Method and apparatus for using the sidelobe of a long range antenna for a short range communication link

A method of operating a receiver of a satellite in a first satellite group having a first long range satellite that is configured to establish a long range link with a second satellite group and a short range satellite that is configured to establish a short range link with the first long range satellite, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a signal with the receiver;
• amplifying said signal;
• down converting said signal into an intermediate frequency signal;
• amplifying said intermediate frequency signal;
• performing a quadrature phase shift key demodulation on said intermediate frequency signal to obtain short range data and long range data, said long range data comprising first location data for a second long range satellite of the second satellite group and said short range data comprising second location data for said short range satellite;
• sending said short range data and said long range data to a processor system of the receiver;
• processing said long range data in said processor system;
• and
• processing said short range data in said processor system.