Inter-Satellite Link Configuration for Fast Delivery in Low-Earth-Orbit Constellations
Arman Mollakhani, Jerayu Tiamraj, Shu-Jie Cao, Dongning Guo

TL;DR
This paper presents an optimized inter-satellite link configuration method for LEO constellations that minimizes network diameter, reduces latency, and maintains link stability over orbital periods, enhancing communication efficiency.
Contribution
It introduces a diameter-minimization algorithm for inter-satellite links in LEO constellations, balancing latency reduction with link stability and operational constraints.
Findings
Achieves low worst-case latency in simulations.
Maintains link stability over multiple orbital periods.
Provides a trade-off analysis between hop count and link stability.
Abstract
End-to-end latency in large low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellations is dominated by propagation delay, making total delay roughly proportional to the network diameter, the longest shortest path in hops. Current inter-satellite link (ISL) layouts have rarely been optimized to minimize network diameter while simultaneously satisfying physical and operational constraints, including maximum link distance, line-of-sight, per-satellite hardware limits, and long-term link viability over orbital periods. In this study, the selection and assignment of inter-plane ISLs is formulated as a diameter-minimization problem on a Starlink-inspired Walker-Delta constellation in which each satellite is equipped with two fixed intra-plane links and may activate up to two inter-plane links. Beginning with a feasible baseline, the topology is iteratively refined by a local-search procedure that replaces or…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSatellite Communication Systems · Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks · Spacecraft Dynamics and Control
