the subchannel information from the incoming information beams and inter-beam switches the subchannel information, and means for combining the switched subchannel information and the switched channel information into a plurality of outgoing information beams;
• a plurality of transmitters connected to the outgoing information beams for transmitting the outgoing beams to the ground;
• and
• an intersatellite link connected to at least one of said outgoing information beams, wherein the intersatellite link transmits the outgoing information to another satellite.