Joint optimization based satellite handover strategy for low earth orbit satellite networks

Abstract Low earth orbit constellation satellite communication has the characteristics of low propagation delay, low path loss, low launch cost and wide range of applications. Due to the low orbital altitude and the short orbital period of low earth orbit satellites, the relative position between satellites and gateway stations changes fast. As a result, the links between gateway stations and satellites need to be switched continuously. Based on the minimum handover frequency algorithm, this paper considers the balance of satellite workloads, and proposes a load balanced satellite handover strategy. In the proposed handover strategy, a joint optimization algorithm is employed, and the power allocation of the satellite is optimized to improve the system capacity. In the multi‐satellite connection model, an adaptive power allocation algorithm is proposed to guarantee the service quality of the system. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed satellite handover strategy.