On the Orchestration of Integrated Satellite Components in 5G Networks and Beyond

In support of inclusion of non-terrestrial network, 3GPP standardization recently developed several technical reports and specifications on the possible role of satellite systems along with the terrestrial network communications. The newest 3GPP study items under 5G created opportunity to integrate satellite systems, even beyond 5G networks. Integration between these two technologies will bring new range of features such as universal multi-access, dynamic management and ubiquitous connectivity, as well as increasing coverage, availability and reliability. This can be achieved through virtualization of satellite ground segment components, APIs and orchestration platform. In this work, we proposed an orchestration solution to manage and coordinate inter and intra satellite communication (i.e. GEO, MEO, LEO), together with terrestrial network resources. The solution is highly flexible and allows easy configuring of satellite systems including, baseband user segment, network user segment and mission segment in order to respond adequately to service requirements and end-to-end service provisioning.