Fixed ground track satellite constellation and user terminal

A satellite constellation for use with ground terminals comprising:

• a plurality of non-geostationary orbiting satellites, each of the satellites occupying a different orbital plane, having the property that each of said satellites follows a fixed ground track on the earth, wherein each of said satellites in said constellation follows a single substantially linear track across the sky when observed from the earth, and wherein for each of said satellites within said fixed ground track, one of said satellites follows another one of said satellites to provide a substantially continuous ground track;
• and
• said ground terminals each having substantially continuous visibility to at least one of said satellites in a single ground track.

A satellite constellation for use with ground terminals comprising:

• a plurality of non-geostationary orbiting satellites having the property that each of said satellites follows a fixed ground track on the earth, wherein each of said satellites in said constellation follows a single substantially linear track across the sky when observed from the earth, and wherein for each of said satellites within said fixed ground track, one of said satellites follows another one of said satellites to provide a substantially continuous ground track;
• and
• said ground terminals each having substantially continuous visibility to at least one of said satellites in a single ground track, and wherein said constellation operates with user terminals employing high gain antennas with a single axis of scanning motion.

A satellite constellation with ground terminals comprising:

• a plurality of non-geostationary orbiting satellites having the property that each of said satellites follows a fixed ground track on the earth, wherein for each of said satellites within said fixed ground track, one of said satellites follows another one of said satellites to provide a substantially continuous ground track, wherein said satellites have repeating ground tracks wherein a satellite completes n orbital revolutions each time the earth rotates through 360 degrees, wherein n is an integer between 2 and 15, inclusive;
• and
• said ground terminals each having substantially continuous visibility to at least one of said satellites in a single ground track.

A satellite communication system comprising:

• a constellation of low earth orbit non-geostationary orbiting satellites which follow one another in a substantially continuous ground track on the earth, each of the satellites occupying a different orbital plane, and wherein each of said satellites in said constellation follows a single substantially linear track across the sky, and
• a plurality of ground terminals, each having substantially continuous visibility to at least one of said satellites in a single ground track.

A satellite communication system comprising:

• a constellation of low earth orbit non-geostationary orbiting satellites which follow one another in a substantially continuous ground track on the earth, and wherein each of said satellites in said constellation follows a single substantially linear track across the sky when observed from the earth, and
• a plurality of ground terminals, each having substantially continuous visibility to at least one of said satellites in a single ground track, wherein each of said ground terminals includes an antenna with a single axis of scanning motion.

A satellite communication system comprising:

• a constellation of low earth orbit non-geostationary orbiting satellites which follow one another in a substantially continuous ground track on the earth, wherein said satellites have repeating ground tracks wherein a satellite completes n orbital revolutions each time the earth rotates through 360 degrees, wherein n is an integer between 2 and 15, inclusive, and
• a plurality of ground terminals, each having substantially continuous visibility to at least one of said satellites in a single ground track.