Clustered Small Satellite Constellations with Inter-Satellite Communication for Enhanced Global Coverage

The operational capacity of single nanosatellite missions is restricted because they can only cover limited ground areas and have infrequent satellite passes, and their missions stop when any subsystem fails. The increasing demand for Earth observation and environmental monitoring capability requires satellite systems which can deliver extensive coverage, operational resilience and flexible sensing capabilities at economical costs. The paper describes a satellite constellation system which uses cluster operations to enable satellites to work together in small groups instead of functioning as separate units. The cluster contains four nanosatellites which each operate their own dedicated payload system that includes optical imaging and environmental sensing and communication relay and navigation and health monitoring. The mission function distribution across the cluster enables operators to achieve space mission objectives while minimizing operational footprint through system complexity, power needs and satellite weight requirements. The system establishes inter-satellite communication links to support its three operational functions, which include real-time data sharing, collaborative task performance and system fault recovery capabilities between different clusters. The system uses multiple clusters stationed in low Earth orbit to achieve complete Earth surface coverage while maintaining enhanced time resolution capabilities. The paper presents system architecture details together with the payload distribution method, inter-satellite communication system and orbital coverage study, which uses actual nanosatellite specifications. The proposed approach to nanosatellite platforms provides scalability and redundancy together with adaptability to upcoming Earth observation, disaster monitoring, climate studies and space-based sensing operations.