Coverage and Rate Analysis of Follower-Based LEO Satellite Networks: A Stochastic Geometry Approach

2026-04-01

AI Summary

This study addresses the coverage and throughput bottlenecks in low Earth orbit (LEO) mega-constellations arising from inter-satellite interference and payload constraints by proposing a leader-follower satellite architecture evaluated through a spherical stochastic geometry framework. For the first time, stochastic geometry is systematically applied to such satellite clusters, yielding low-complexity approximate analytical expressions for outage probability and average data rate. The theoretical model is validated via numerical simulations, demonstrating its accuracy. The work not only quantifies the performance gains of the proposed architecture over conventional single-satellite systems but also derives optimal deployment configurations for follower satellites, thereby offering a rigorous theoretical foundation for the efficient design of LEO constellations.

Abstract

To mitigate inter-satellite interference and payload limits in LEO mega-constellations, satellite clusters, groups of small cooperative satellites have been proposed to improve performance and reduce interference. The typical configuration divides the cluster into a leader satellite with full processing and control capabilities and multiple simpler follower satellites that assist with coverage and throughput. These clusters enhance coverage and throughput, prompting interest in their performance gains and optimal deployment. Given that the spherical stochastic geometry (SG) model has been proven effective for modeling such structures, we establish a performance evaluation framework based on the SG approach for the leader-follower satellite architecture, enabling an assessment of communication performance under different deployment configurations quantitatively. We derive analytical expressions for the outage probability and average data rate to evaluate the communication performance of the satellite system, along with low-complexity approximations. Numerical results demonstrate the performance advantages of the leader-follower architecture over a single leader satellite and explore optimal deployment configurations for the follower satellites.

Problem

• LEO satellite networks
• leader-follower architecture
• coverage
• data rate
• inter-satellite interference

Innovation

• stochastic geometry
• LEO satellite networks
• leader-follower architecture
• coverage analysis
• interference mitigation