TASRI: Toward Traffic-Aware, Sustainable and Reliable ISL Provisioning for LEO Satellite Constellation Networking

Inter-Satellite Links (ISLs) are key for worldwide communication and efficient use of space networks in the future 6G network. However, they face challenges in sustainability and reliability. Reducing ISLs saves energy and extends battery life, which is critical since satellite batteries are hard to replace. More ISLs, however, can make the system more reliable but at the cost of higher energy use, especially problematic when traffic is uneven, speeding up battery wear. To tackle this dilemma, we for the first time develop a Traffic-Aware, Sustainable and Reliable ISL provisioning (TASRI) framework for LEO satellite constellation networks. In TASRI, ISLs can be flexibly switched on and off to better accommodate various traffic conditions as well as reliability and sustainability. We formulate the ISL provisioning problem based on the sustainability-oriented weight model and then propose an on-demand topology evolving algorithm. Extensive real-world deployment-based simulation results show that, compared to the state-of-the-art, our TASRI can substantially reduce battery life consumption, while achieving comparable reliability with considerably fewer ISLs.