Unlocking the Performance Potential of Mega-Constellation Networks: An Exploration of Structure-Building Paradigms

TL;DR

This work tackles the high-dimensional design challenge of mega-constellation networks by introducing the Structured Motif-Lattice (SML) paradigm, which decouples topology (motifs) from geometry (lattices). It formalizes the High-Availability and Low-Latency MCN Design (HALLMD) problem and proposes the Lattice and Motif Search (LAMS) algorithm to efficiently explore motif–lattice configurations. Through simulation on multiple MCNs, the approach demonstrates that optimal structures are spatially uniform, minimally dynamic, and emulate a Delaunay-triangulation, yielding higher availability and lower latency than baseline or MPO-based designs. The work lays a foundation for scalable, next-generation MCN design and highlights practical paths for reducing routing detours through geometry-aware tiling of connectivity motifs. Limitations include refining optical ISL reliability models and expanding motif search spaces, with future extensions to multi-shell MCNs suggested.

Abstract

Mega-constellation networks (MCNs) are transforming global internet access by providing ubiquitous connectivity to millions of users worldwide. The design of MCNs is crucial for achieving high-performance space-based internet, yet presents a significant challenge due to the large scale and tightly coupled parameters of these systems, which result in a high-dimensional combinatorial optimization problem. To address this challenge, we propose the Structured Motif Lattice (SML) paradigm, which decomposes the MCN design space into two orthogonal dimensions: topological connectivity and geometric layout. This decomposition reduces the original high-dimensional problem to a tractable bi-dimensional. Under the SML paradigm, we formalize the High-Availability and Low-Latency MCN Design (HALLMD) problem and develop the Lattice and Motif Search (LAMS) algorithm to find near-optimal MCN configurations. Experimental results demonstrate that the LAMS under the SML paradigm achieves substantially higher network availability and lower average traffic latency than the structures generated by current state-of-the-art methods, confirming the effectiveness of our approach.

Figures (22)

• Figure 1: Decomposition of MCN structure design into motifs and lattices. The yellow line presents the inter-orbit ISL and the blue line is intra-orbit ISL.
• Figure 2: Relative motion dynamics of ISLs under different topological connectivities.
• Figure 3: One-way propagation latency from Harbin to London under identical topology but varying geometric layouts ($S_1$–$S_4$).
• Figure 4: Connection vectors $\phi(\dot{n},\dot{m})$ in the orbit–phase coordinate system.
• Figure 5: MCN topologies generated from motifs of size $|M|=$ 1, 2, 4.