阅读说明：本技术 卫星天线地面站服务系统 (Satellite antenna ground station service system ) 是由 L·S·豪索恩 D·M·诺尔顿 于 2019-06-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种卫星天线地面站服务包括多个地面站和相关联的数据中心,其中所述数据中心是提供商网络的一部分。客户端可以经由所述卫星天线地面站服务的用户界面预留卫星天线接入时隙,并经由所述客户端和所述提供商网络之间的直接连接将数据直接存储到所述提供商网络的数据中心或所述客户端的驻地。在一些实施例中,所述提供商网络可以提供多个基于网络的服务,如计算服务、数据存储服务、机器学习服务或数据分析服务,并且客户端可以利用这些服务中的一个或多个来分析和处理经由所述提供商网络的所述卫星天线地面站服务的卫星天线地面站从所述客户端的卫星接收的下行链接的数据。(A satellite antenna ground station service includes a plurality of ground stations and associated data centers, wherein the data centers are part of a provider network. A client may reserve a satellite antenna access slot via a user interface serviced by the satellite antenna ground station and store data directly to a data center of the provider network or to a premises of the client via a direct connection between the client and the provider network. In some embodiments, the provider network may provide a plurality of network-based services, such as a computing service, a data storage service, a machine learning service, or a data analysis service, and a client may utilize one or more of these services to analyze and process downlink data received from the client's satellite via a satellite antenna ground station of the satellite antenna ground station service of the provider network.)

1. A multi-tenant ground station service, comprising:

a plurality of satellite antenna ground stations; and

one or more computing devices configured to implement a multi-tenant scheduling service configured to:

receiving a ground station access request from a client of a plurality of clients of the multi-tenant ground station service; and is

Scheduling ground station access time slot reservations for the client on respective ones of the plurality of ground stations,

wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is integrated into a provider network that provides cloud computing services to the plurality of clients.

2. The multi-tenant ground station service of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of data centers co-located with respective ones of the satellite-antenna ground stations.

3. The multi-tenant ground station service of claim 2, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to:

implementing a satellite command and control instance on a virtualized compute instance, wherein the virtualized compute instance is provided to the client prior to the ground station access slot reservation via a compute service implemented using computing devices of a plurality of data centers co-located with the respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations.

4. The multi-tenant ground station service of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to:

implementing a satellite data processing instance on a virtualized compute instance to process data received from a satellite during a ground station access time slot, wherein the virtualized compute instance is provided to the client prior to the ground station access time slot reservation via a compute service implemented using a computing device of a plurality of data centers co-located with the respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations.

5. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of the preceding claims, wherein computing devices of the plurality of data centers are configured to implement:

a computing service;

a data storage service;

a data analysis service;

a database service; or

A machine learning service, and

wherein the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations are connected to the plurality of data centers such that data received from a satellite via one or more of the satellite antenna ground stations is available to the computing service, the data storage service, the data analysis service, the database service, or the machine learning service.

6. The multi-tenant ground station service of any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more computing devices of the multi-tenant ground station service are configured to:

implementing a web-based graphical user interface to receive the ground station access request from the client; or

Implementing an Application Programming Interface (API) to receive the ground station access request of the client.

7. The multi-tenant ground station service of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to manage antenna hardware control of a satellite antenna ground station assigned to the client on behalf of the client during a ground station access time slot assigned to the client.

8. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of the preceding claims, wherein:

the ground station access request indicates a time window of a request to access a satellite of the client; and is

To schedule the ground station time slot reservation, the multi-tenant scheduling service selects one or more of the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations to allocate to the client during the requested time window.

9. The multi-tenant ground station service of claim 8, wherein:

the ground station access request indicates an amount of data to transmit to or from a satellite of the client; and is

To schedule the ground station time slot reservation, the multi-tenant scheduling service selects one or more satellite antennas at one or more satellite antenna ground stations to allocate to the client during one or more time windows such that the requested amount of data indicated in the ground station access request is transmitted to or from the satellite of the client.

10. A method, comprising:

a user interface to provide a multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service to a client, wherein the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service is integrated into a provider network that provides cloud computing services;

receiving, via the user interface, a ground station access request from the client; and

scheduling a ground station access time slot for the client on one of a plurality of satellite antenna ground stations of the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service integrated into the provider network providing cloud computing services.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, another ground station access request from the client; and

scheduling another ground station access slot for the client,

wherein different numbers of satellite antennas are allocated to the client for the ground station access slot and the another ground station access slot based on different respective data transmission requirements of the client for the ground station access slot and the another ground station access slot.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, a plurality of other ground station access requests from other clients served by the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station;

matching the requested time slots included in the ground station access requests and other requested time slots included in the other ground station access requests with available time slots on the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations; and

scheduling other ground station access time slots for the other clients on one or more of the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations served by the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station during respective ones of the matched available time slots, wherein the scheduled ground station access time slots are scheduled for the clients during respective ones of the matched available time slots that match the requested time slots.

13. The method of any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising:

providing access to a satellite antenna of a satellite antenna ground station during the scheduled ground station access time slot; and

providing access to another satellite antenna of the satellite antenna ground station during a remainder of the scheduled ground station access time slot in response to a fault associated with the satellite antenna during the scheduled ground station access time slot.

14. The method of any one of claims 10 to 13, further comprising:

providing access to a respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations during the scheduled ground station access time slot when the client's satellite is within range of communicating with the respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations; and

providing access to another respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations during sequentially scheduled ground station access time slots after the satellite of the client is not within communication range with the respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations.

15. A service provider network, comprising:

a plurality of data centers located in different geographic areas;

a plurality of satellite-antenna ground stations, wherein respective ones of the satellite-antenna ground stations are located locally and connected to corresponding ones of the data centers in the different geographic regions; and

one or more computing devices configured to implement a multi-tenant scheduling service configured to:

receiving satellite antenna ground station access requests from a plurality of clients of the service provider network; and

reserving access time slots for the client dispatch satellite antenna ground stations at corresponding ones of the satellite antenna ground stations,

wherein the satellite antenna ground stations are integrated into the service provider network such that data received via one of the ground stations is available for use by a cloud computing service of the service provider network.

Background

More and more businesses, universities, and governments are using satellites for applications including weather, terrestrial imaging, communications, video broadcasting, and other applications. To do this today, the satellite owner/operator must also establish or obtain a long term lease on the terrestrial antenna to communicate with their satellite.

Establishing or obtaining long term leases on terrestrial antennas can be a significant effort and cost for the satellite owner/operator, as antennas are often required in multiple countries to maintain satellite connectivity. In addition, the infrastructure requirements of the satellite owner/operator may also include computing servers and storage servers in close proximity to the antenna to handle satellite communications and persistently store received data. Furthermore, the satellite owner/operator may need to host and run additional software to use the received satellite data in its business.

All of these infrastructure requirements may require significant capital investment and personnel costs to build, monitor, manage and maintain each antenna location. In addition, the terrestrial antennas and associated infrastructure may not be continuously or fully utilized. For example, for a satellite owner/operator with a limited number of satellites, the terrestrial antenna of the satellite owner/operator may only be available when one of the satellites of the satellite owner/operator is within range of the terrestrial antenna, otherwise the terrestrial antenna is not used between periods when one of the satellites of the satellite owner/operator is within range.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a provider network that contains data centers and associated satellite antenna ground stations, and wherein the provider network provides satellite antenna ground station services to clients, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a provider network including data centers and associated satellite antenna ground stations at various geographic locations, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3A illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service that schedules satellite antenna access time slots for contact with client satellites, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 3B illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service for managing reserved satellite antenna access slots, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 4 illustrates a more detailed view of a ground station included in a satellite antenna ground station service in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 5 illustrates a more detailed view of components that may be included in a satellite antenna ground station service in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 6 illustrates components of a provider network that may be used in connection with a satellite antenna access session for contacting a client satellite in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service providing command and control options to clients according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service providing a data downlink dashboard to clients according to some embodiments.

Fig. 9 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating various methods and techniques for providing satellite antenna access as a service to clients of a provider network, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 10 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating various methods and techniques for managing satellite antenna access during a satellite antenna access time slot, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 11 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating various methods and techniques for managing satellite antenna access requests involving multiple satellite antennas, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing system according to some embodiments.

Although embodiments are described herein by way of several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include", "including" and "includes" mean including but not limited to.

Detailed Description

The systems and methods described herein may implement satellite antenna ground station services for provider networks. According to some embodiments, the service provider network comprises a plurality of data centers and a plurality of satellite antenna ground stations located in different geographic regions, wherein respective ones of the satellite antenna ground stations are connected to corresponding ones of the data centers located in the same geographic region as the respective ones of the satellite antenna ground stations. For example, the provider network may include multiple availability areas, each located in a different geographic area and connected to each other via the provider network. Continuing the example, each availability area may include at least one data center and at least two satellite antennas located at one or more ground stations located near one of the data centers included in the availability area. The service provider network also includes one or more computing devices, which may be included in one of the data centers or elsewhere, configured to implement a multi-tenant scheduling service for the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service. The multi-tenant scheduling service is configured to receive satellite antenna access requests from a plurality of clients of the provider network and schedule satellite antenna access time slot reservations for the clients on respective ones of the plurality of satellite antennas.

In accordance with some embodiments, a multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service includes a plurality of satellite antennas and one or more computing devices configured to implement a multi-tenant scheduling service. The multi-tenant scheduling service is configured to receive satellite antenna access requests from clients of a plurality of clients of the multi-tenant ground station service and schedule satellite antenna access time slot reservations for the clients on respective ones of a plurality of satellite antennas.

According to some embodiments, a method includes providing a user interface for multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station services to a client. The method also includes receiving a satellite antenna access request from the client via the user interface, and scheduling a satellite antenna access time slot for the client on one or more of the plurality of satellite antennas serviced by the multi-tenant ground station.

Typically, a satellite owner/operator operates its own satellite antenna ground station, or leases time on the antenna, and connects its own hardware and/or software to the leased antenna on a ground station operated by another entity. In addition, most satellite owners/operators provide and manage the required network equipment to connect owned or leased satellite antennas to storage locations to store data received from the satellites of the satellite owners/operators. The costs involved in building and maintaining a satellite antenna ground station and/or renting a satellite antenna at a commercial satellite antenna ground station may be high for many satellite owners/operators, and may be high for other potential satellite owners/operators. In addition, because of the high cost involved in having a satellite antenna ground station or leasing an antenna at a commercial satellite antenna ground station, many satellite owners/operators may maintain a limited number of satellite antennas to contact their satellites. For example, to reduce costs, the satellite owner/operator may minimize the number of satellite antennas that the satellite/owner operator maintains access to.

A satellite owner/operator may communicate with its satellites via a limited number of satellite antennas that the satellite owner/operator maintains access to, but may not be able to communicate with the satellite owner/operator's satellites when the owner/operator's satellites are not within range of the satellite antennas that the satellite owner/operator maintains access to. Satellite antennas that remain accessible to the satellite owner/operator may tend to go unused during periods when the satellite is not within range. This may represent a cost penalty because satellite antenna access time is a readily lost resource that is lost forever if not used. For example, the amount of unused time in the past may be lost and may not be used in the future. Also, satellite resources may be at least partially perishable resources that are permanently lost if not used. For example, a communication satellite that is unable to relay communications during a time period when the satellite is not within range may lose cost because unprocessed traffic in the past cannot be added to future capacity, but instead is lost forever. Thus, a satellite owner/operator having a limited number of satellite antennas may suffer a loss of perishable satellite antenna access time when the satellite(s) of the satellite owner/operator are not within range of the satellite antenna(s) of the satellite owner/operator. For example, an arctic ground station and an arctic orbiting satellite may be within range of each other for 10 minutes of a 90 minute orbit of the arctic satellite, but the rest of the 90 minute orbit may be unused.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service provides the client with a satellite antenna ground station access slot reservation for an access window of a time period as short as one minute or other duration (e.g., 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.). Additionally, in some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service allows the client to issue a slot reservation request within a short time of the requested slot, e.g., within 15 minutes before the requested slot. Whereas conventional satellite antennas require long lead times to build, or lease and configure, satellite antenna ground station services can provide short lead times (e.g., as short as 10 minutes) by utilizing a network of satellite antenna ground stations and systems that are easily configured to access various types of satellites. In addition, the network of satellite antenna ground stations is connected to a high speed network that includes a local data center near the satellite antenna ground stations. In addition, the satellite antenna ground station service may also provide "flexible" satellite antenna ground station capacity to clients, which may be expanded or reduced according to client requirements. For example, a client that requires a large amount of data for downlink may reserve satellite antenna access slots on multiple satellite antenna ground stations in various locations to downlink the large amount of data, and may not need to reserve other slots of the satellite antenna ground stations when the client does not require the large amount of data for downlink or does not require downlink data at all. Thus, the client may be required to pay for the actual amount of satellite antenna ground station access time that the client needs, and when the client does not need to access the client's satellite, the client may not be required to pay for the satellite antenna ground station access time.

Additionally, the satellite antenna ground station service may be part of a provider network that has sufficient capacity to store data received from satellites and make the data available anywhere in the world. For example, the provider network may be accessed from any location connected to the internet or otherwise connected to the provider network, such as via a Direct physical connection to the provider network (e.g., a dedicated network connection, such as those provided by an AWS Direct Connect). Additionally, in some embodiments, the satellite antennas served by the satellite antenna ground stations may be located in mid-latitude locations around the world such that at least one of the satellite antennas served by the satellite antenna ground station is within range of the client satellite at any given time (or will be instantaneous).

For example, the satellite antenna ground station service may enable a client to take a picture of Greece via the client's satellite, download the picture data 10 minutes later to a satellite antenna ground station service ground station in India (India), process the picture data on a computing instance of the provider network located in the India's data center or in various other locations connected to the provider network, and deliver the processed picture data to a customer in Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia) after capturing the picture 10 minutes above Greece. In contrast, a similar situation using an arctic ground station would take the satellite 45 minutes to cross greek and reach the arctic ground station.

In some embodiments, the mid-latitude locations may include populated land and sea between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south latitude.

In some embodiments, satellite antenna ground station services integrate satellite antennas and software defined radio/radio frequency digitizers into data center locations around the world to provide global ground station services, such as ground station as a service (GSaaS). In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service further comprises a front end processor implemented on the virtual computing resources and/or an encryption module implemented on the virtual computing resources to further process and decrypt the downlink data and encrypt data to be uplinked to the client satellite. In some embodiments, the client may perform satellite operations for the client via satellite antenna ground station services (e.g., satellite control, data uplink, and/or data downlink), and may additionally process the downlink data via any one or more of a variety of services provided by the provider network, such as virtual computing services, data storage services, machine learning services, data analysis services, visual recognition services, database services, or other supported network-based services. In some embodiments, the client may choose to process the client's downlink data on its own premises, and may contact the client's satellite using satellite antenna ground station services and transmit the downlink data to the client's premises for processing.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may support both S-band frequency communications and X-band frequency communications, for example for communicating with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may support C-band frequency communications, Ku-band frequency communications, and Ka-band frequency communications, for example, for communicating with geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may support UHF band frequencies. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may support various other frequency band communications for communicating with various other types of satellites. As an example, the satellite antenna ground station service may allow a streaming carrier client to receive and transmit live media content from an event such as a super bowl or olympic conference by down-loading the live media content to a high capacity provider network containing thousands or millions of servers located in data centers around the world and streaming the live media content from the servers to clients of the streaming carrier client.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may include or connect to an identity and access management service that enforces identity and access management policies for contacting the satellite. In some embodiments, a client of the satellite antenna ground station service may submit information to the identity and access management service verifying ownership of the client's satellite or authorization to access the satellite. Once verified, the client may schedule contact with the satellite via satellite antenna access to the reserved time slot of the satellite antenna served by the satellite antenna ground station.

In some embodiments, prior to the reserved satellite antenna access slot, the satellite antenna ground station service may instantiate one or more session instances using virtualized computing resources of another service of the service provider network (e.g., a computing service of the provider network) that includes the satellite antenna ground station service. In some embodiments, physical computing resources may be used for session instances (as opposed to virtual computing resources). In some embodiments, a session instance may include a client data processing instance, also referred to herein as a "downlinked instance. The session instance may also include client command and control instances. In some embodiments, client data processing or "downlink instances" may process downlink data that has been converted from analog data received by a satellite antenna to Internet Protocol (IP) digital data. For example, a satellite antenna ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station may include a software defined radio and/or digitizer that converts analog radio signals to digital signals. The satellite antenna ground station may further include a receiver that may perform demodulation, forward error correction, and conversion to IP. For example, the downlinked data may be converted to IP according to the VITA 49 standard (VMEbus (Versa Module Europa bus) international trade association 49 standard). In addition, the client data processing or "downlink instance" may break down the digital data into frames via the front-end processor and may further decrypt the downlink data frames via an encryption/decryption module of the client data processing or downlink instance, wherein the downlink data frames are decrypted into decrypted data frames.

In some embodiments, the instantiated session instances, e.g., client data processing instances or "downlink instances" and client command and control instances, for the reserved satellite antenna access slots may be separated from the ground station controller and ground station downlink router by the ground station's gateway. In some embodiments, the gateway may restrict access to the ground station controller and the ground station downlink router. For example, a session instance of a first client may access a ground station controller and a downlink router via a gateway during a time slot reserved for the first client, and the session instance may be prevented from accessing the ground station controller and a ground station downlink router outside of the reserved time slot reserved for the first client. In this manner, multiple clients may each have a session instance instantiated and configured to communicate with the satellite of the respective client at the same time, but only the session instance of a single client may access the satellite antenna during the reserved time slot. It should be noted that because other clients are ready for session instances before their time slots begin, these clients may not need to waste time during the reserved time slots to instantiate data processing instances or client command and control instances configured to communicate with their respective satellites.

In some embodiments, data downlinked from a client satellite may be added to a "data lake" maintained by one or more data centers of a provider network that includes satellite antenna ground station services. In some embodiments, more than one client may contribute the downlinked data to the "data lake". In some embodiments, the provider network may include a data analysis service, a machine learning service, a visual recognition service, or other service that utilizes "data lake" data to learn new relationships or for other purposes. In some embodiments, in addition to the satellite antenna ground station access being resilient and readily expandable (expanding or contracting), other services of the provider network may be resilient and readily expandable (expanding or contracting). For example, computing services that process data for downlinks may be flexible and easily expanded (expanded or contracted). In a similar manner, the data storage service may be flexible and may be easily expanded (expanded or contracted) to store data downlink from a satellite or to store other types of data, such as data generated based on the downlink data.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may be in contact with a low earth orbit satellite (LEO). As an example, LEO satellites may be used for earth observation and may transmit up to 15 terabytes of data to clients via a satellite antenna ground station service, or a satellite antenna ground station service may store the transmitted data on behalf of clients in a storage service of a provider network that includes the satellite antenna ground station service. In some cases, a LEO satellite may complete 16 orbits around the earth a day. In some embodiments, a satellite antenna ground station service may contact a medium earth orbit satellite. By way of example, medium earth orbit satellites may be used for Global Positioning (GPS) and may orbit the earth between 2 and 10 times a day. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may be in contact with a geosynchronous satellite (GEO). GEO satellites can only travel around the earth once a day and may remain in the same location in the sky relative to the earth. GEO satellites may therefore be used generally for broadcasting (e.g., for satellite television services), communication relays, macro weather observation, tracking boats, airplanes, and the like.

Notably, because the satellite antenna ground station service as described herein may be integrated into a provider network that includes a plurality of data centers and networking equipment to connect the plurality of data centers to one another and to customers, a customer of the satellite antenna ground station service may not need to establish a network connection with a ground station (as is the case with current commercial satellite antenna ground stations) since the ground station of the satellite antenna ground station service is already connected to the data centers integrated into the provider network.

Fig. 1 illustrates a provider network that includes data centers and associated satellite antenna ground stations, wherein the provider network provides satellite antenna ground station services to clients, according to some embodiments.

Provider network 102 includes data center 110 and associated ground station 142, data center 112 and associated ground station 144, and data center 114 and associated ground station 146. In some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, may include additional data centers and associated ground stations. Provider network 102 is also connected to client a 140A, client B140B, and client C140C via network 138. In some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, may be connected to any number of clients, and satellite antenna ground station services, such as ground station services 116, of the provider network may provide satellite antenna ground station services to any number of clients of the provider network. For example, provider network 102 can also contact satellites owned or operated by clients A-C via satellite antennas at ground stations 142, 144, and 146 of ground station service 116. For example, ground station 142 may be contacting client a satellite 104, ground station 144 may be contacting client B satellite 106, and ground station 146 may be contacting client C satellite 108.

In some embodiments, data downlinked from a client satellite by a satellite antenna ground station service may be provided to and/or stored in a data center associated with the ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station. For example, data downlinked from client a satellite 104 may be made available to and/or stored in data center 110. Further, in some embodiments, each data center of the provider network may be connected to other data centers of the provider network via a high-speed network connection of the provider network. For example, data centers 110, 112, and 114 may be connected to each other via a high-speed network connection of provider network 102. Thus, any client accessing the satellite antenna ground station service of the provider network, including the satellite antenna ground station service, may access data downlinked from the client's satellite, for example, via an internet connection to the provider network. Further, in some embodiments, the client may access the downlinked data from the remotely located data center using the high speed network connection of the provider network, such that the data access latency is not significantly different from the client's perspective than if the data were accessed from a locally located data center. Further, in some embodiments, the downlinked client data may be relocated from multiple data centers to and/or merged in data centers near the client. For example, downlink data may be collected using corresponding satellite antenna ground stations associated with multiple data centers and transmitted over a high-speed network connection of a provider network such that the downlink data is consolidated at one or more of the data centers.

In addition, computing devices of a provider network, such as provider network 102 (e.g., storage servers, computing servers, networking devices, etc.), may implement a variety of other provider network services. For example, the dashed boxes shown in fig. 1 illustrate a logical view of services that may be provided by provider network 102 using physical hardware located in data centers 110, 112, 114, and so on. In some embodiments, in addition to the ground station service 116, the provider network may provide a computing service 126, wherein the computing service implements virtualized computing instances assigned to clients of the computing service, and wherein the virtualized computing instances are implemented using physical computing devices included in the data centers 110, 112, 114, and so forth. In some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, also provides data storage services, such as data storage service 128. In some embodiments, the data storage service may be any of various types of data storage services, such as a chunk-based storage service that provides chunk storage resources to compute instances of a computing service, such as computing service 126. Additionally, in some embodiments, the data storage service may be an object-based storage service that stores data objects (e.g., downlink satellite data) on behalf of clients, or may be a cold storage service that provides a low-cost storage solution for infrequently accessed data objects (e.g., downlink satellite data).

In some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, also includes a machine learning service, such as machine learning service 130. In some embodiments, the machine learning service may apply machine learning techniques to the downlink satellite data, as may be stored in the data storage service 128. In some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, may further include a data analysis service, such as data analysis service 132. In some embodiments, the data analysis service may perform data analysis operations on the downlink satellite data and/or other data stored in the data storage service of the provider network. For example, in some embodiments, the data analysis service may compare data collected from other sources with downlink satellite data to perform data analysis.

In some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, may further include a database service, such as database service 134. In some embodiments, one or more databases managed by the database service 134 may be at least partially populated with satellite downlink data received from client satellites, where the populated databases are made available to clients. Additionally, in some embodiments, a provider network, such as provider network 102, may provide a plurality of other network-based services, such as other network-based services 136, that may be used to analyze, manipulate, store, etc., satellite downlink data received from a client's satellite. For example, in some embodiments, other network-based services 136 may include elasticity map reduction services, query services, multiple types of machine learning services (in addition to or as part of machine learning service 130), cryptographic key management services, software development toolkit services, networking services, mobile communication services, internet of things (IoT) services, security services, enterprise applications, and so forth.

In some embodiments, a satellite antenna ground station service, such as ground station service 116, implements a user interface, such as user interface 124. In some embodiments, the client may verify ownership or authority over the satellite by submitting identification credentials to the satellite service via a user interface. In some embodiments, a scheduling/authorization component, such as scheduling/authorization component 118, may verify a client's ownership of a satellite or a client's authority with respect to a satellite. Once a client is authorized to use a given client satellite, the client may submit a request for a satellite antenna access slot for a contact session with the client satellite for which the client has been authorized. For example, clients A-C submit access requests to the ground station service 116 via the network 138 and the user interface 124 of the ground station service 116. In some embodiments, a user interface for satellite antenna ground station services, such as user interface 124, may be a web-based graphical user interface, wherein a client submits a satellite antenna access slot request via the graphical user interface. In some embodiments, a user interface of the satellite antenna ground station service, such as user interface 124, may be an Application Programming Interface (API), wherein a client programmatically submits a request for a satellite antenna access slot via the API of the satellite antenna ground station service.

In some embodiments, in response to receiving a request from a client of satellite antenna ground station services, a satellite antenna ground station services scheduling/authorizing component may reserve a time slot on a satellite antenna serviced by the satellite antenna ground station. In some embodiments, a client of the satellite antenna ground station service may indicate in a request a desired ground station location, a desired time slot, a satellite to contact during a satellite antenna access time slot, and/or additional information about the requested satellite antenna access time slot. In some embodiments, a scheduling/authorization component of a satellite antenna ground station service, such as scheduling/authorization component 118 of ground station service 116, may match a requested time slot, a requested ground station, etc., with an available time slot on a satellite antenna of a ground station included in the satellite antenna ground station service.

In some embodiments, a scheduling/authorization service, such as scheduling/authorization component 118, may apply one or more priority factors to determine the priority of a client requesting a conflicting time slot. For example, some client applications may not be substantially affected by using a different ground station than the requesting ground station, while other client applications may be affected, or some clients may not specify the requested ground station location. In such cases, when requests to the same ground station during the same time slot conflict, a scheduling/grant component, such as scheduling/grant component 118, may prioritize requests from clients that are affected by ground station location over requests from clients that are less affected by ground station location by changing ground station location. In addition, in a similar manner, a scheduling/grant component, such as scheduling/grant component 118, may apply one or more priority factors to resolve conflicting requests based on time. For example, some client applications may be sensitive to time delays, while other client applications may be insensitive to time delays. In such cases, a scheduling/grant component, such as scheduling/grant component 118, may prioritize time-sensitive requests over other requests.

In some embodiments, the scheduling/authorization component may operate according to a first come first serve model in which time slot reservations are provided to clients from an inventory of remaining available time slots of ground stations included in the satellite antenna ground station service based on the order in which requests are received. In some embodiments, the scheduling/authorization component may operate according to a hybrid model, where exceptions are made to certain classes of sensitive requests that may be time sensitive or ground station location sensitive based on the order in which the requests are received, with time slot reservations provided to clients from an inventory of remaining available time slots for ground stations included in the satellite antenna ground station service.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service integrates the satellite and/or antenna control plane and data plane into a provider network service, such as a satellite antenna ground station service. For example, in some embodiments, a satellite antenna ground station service, such as ground station service 116, includes command and control components and data processing components, such as command and control component 120 and data processing component 122. In some embodiments, a client served by the satellite antenna ground station may remotely control one or more parameters of the ground station and/or the client's satellite via a command and control component, such as command and control component 120. For example, the client may interact with the command and control component via a user interface of the satellite antenna ground station service (e.g., a web-based graphical user interface) or an API of the satellite antenna ground station service (e.g., user interface 124).

In some embodiments, the command and control components may be implemented using compute instances of a compute service, such as the compute instance provided by compute service 126, where the compute instances are assigned to instantiate command and control instances. In a similar manner, the data processing components may be implemented using compute instances of a compute service, such as the compute instance provided by compute service 126, where the compute instances are allocated for instantiating the data processing components.

In some embodiments, session instances, such as command and control instances and data processing instances, may be instantiated prior to a reserved time slot reserved for a client. Thus, the command and control instance and the data processing instance can prepare downlink or uplink data to the client satellite at the beginning of the reserved time slot without the need to configure the command and control component or the data processing component after the beginning of the reserved time slot. Additionally, in some embodiments, the configuration of the command and control components and data processing components for a particular client may be stored by the satellite antenna ground station service and may be used to instantiate command and control instances and/or data processing instances for future time slots reserved for the client.

In some embodiments, session instances, such as command and control instances and data processing instances, may be implemented on computing resources attached to or associated with a data center of a ground station where clients have reserved time slots for satellite antenna access. Thus, data downlinked from the client's satellite via the satellite antenna served by the satellite antenna ground station during the access time slot may be processed locally at the additional data center via a data processing instance implemented at the additional data center. In a similar manner, locally implemented command and control instances may be implemented at a data center attached to a satellite antenna assigned to a client during a reserved time slot for satellite antenna access.

In some embodiments, the ground stations served by the ground stations, such as the satellite antennas of ground stations 142, 144, and 146, include one or more satellite antennas, software defined radios, and modems to communicate with the satellites using radio signals. In some embodiments, the ground station may receive data downlinked from the client satellites, monitor the health and status of the client satellites, provide commands to the client satellites to perform tasks such as, by way of example, taking photographs, or transmitting television, voice, or radio signals to customers on earth. In some embodiments, the ground station may include redundant components, such as primary and secondary antennas, software defined radios, modems, and the like.

In some embodiments, a user interface of a satellite antenna ground station service, such as user interface 124, may include one or more APIs that serve as endpoints that allow for programmatic integration of the satellite antenna ground station service into existing satellite operating systems. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may further relay communications to other ground stations using satellites owned or operated by the satellite antenna ground station service. For example, a satellite antenna ground station service may downlink data from a client satellite and then relay the downlink data to another ground station via a geostationary satellite operated by the satellite antenna ground station service.

FIG. 2 illustrates a provider network including data centers and associated satellite antenna ground stations at various geographic locations, according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may include a plurality of ground stations and associated data centers distributed over a mid-latitude region of the earth such that the client satellite is within range (or will momentarily be within range) of at least one ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station, regardless of the position of the satellite in satellite orbit.

For example, a provider network such as provider network 102 may include a ground station 204 and associated data center 206 on the pacific, which may be implemented on an island or on an ocean-going vessel or platform. The provider network may also include a ground station 240 and a data center 242 located along the pacific coast of the united states that are connected to the data center 206 via a network connection 202, for example, the network connection 202 may be a fiber optic high speed cable. Further, the provider network may include another ground station 208 and a data center 210 located on the east coast of the united states.

As shown in fig. 2, a provider network, such as provider network 102, may include any number of ground stations and associated data centers located around the world. For example, provider network 102 also includes ground station 236 and data center 238 located in Oslo, Norway, in Brazil, 212 and data center 214, 216 and data center 218 located in South Africa, 220 and data center 222 located in Australia, 224 and data center 226 located in Japan, 228 and data center 230 located in india, 232 and data center 234 located in Turkey, and 236 and data center 238 located in London.

In some embodiments, each data center of provider network 102 may be connected to each other via a high-speed connection 202. In some embodiments, more or fewer high-speed connections 202 may be included in provider network 102 between data centers.

Fig. 3A illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service that schedules satellite antenna access time slots for contact with client satellites, in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, a user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service, such as the user interface 124 of the ground station service 116 shown in fig. 1, may provide a graphical user interface for clients to schedule satellite antenna access slots, as shown in fig. 3A-3B. For example, dispatch interface 300 includes satellite authentication/authorization element 302, contact dispatch element 312, and auto-contact dispatch element 324.

In some embodiments, the client may provide satellite identification information and authorization information to a satellite antenna ground station service of a satellite owned or operated by the client. For example, the client may provide a satellite name via block 304, a satellite identifier such as NORAD directory number, NORAD ID, NASA directory number, ussaeceacom object number, other directory numbers and similar variants, COSPAR numbers, etc., via block 306. In addition, the client may provide other identification or authorization information via block 308. To verify authorization, the client may click on button 310 after filling one or more of boxes 304, 306, or 308.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may maintain an authorization database and may compare the submitted information with information stored in the authorization database to verify the authorization of the client to communicate with the satellite. Additionally, in some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may submit information provided by the client to a third party to verify authorization, such as a governmental entity. Once authorization/ownership is verified, the client may schedule a contact session with the verified satellite via scheduling element 312.

For example, the client may enter the name of the satellite to contact via block 314 of the schedule element 312. The client may also indicate a desired time slot via block 316 and optionally a desired ground station location via block 320. In some embodiments, the client may desire a satellite antenna ground station service to provide a proposed time slot and/or ground station to schedule a reserved satellite antenna access time slot. For example, the client may enter a satellite name via box 312 and may click button 332 to provide it with a suggested time slot and/or a suggested ground station location. In some embodiments, the client may specify a ground station or time slot, and may request a recommendation for the ground station at the time slot of the specified ground station or at the specified time slot. To reserve the satellite antenna access slot, the client may click on the submit button 322 to reserve the time and ground station indicated in blocks 316 and 320. In response, the satellite antenna ground station service may send a confirmation message to the client to confirm the reservation.

In some embodiments, the client may be more concerned with the amount of data to be uplinked to or downlinked from the client satellite, while the client may be less concerned with when or from which ground station a contact session occurred. In such cases, the client may identify the satellite to contact via block 326 of the auto-contact schedule element 324 and may indicate the amount of data to transmit via block 326 of the auto-contact schedule element 324. The client may then click on button 330 to reserve a sufficient number and/or duration of satellite antenna access slots to transmit the amount of data indicated via block 328. In some embodiments, a scheduler served by the satellite antenna ground station may determine a number and duration of contact sessions required to transmit the requested amount of data, and may reserve satellite antenna access slots sufficient to conduct the determined number and duration of contact sessions to transmit the indicated amount of data. In some embodiments, instead of indicating the amount of data to be transmitted, the client may indicate one or more files, objects, etc. to be uplinked to or downlinked from the satellite, and a scheduler served by the satellite antenna ground station may determine the amount of data needed for the files or objects indicated by the uplink or downlink. A scheduler served by the satellite antenna ground station may then reserve satellite antenna access time slots sufficient to make the determined number and duration of contact sessions to transmit the determined amount of data.

In some embodiments, the client may request contact sessions having different durations. For example, the client may request a contact session as short as five minutes. Additionally, in some embodiments, the client may request contact sessions in multiple geographic areas or geographic regions (e.g., different ground station locations). In some embodiments, a scheduler of the satellite antenna ground station service may calculate when to reserve a contact session based on stored information about the client's satellite. For example, the scheduler may perform orbit mechanics calculations to determine when to schedule a contact session with the client's satellites. In some embodiments, the client may further indicate in the request for a contact session the identity and access management policy of the satellite (not shown) to be applied to the client.

Fig. 3B illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service for managing reserved satellite antenna access slots, in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may provide a contact session monitoring page where the client may view the scheduled contact sessions and modify or delete the scheduled contact sessions. For example, a scheduling interface (e.g., a contact session monitoring page) may include any number of satellite contact queues for scheduled satellite contacts. As shown in fig. 3B, the scheduling interface 350 includes a satellite 1 contact queue 352 and a satellite 2 contact queue 362. In some embodiments, the contact queue may list scheduled contact sessions for the client satellite and may include an option to modify or delete the scheduled contact sessions. For example, satellite 1 contact queue 352 lists scheduled contact sessions 354, 356, and 358, and includes a modify/delete button 360. As another example, satellite 2 contact queue 362 lists scheduled contact sessions 364, 366, and 368 and includes a modify/delete button 370.

In some embodiments, the client may modify or delete the scheduled contact session within a short time, such as 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the contact session.

Fig. 4 illustrates a more detailed view of a ground station included in a satellite antenna ground station service in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the ground stations included in the satellite antenna ground station service in the provider network, such as ground station 436 of ground station service 116 of provider network 102, include two or more satellite antennas, such as satellite antennas 402 and 420. In some embodiments, any of the ground stations described herein, such as ground stations 142, 144, and 146 shown in fig. 1, and ground stations 204, 208, 212, 216, 220, 224, 228, 232, 236, and/or 240 shown in fig. 2, may include a similar arrangement of components as shown for ground station 436 in fig. 4.

The ground station 436 includes a wideband receiver 404, a narrowband receiver 406, and one or more other band receivers 408 connected to the satellite antenna 402. In addition, the antenna control unit 410 is connected to the satellite antenna 402. In a similar manner, a wideband receiver 422, a narrowband receiver 424, and one or more other band receivers 426 are connected to the satellite antenna 420, as are antenna control units 428.

In some embodiments, the wideband receiver, the narrowband receiver, and/or the other band receiver may include software defined radios and/or digitizers that convert analog signals transmitted to or received from the satellites into digital signals. In some embodiments, a software defined radio and/or digitizer may perform demodulation, forward error correction, and conversion of the digital signal to internet protocol formatted data (IP formatted data). In some embodiments, a router, such as router 412, may route the downlink data from the broadband receiver, narrowband receiver, or other band receiver to an additional router 414, which additional router 414 routes the downlink data through a gateway 438 to a session instance 434 instantiated for the client's contact session. The router 414 may also route the downlink data to a ground station controller 416. In addition, the ground station controller 416 may communicate with the satellite antenna ground station service scheduler, for example, to determine which clients are scheduled for a given time slot and apply the configuration stored for the clients during their time slots. In a similar manner, routers 430 and 432 and gateway 440 may route data downlinked from satellite antenna 420 to client session instance 434 and/or ground station controller 416.

In some embodiments, the ground station controller 416 may control the operation of the satellite antenna 402 or 420 by commands routed to the antenna control unit 410 or the antenna control unit 428 via the routers 414 and 412 or via the routers 432 and 430.

In some embodiments, the wideband receivers 404 and 422 and the narrowband receivers 406 and 424 may include bidirectional digitizers with Forward Error Correction (FEC) that convert between analog satellite signals and digital IP signals. In some embodiments, the data processing instance (included in session instance 434) may further implement a receiver/modem and a front-end processor. Further, the data processing instance 434 may include a command and control instance that allows the client to command and control the client's satellite.

In some embodiments, the client may communicate with the client's satellite during the contact session using multiple satellite antennas. For example, in some embodiments, a client may communicate with the client's satellite during a contact session using both satellite antennas 402 and 420. In some embodiments, the client may downlink up to 7,000 megabits of data per second on both channels. In some embodiments, an electronically controlled array of satellite antennas may allow multiple contacts to be made with a single satellite sensor, either simultaneously or sequentially.

Fig. 5 illustrates a more detailed view of components that may be included in a satellite antenna ground station service in accordance with some embodiments. For example, fig. 5 shows additional details regarding components that may be included in the ground station service 116 as shown in fig. 1 or any of the satellite antenna ground station services described herein.

In some embodiments, the identity and access management service 538, which is included in or available to a satellite antenna ground station service, such as the ground station service 116, may receive satellite identification information and ownership/authorization information and may verify whether the client is authorized to communicate with a given satellite. As shown in fig. 1, in some embodiments, the identity and access management services or components may be included in the satellite antenna ground station service scheduler or may be separate.

For example, an identity and access management service, such as identity and access management service 538, may receive satellite identifiers, such as NORAD directory number, NORAD ID, NASA directory number, ussaeceacom object number, directory number and similar variants, COSPAR number, etc., as well as other identifying information or authorization information from clients via user interface 124. To verify authorization, the identity and access management service may maintain an authorization database, and may compare the submitted information with information stored in the authorization database to verify the authorization of the client to communicate with the satellite. Additionally, in some embodiments, identity and access management services, such as identity and access management service 538, may submit information provided by the client to a third party to verify authorization, such as to a governmental entity. Once authorization/ownership is verified, the client may schedule a contact session with the verified satellite via the ground station service dispatcher 118.

In some embodiments, an earth station service scheduler included in a satellite antenna earth station service, such as the earth station service scheduler 118 included in the earth station service 116, may include a session instance manager 508, the session instance manager 508 instantiating a session instance for a client prior to a scheduled reserved time slot. In some embodiments, a session instance manager, such as session instance manager 508, can cause machine images to be loaded onto instantiated session instances to implement a client data processing instance (as shown at 604 of FIG. 6) or a client command and control instance (as shown at 610 of FIG. 6). In some embodiments, the session instance manager 508 can cause stored data handler images stored in the data handler image memory 532 to be launched on instantiated session instances to implement client data processing session instances. In a similar manner, the session instance manager 508 can cause stored client command and control machine images stored in the command and control machine images storage 534 to be launched on instantiated session instances to implement the client command and control session instances.

In some embodiments, a ground station service scheduler, such as the ground station service scheduler 118, may include an orbit propagator engine 510 to determine respective orbital positions of satellites at a future time. These predicted orbital positions may be used when selecting time slots and ground stations for a requested contact session (e.g., satellite antenna access time slot reservation) with a particular satellite. In addition, the ground station service scheduler 118 may include a minimum feasible contact requirements storage 512 for scheduling contacts with client satellites. Additionally, the ground station service scheduler may include a joint management element 514 to determine how communications with a particular satellite are affected by the actual or apparent proximity of other orbiting objects. In addition, the ground station service scheduler may include a hardware conflict resolution element 516 to resolve conflicting requests to the same satellite antenna hardware at the same time.

In some embodiments, a ground station service scheduler, such as ground station service scheduler 118, may submit session instance request 504 to a provider network computing service, such as computing service 126, prior to reserving a time slot. The computing service may provide a session instance that then loads (or launches) the data processor image from the data processor image memory 532 and then loads (or launches) the client command and control engine image from the command and control engine image memory 534. In addition, the ground station service scheduler 118 may submit a resource allocation request 502 to a ground station controller, such as ground station controller 416, and may submit a gateway access grant 506 for the session instance to gateways 438 and 440. In some embodiments, a client may not be able to access a ground station controller or a downlink data router via a gateway prior to reserving a time slot.

In some embodiments, a satellite antenna ground station service, such as ground station service 116, may store client configuration data and a current contact schedule in data store 518. The satellite antenna ground station service may further store telemetry information for the client satellite in telemetry memory 536. A ground station controller, such as ground station controller 416, may include a state management system 524 for maintaining state with the satellite during the contact session. In addition, the ground station controller may include a hardware telemetry system 528 to adjust the antenna based on satellite telemetry during the contact session. Additionally, the ground station controller 416 may include: a hardware command module 522 for generating hardware commands for satellite antenna hardware; and an alarm response module 526 for indicating a satellite antenna alarm and/or allowing a response to a satellite antenna alarm. Further, the ground station controller 416 may issue commands to the hardware interface driver(s) 530, which hardware interface driver 530 may work with the antenna control unit 410 or the antenna control unit 428 to execute the commands issued by the ground station controller 416. For example, the ground station controller may cause the satellite antenna to be actuated in the direction of the satellite in contact with the satellite antenna, and may adjust the antenna to maintain contact with the satellite during the contact session.

In some embodiments, in response to a failure of a satellite antenna or hardware associated with a satellite antenna, a ground station controller, such as ground station controller 416, may send a hardware failure/re-planning request 520 to a ground station service scheduler, such as ground station service scheduler 118. For example, in some embodiments, in response to the hardware failure/re-planning request 520, the satellite antenna ground station service may reserve a time slot on the ground station or another satellite antenna at another ground station. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may provide access to another satellite antenna at the same ground station for the remaining duration of the current contact session.

Fig. 6 illustrates components of a provider network that may be used in connection with a satellite antenna access session for contacting a client satellite in accordance with some embodiments.

As discussed previously, the session instance may be provided to the client before and during the contact session. For example, fig. 6 shows a session instance 618 provided to the client 140 during a contact session (e.g., a reserved satellite antenna access slot). Additionally, in some embodiments, a direct connection 602 may be provided to the client from the provider network data center to the client premises where the data of the downlink is processed by the client.

In some embodiments, the session instance 618 may include a client data processing instance 604 and a client command and control instance 610. In some embodiments, client data processing instance 604 may include a front-end processing element 606 and/or an encryption processing element 608. In some embodiments, client command and control instance 610 includes a satellite status and health dashboard 612, a satellite control module 614, and/or a ground station control module 616. For example, status and health dashboard 612 may provide status and health information as shown by status and health dashboard 702 shown in FIG. 7. As another example, the satellite control module 614 may cause execution of commands received via the satellite command interface 712 shown in fig. 7. As yet another example, the ground station control module 614 may cause execution of commands received via the ground station control interface 720 shown in fig. 7.

In some embodiments, client data processing instance 604 may further include a data dashboard module (not shown) that implements data dashboard 802 as shown in FIG. 8.

In some embodiments, the downlink data received via the gateway 438 or 440 may be routed to the client data processing instance 604 and further processed via the front-end processing element 606 and may be decrypted via the encryption processing element 608. The processed and decrypted data may be routed to any of a variety of services provided by provider network 102, such as computing services 126, data storage services 128, machine learning services 130, data analysis services 132, other network-based services 136, and so forth. In addition, the processed data may alternatively or additionally be provided to client(s) 140 via network 138. In addition, client(s) 140 may also access data processed or generated by any service of the provider network via network 138.

In some embodiments, client(s) 140 may include a satellite owner/operator and/or other client(s) that utilize services of a service provider network. Other clients may not have access to session instance 618, but may utilize other services of the provider network. Clients of the provider network may communicate network-based service requests to the provider network 102 via the external network 138. In various embodiments, external network 138 may encompass any suitable combination of networking hardware and protocols necessary to establish network-based communications between clients and provider network 102. For example, network 138 may generally encompass various telecommunications networks and service providers that collectively implement the Internet. The network 138 may also include private networks such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), as well as public or private wireless networks. For example, both a given client and provider network 102 may be provided separately within an enterprise having their own internal networks. In such embodiments, network 138 may include the hardware (e.g., modems, routers, switches, load balancers, proxy servers, etc.) and software (e.g., protocol stacks, accounting software, firewall/security software, etc.) necessary to establish a networking link between a given client and the internet, and between the internet and provider network 102. It should be noted that in some embodiments, client 140 may communicate with provider network 102 using a private network instead of the public internet (e.g., direct connection 602).

Provider network 102 may be established by an entity, such as a company or public sector organization, to provide one or more services (such as various types of cloud-based computing or storage) accessible via the internet and/or other networks to clients 140. In some embodiments, provider network 102 may be the same as provider network 102 described in fig. 1 and 2. Provider network 102 may include a plurality of data centers (such as the data centers described above with respect to fig. 1 and 2) that host resource pools (such as a collection of physical and/or virtualized computer servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and the like (e.g., computing system 1200 described below with respect to fig. 12)) required to implement and distribute the infrastructure and services provided by provider network 102. In some embodiments, provider network 102 may provide computing resources (e.g., virtual computing services 126), data storage services 128 (e.g., block-based storage services), or various other storage types (e.g., object/key-value based data stores), or various types of database systems (e.g., database services 134), and/or any other type of network-based service 136. Clients 140 may access these various services provided by provider network 102 via network 138. Likewise, the network-based services themselves may communicate with and/or utilize each other to provide different services. For example, computing resources provided to clients 140 in "instances," such as virtual or physical computing instances or storage instances, may utilize other resources.

The computing service 126 may provide various computing instances to the client 140. For example, a virtual compute instance may be implemented on one or more resource hosts included in a data center (such as the data centers described in fig. 1 and 2) that contain one or more servers with specified computing capabilities (which may be specified by indicating the type and number of CPUs, main memory size, etc.) and a specified software stack (e.g., a particular version of an operating system that may run on top of a hypervisor). A variety of different types of computing devices, including dedicated computer servers, storage devices, network devices, etc., may be used alone or in combination to implement a computing instance of the virtual computing service 126 in different embodiments. In some embodiments, instance client 140 or any other user may be configured (and/or authorized) to direct network traffic to a compute instance.

The computing instance may operate or implement a variety of different platforms, such as an application server instance, Java^TMA virtual machine (JVM), a dedicated operating system, a platform that supports various interpreted or compiled programming languages such as Ruby, Perl, Python, C + +, or a high-performance computing platform suitable for executing client applications without requiring, for example, the client 140 to access the instance.

Clients of the service provider network may encompass any type of client that may be configured to submit requests to provider network 102. For example, a given client may include a suitable version of a web browser, or may include a plug-in module or other type of code module configured to execute as an extension to or within an execution environment provided by the web browser. Alternatively, the client may encompass applications such as a database application (or user interface thereof), a media application, an office application, or any other application that may utilize a computing instance of the computing service 126 or other network-based service in the provider network 102 to perform various operations. In some embodiments, the clients 140 may include satellite owners/operators and/or other clients of the service provider network. In some embodiments, such applications may include sufficient protocol support (e.g., for a suitable version of the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)) for generating and processing web-based service requests without having to implement full browser support for all types of web-based data. In some embodiments, the client 140 may be configured to generate the network-based service request according to a representational state transfer (REST) style network-based service architecture, a document or message-based network-based service architecture, or another suitable network-based service architecture.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service providing command and control options to clients according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments, a user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service, such as the user interface 124 of the ground station service 116 shown in fig. 1, may provide a graphical user interface for satellite and satellite antenna command and control for the client. For example, command and control interface 700 includes an instrument panel component 702, a satellite command interface 712, and a ground station control interface 720.

In some embodiments, a dashboard, such as dashboard 702, may provide the client with information about the client's satellite, information about the ground station/satellite antenna assigned to the client during the contact session, and information about the contact session. In some embodiments, the dashboard may be configured by the client to include information elements that are most relevant to the client. For example, the dashboard 702 includes a satellite health element 704, a satellite status element 706, a satellite orbital position 708, a session countdown clock 734, and buttons 710 that allow a client to add other monitoring parameters to the dashboard 702, modify monitoring parameters included in the dashboard 702, or remove monitoring parameters included in the dashboard 702.

In some embodiments, a satellite command interface, such as satellite command interface 712, includes one or more command elements that allow a client to remotely control the client's satellite. For example, the satellite command interface 712 includes telemetry, tracking, and control command elements 714 and satellite program code elements 716. For example, in some embodiments, the client may uplink command codes for tasks performed by the satellite via satellite program code element 716 and/or may issue satellite navigation or other commands to the client's satellite via telemetry, tracking, and control command element 714. In some embodiments, the client may select the submit button 718 in order to execute commands entered via the telemetry, tracking, and control command element 714 and the satellite program code element 716. In response, the client command and control instance, such as client command and control instance 610, may issue the indicated command to a ground station controller, such as ground station controller 416, or to the client's satellite via a broadband receiver, narrowband receiver, or other band receiver, such as broadband receivers 404 and 422, narrowband receivers 406 and 424, or other band receivers 408 and 426. In some embodiments, satellite commands and controls may signal via the S-band frequency at a rate of approximately 56kbps, and the ground station may receive mission payload data via the X, Ka, C, or Ku frequency band at a rate of 50-1,000 mbps. The command signals and payload signals may be converted between analog signals and digital signals via software defined radios and/or digitizers included in the wideband receiver, narrowband receiver, or other band receiver.

In some embodiments, a ground station command interface, such as ground station command interface 720, includes one or more command elements that allow a client to remotely control a satellite antenna and/or other components of a ground station assigned to the client during a contact session (e.g., a reserved satellite antenna client access time slot). For example, ground station command interface 720 includes automatic control options 722, modem adjustment element 724, software-defined radio adjustment element 724, front-end processing adjustment element 728, and antenna adjustment element 730. For example, in some embodiments, a client may select automatic control of a satellite antenna, where modem adjustments, software-defined radio adjustments, front-end processing adjustments, and antenna adjustments are automatically performed for the client during a contact session (e.g., a reserved satellite antenna client access time slot). In other embodiments, the client may make one or more adjustments to these parameters via modem adjustment element 724, software-defined radio adjustment element 724, front-end processing adjustment element 728, and/or antenna adjustment element 730. To implement client adjustments, the client may select the submit button 732. In response, the submitted adjustment(s) may be performed by a ground station controller, such as ground station controller 416, or a front-end processor of a session instance, such as front-end processing element 606 of client data processing instance 604. In some embodiments, example adjustments that may be made via a ground station control interface, such as ground station control interface 720, include frequency adjustments to the communication frequency of the satellite used to contact the client, protocol adjustments, frame synchronization adjustments, predefined configurations for normal and abnormal operations, and/or other adjustments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example graphical user interface for a satellite antenna ground station service providing a data downlink dashboard to clients according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments, a user interface of a satellite antenna ground station service, such as the user interface 124 of the ground station service 116 shown in fig. 1, may provide a data dashboard for clients during a contact session. For example, data dashboard interface 800 includes a data dashboard 802. The data dashboard 802 may be implemented based on information received by the user interface from a client data processing instance, such as client data processing instance 604.

In some embodiments, a data dashboard, such as data dashboard 802, may include a target storage location element 804 for data downlinked from a client satellite. In some embodiments, the data dashboard may also include an indicator 806 indicating an amount of downlink data received and an indicator 808 indicating an amount of downlink data not yet received. In some embodiments, a data dashboard, such as data dashboard 802, may further include a storage location selection element 810 that allows a client to select a storage location for data received from the client's satellite. For example, the client may select a storage location in a storage service (such as data storage service 128) of the provider network.

Fig. 9 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating various methods and techniques for providing satellite antenna access as a service to clients of a provider network, in accordance with some embodiments.

At 902, the satellite antenna ground station service provides a user interface to a client of the satellite antenna ground station service to reserve satellite antenna access slots on satellite antennas included in ground stations served by the satellite antenna ground station and located worldwide.

At 904, the satellite antenna ground station service receives a satellite antenna access request from a client via a user interface. The request may be received via a web-based graphical user interface, or may be received programmatically via an API of the user interface or via other means. In some embodiments, the request may indicate a client satellite to contact, and may comply with a satellite antenna ground station service to select a time and ground station for contacting the client satellite. Alternatively, the request may indicate a desired time slot, a desired ground station, or both, and the satellite antenna ground station service may attempt to reserve the satellite antenna access time slot at the requested time and/or the requested ground station. In some embodiments, the satellite antenna ground station service may provide alternative recommendations if desired time slots and/or ground station requests cannot be met due to conflicting reservations.

For example, at 906, the satellite antenna ground station service may match the requested time slot and ground station with available time slots at a plurality of ground stations served by the satellite antenna ground station for a plurality of clients.

At 908, the satellite antenna ground station service may schedule a satellite antenna access time slot for the client during the matched time slot according to the request. After successfully reserving the satellite antenna access time slot for the client, the satellite antenna ground station service may provide an acknowledgement message to the client.

Fig. 10 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating various methods and techniques for managing satellite antenna access during a satellite antenna access time slot, in accordance with some embodiments.

At 1002, during a contact session (e.g., a satellite antenna access time slot reserved for a client), a satellite antenna ground station service can transmit data to/from a client satellite via an assigned satellite antenna at a ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station.

At 1004, the satellite antenna ground station service may determine whether a fault or other problem has caused a loss of data transmission between the assigned satellite antenna and the client's satellite. If a data transmission failure or loss is detected, the satellite antenna ground station service can transmit the client reservation to the back-up satellite antenna and continue transmitting data to/from the client satellite via the back-up satellite antenna at 1006. In some embodiments, each ground station may include at least two satellite antennas and associated hardware for redundancy.

At 1008, the satellite antenna ground station service may determine whether there is time remaining during the reserved time slot. If there is time remaining, the satellite antenna ground station service may continue to transmit data at 1002. If no time remains in the reserved time slot, the satellite antenna ground station service may close the client's access to the ground station gateway (e.g., gateway 438 or 440) at 1010, and the satellite antenna ground station service may provide an access window to another client of the satellite antenna ground station service via the gateway for another time slot reserved for another client at the ground station at 1012.

Fig. 11 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating various methods and techniques for managing satellite antenna access requests involving multiple satellite antennas, in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, a satellite antenna ground station service may coordinate contact sessions between multiple satellite antenna ground stations. For example, as a satellite orbits the earth, a satellite antenna ground station service may provide sequential contact sessions at ground stations in different locations that follow the satellite's orbital pattern. For example, when a satellite is out of range of a first ground station, a contact session at the first ground station may end, while a new contact session at another ground station may begin, where the satellite is sequentially coming within range of another ground after leaving the range of the first ground station. In such cases, the data downlinked from the satellite may be pre-transmitted through the provider network to a data center associated with another ground station, such that the data downlinked from the satellite may be merged at the data center associated with the other ground station via the first ground station and the other ground station.

For example, at 1102, a satellite antenna ground station service may receive a satellite antenna request from a client of the satellite antenna ground station service to transmit data from a satellite of the client to a storage location at a premises of the client or included in a provider network that includes the satellite antenna ground station service.

At 1104, a scheduler served by the satellite antenna ground station may determine whether a duration of the access request or an amount of data to transmit indicated in the access request exceeds a corresponding duration of an access window at the ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station, or whether the amount of data to transmit exceeds an amount of data that may be transmitted during a single access window at the ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station. If the answer is no, then at 1106, the scheduler schedules satellite antenna access slots for the client at a single ground station served by the satellite antenna ground station.

If the answer to 1104 is yes, then at 1108, 1110 and 1112, the scheduler schedules satellite antenna access slots at 2 to N ground stations, where the number "N" is the number of sequential contact sessions at the different ground stations needed to satisfy the access window duration or data transfer volume requested by the client.

At 1114, the satellite antenna ground station service then provides a sequential contact session at the satellite antennas of the plurality of ground stations to satisfy the client's request.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing system according to some embodiments. For example, in different embodiments, computer system 1200 may be configured to implement various components of a satellite antenna ground station service, storage and/or computing nodes of a provider network, data stores, and/or clients. Computer system 1200 may be any of various types of devices, including but not limited to a personal computer system, desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer, mainframe computer system, handheld computer, workstation, network computer, consumer device, application server, storage device, telephone, mobile telephone, or generally any type of computing device.

Computer system 1200 includes one or more processors 1210 (any of which may include multiple cores, which may be single-threaded or multi-threaded) coupled to a system memory 1220 via an input/output (I/O) interface 1230. Computer system 1200 further includes a network interface 1240 that couples to I/O interface 1230. In various embodiments, computer system 1200 may be a single-processor system including one processor 1210, or a multi-processor system including several processors 1210 (e.g., two, four, eight, or other suitable numbers). Processor 1210 may be any suitable processor capable of executing instructions. For example, in various embodiments, processors 1210 may be general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety of Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs), such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. In a multi-processor system, each of processors 1210 may typically, but need not necessarily, implement the same ISA. Computer system 1200 also includes one or more network communication devices (e.g., network interface 1240) for communicating with other systems and/or components over a communication network (e.g., the internet, a LAN, etc.).

In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 1200 also includes one or more persistent storage devices 1260 and/or one or more I/O devices 1280. In various embodiments, persistent storage 1260 may correspond to a disk drive, tape drive, solid state memory, other mass storage device, block-based storage device, or any other persistent storage device. Computer system 1200 (or a distributed application or operating system operating thereon) may store instructions and/or data in persistent storage 1260 as needed, and may retrieve stored instructions and/or data as needed. For example, in some embodiments, computer system 1200 may host a storage system server node, and persistent memory 1260 may include an SSD attached to the server node.

Computer system 1200 includes one or more system memories 1220 configured to store instructions and data that are accessible by processor(s) 1210. In various embodiments, the system memory 1220 may be implemented using any suitable memory technology (e.g., one or more of cache, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), DRAM, RDRAM, EDO RAM, DDR 10RAM, synchronous dynamic RAM (sdram), Rambus RAM, EEPROM, non-volatile/flash type memory, or any other type of memory). The system memory 1220 may contain program instructions 1225 that are executable by the processor(s) 1210 to implement the methods and techniques described herein. In various embodiments, the program instructions 1225 may be encoded in platform native binaries, in any interpreted language (e.g., Java byte code), or in any other language (e.g., C/C + +, Java, etc.), or in any combination thereof. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, in various embodiments, the program instructions 1225 include program instructions executable to implement the functionality of a resource host. In some embodiments, the program instructions 1225 may implement multiple separate clients, nodes, and/or other components.

In some embodiments, program instructions 1225 may include instructions executable to implement an operating system (not shown), which may be any of a variety of operating systems, such as UNIX, LINUX, solaris, MacOSTM, Windows, or the like. Any or all of the program instructions 1225 may be provided as a computer program product or software which may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to various embodiments. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may include any mechanism for storing information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include a computer-readable storage medium or storage media such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM coupled to computer system 1200 via I/O interface 1230. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may also include any volatile or non-volatile media, such as RAM (e.g., SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc., which may be included in some embodiments of computer system 1200 as system memory 1220 or another type of memory. In other embodiments, the program instructions may be conveyed using optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.) transmitted over a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link, as may be implemented via network interface 1240.

In some embodiments, system memory 1220 may include a data store 1245, which may be configured as described herein. In general, system memory 1220 (e.g., data store 1245 within system memory 1220), persistent memory 1260 and/or remote memory 1270 may store data blocks, copies of data blocks, metadata associated with data blocks and/or states thereof, configuration information and/or any other information that may be used to implement the methods and techniques described herein.

In one embodiment, I/O interface 1230 may be configured to coordinate I/O traffic between processor 1210, system memory 1220, and any peripheral devices in the system through network interface 1240 or other peripheral interfaces. In some embodiments, I/O interface 1230 may perform any necessary protocol, timing, or other data transformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., system memory 1220) into a format suitable for use by another component (e.g., processor 1210). In some embodiments, for example, I/O interface 1230 may include support for devices attached through various types of peripheral buses, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus standard or a variant of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. In some embodiments, for example, the functionality of I/O interface 1230 may be split into two or more separate components, such as a north bridge and a south bridge. Additionally, in some embodiments, some or all of the functionality of the I/O interface 1230 (e.g., an interface to the system memory 1220) may be incorporated directly into the processor 1210.

For example, network interface 1240 can be configured to allow data to be exchanged between computer system 1200 and other devices attached to a network, such as other computer systems 1290. In addition, network interface 1240 may be configured to allow communication between computer system 1200 and various I/O devices 1250 and/or remote storage 1270. In some embodiments, input/output devices 1250 may include one or more display terminals, keyboards, keypads, touch pads, scanning devices, voice or optical recognition devices, or any other devices suitable for entering or retrieving data by one or more computer systems 1200. Multiple input/output devices 1250 may be present in computer system 1200 or may be distributed across various nodes of a distributed system including computer system 1200. In some embodiments, similar input/output devices may be separate from computer system 1200 and may interact with one or more nodes of a distributed system including computer system 1200 through a wired or wireless connection, such as through network interface 1240. The network interface 1240 may generally support one or more wireless networking protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi/IEEE 802.11 or another wireless networking standard). However, in various embodiments, network interface 1240 may support communication via any suitable wired or wireless general data network (e.g., other types of ethernet). Further, the network interface 1240 may support communication via a telecommunications/telephony network (e.g., an analog voice network or a digital fiber optic communications network), via a storage area network (e.g., a fibre channel SAN), or via any other suitable type of network and/or protocol. In various embodiments, computer system 1200 may include more, fewer, or different components than those shown in FIG. 12 (e.g., a display, a video card, an audio card, a peripheral device, other network interfaces, such as an ATM interface, an Ethernet interface, a frame relay interface, etc.)

It should be noted that any of the distributed system embodiments described herein or any of their components may be implemented as one or more network-based services. For example, a computing cluster within a computing service may present the computing and/or storage service to clients and/or other types of services employing the distributed computing system described herein as network-based services. In some embodiments, the network-based service may be implemented by a software and/or hardware system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. Web-based services may have interfaces described in a machine-processable format, such as Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Other systems may interact with the network-based service in a manner specified by the description of the interface to the network-based service. For example, a web-based service may define various operations that other systems may invoke, and may define a particular Application Programming Interface (API) to which other systems may be expected to conform when requesting various operations.

In various embodiments, the network-based service may be requested or invoked using a message that includes parameters and/or data associated with a network-based service request. Such messages may be formatted according to a particular markup language, such as extensible markup language (XML), and/or may be encapsulated using a protocol, such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). To perform a network-based service request, a network-based service client may assemble a message including the request using an internet-based application layer transport protocol, such as hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), and communicate the message to an addressable endpoint (e.g., a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)) corresponding to the network's service.

In some embodiments, network-based services may be implemented using representational state transfer ("RESTful") techniques rather than message-based techniques. For example, a web-based service implemented according to RESTful techniques may be invoked via parameters included within HTTP methods (e.g., PUT, GET, or DELETE) rather than encapsulated within SOAP messages.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be described according to the following clauses:

1. a service provider network, comprising:

a plurality of data centers located in different geographic areas;

a plurality of satellite-antenna ground stations, wherein respective ones of the satellite-antenna ground stations are located locally and connected to corresponding ones of the data centers in the different geographic regions; and

one or more computing devices configured to implement a multi-tenant scheduling service configured to:

receiving satellite antenna ground station access requests from a plurality of clients of a service provider network; and is

Access time slots are reserved for client scheduling satellite antenna ground stations at corresponding ones of the satellite antenna ground stations,

wherein the satellite antenna ground stations are integrated into the service provider network such that data received via one of the ground stations is available for use by a cloud computing service of the service provider network.

2. The service provider network of clause 1, wherein the service provider network implements:

a computing service;

a data storage service;

a machine learning service; or

A data analysis service for analyzing the data of the data,

wherein the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations are connected to a plurality of data centers such that data received from the satellites via one or more of the satellite antenna ground stations is available for processing by a computing service, a data storage service, a machine learning service, or a data analysis service.

3. The service provider network of clause 1 or 2, wherein at least two satellite antennas are located in each of the different geographic regions; and is

Wherein the multi-tenant scheduling service is further configured to:

in response to a failure associated with a first satellite antenna in a given geographic area, transferring client satellite contact from performing a transfer via the first satellite antenna in the given geographic area to another satellite antenna in the given geographic area during a satellite antenna ground station access slot reservation.

4. The service provider network of any of clauses 1-3, wherein the multi-tenant scheduling service is further configured to:

reserving a first satellite antenna ground station access time slot reservation for a given client of a plurality of clients on a first satellite antenna ground station in a first geographic region; and is

Reserving a second satellite antenna ground station access slot reservation for the given client on a second satellite antenna ground station in a second geographic area,

wherein the first and second satellite antenna ground station access time slot reservations are reserved such that a satellite of a given client is reachable by the first satellite antenna ground station during the first satellite antenna access time slot reservation and subsequently reachable by the second satellite antenna ground station during the second satellite antenna ground station access time slot reservation.

5. A multi-tenant ground station service, comprising:

a plurality of satellite antenna ground stations; and

one or more computing devices configured to implement a multi-tenant scheduling service configured to:

receiving a ground station access request from a client of a plurality of clients served by a multi-tenant ground station; and is

Scheduling ground station access time slot reservations for the client on respective ones of the plurality of ground stations,

wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is integrated into a provider network that provides cloud computing services to a plurality of clients.

6. The multi-tenant ground station service of clause 5, further comprising:

a plurality of data centers co-located with respective ones of the satellite-antenna ground stations.

7. The multi-tenant ground station service of clauses 5 or 6, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to:

the satellite command and control instances are implemented on virtualized compute instances, wherein the virtualized compute instances are provided to clients prior to ground station access slot reservations via computing services implemented using computing devices of multiple data centers co-located with respective ones of the satellite antenna ground stations.

8. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of clauses 5-7, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to:

implementing a satellite data processing instance on the virtualized compute instance to process data received from the satellite during the ground station access time slot, wherein the virtualized compute instance is provided to the client prior to the ground station access time slot reservation via a compute service implemented using a computing device of a plurality of data centers co-located with respective ones of the satellite antenna ground stations.

9. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of clauses 6-8, wherein computing devices of a plurality of data centers are configured to implement:

a computing service;

a data storage service;

a data analysis service;

a database service; or

A machine learning service, and

wherein the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations are connected to a plurality of data centers such that data received from the satellites via one or more of the satellite antenna ground stations is available to a computing service, a data storage service, a data analysis service, a database service, or a machine learning service.

10. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of clauses 5-9, wherein the one or more computing devices of the multi-tenant ground station service are configured to:

implementing a web-based graphical user interface to receive a ground station access request from a client; or

An Application Programming Interface (API) is implemented to receive a ground station access request of a client.

11. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of clauses 5-10, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to manage antenna hardware control of a satellite antenna ground station assigned to a client on behalf of the client during a ground station access slot assigned to the client.

12. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of clauses 5-10, wherein the multi-tenant ground station service is configured to communicate with a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite via S-band frequencies, with a LEO satellite via X-band frequencies, with a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite via C-band frequencies, with a GEO satellite via Ku-band frequencies, or with a GEO satellite via Ka-band frequencies via a plurality of satellite antenna ground stations.

13. The multi-tenant ground station service of any of clauses 5-10, wherein:

the ground station access request indicates a time window of a request to access a satellite of the client; and is

To schedule the ground station time slot reservation, the multi-tenant scheduling service selects one or more of the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations to allocate to the client during the requested time window.

14. The multi-tenant ground station service of clause 13, wherein:

the ground station access request indicates an amount of data to be transmitted to or from the client's satellite; and is

For scheduling ground station time slot reservations, the multi-tenant scheduling service selects one or more satellite antennas at one or more satellite antenna ground stations to allocate to the client during one or more time windows such that a requested amount of data indicated in a ground station access request is transmitted to or from the client's satellite.

15. A method, comprising:

providing a user interface for a multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service to a client, wherein the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service is integrated into a provider network that provides cloud computing services;

receiving, via a user interface, a ground station access request from a client; and

scheduling a ground station access time slot for a client on one of a plurality of satellite antenna ground stations of a multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service integrated into a provider network providing cloud computing services.

16. The method of clause 15, further comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, another ground station access request from a client; and

another ground station access slot is scheduled for the client,

wherein different numbers of satellite antennas are allocated to the client for the ground station access time slot and the other ground station access time slot based on different corresponding data transmission requirements of the client for the ground station access time slot and the other ground station access time slot.

17. The method of clause 15 or 16, wherein the providing a user interface to a multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service includes providing a web-based graphical user interface to a client for the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station service.

18. The method of any of clauses 15-17, further comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, a plurality of other ground station access requests from other clients served by the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station;

matching the time slots of the requests included in the ground station access requests and the time slots of the other requests included in the other ground station access requests with the time slots available on the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations; and

scheduling other ground station access time slots for other clients on one or more of the plurality of satellite antenna ground stations served by the multi-tenant satellite antenna ground station during respective ones of the matched available time slots, wherein the scheduled ground station access time slots are scheduled for the clients during respective ones of the matched available time slots that match the requested time slots.

19. The method of any of clauses 15-18, further comprising:

providing access to a satellite antenna of a satellite antenna ground station during a scheduled ground station access time slot; and

in response to a fault associated with the satellite antenna during the scheduled ground station access time slot, access to another satellite antenna of the satellite antenna ground station is provided during a remaining remainder of the scheduled ground station access time slot.

20. The method of any of clauses 15-19, further comprising:

providing access to respective ones of the satellite-antenna ground stations during scheduled ground-station access time slots when the client's satellite is within communication range with the respective ones of the satellite-antenna ground stations; and

access to another respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations is provided during sequentially scheduled ground station access time slots after the client's satellite is not within communication range with the respective one of the satellite-antenna ground stations.

Although embodiments have been described above in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such modifications and changes, and accordingly, the above description to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.