Nuno Borges Carvalho, Arnaldo S. R. Oliveira, Joao Nuno Matos, T. Varum, Ricardo Correia
The article “User Terminal Segments for Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Constellations” [1], published in October 2022, describes the constellations in the new space section as “new space constellations.” It is clear, from the authors’ point of view, that the description of these constellations’ characterization came from U.S. Federal Communication Commission filings [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] and reference [12]. The reader is redirected to [12] for more information, as can be seen in “In [6], a more detailed comparison in terms of throughput and orbit characteristics between these constellations is presented. …” Unfortunately, when redesigning Figure 3, inspired by Figure 1 from [12], the caption was not expressed correctly. The figure and correct caption are reproduced here for clarification.
Figure 3. (a) User terminal visible satellites for each constellation, considering the elevation angles described in the text, and (b) the extent of world population by latitude, with a 1° resolution. This image was inspired by [12], where complete deployment information is presented.
[1] R. Correia, T. Varum, J. N. Matos, A. Oliveira, and N. B. Carvalho, “User terminal segments for low-earth orbit satellite constellations: Commercial systems and innovative research ideas,” IEEE Microw. Mag., vol. 23, no. 10, pp. 47–58, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1109/MMM.2022.3188124.
[2] Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-MOD-20200417-00037, 2021. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATMOD2020041700037&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[3] Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-MOD-20190830-00087, 2019. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATMOD2019083000087&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[4] Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-MOD-20181108-00083, 2019. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATMOD2018110800083&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[5] Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-LOA-20161115-00118, 2018. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File±Number/%3D/SATLOA2016111500118&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File±Number
[6] WorldVu Satellites Ltd., “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-MPL-20210112-00007, 2022. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATMPL2021011200007&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[7] WorldVu Satellites Ltd., “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062, 2022. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATMPL2020052600062&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[8] WorldVu Satellites Ltd., “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-LOI-20160428-00041, 2017. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATLOI2016042800041&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[9] Telesat Canada, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00053, 2022. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATMPL2020052600053&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[10] Telesat Canada, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-PDR-20161115-00108, 2018. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATPDR2016111500108&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number
[11] Kuiper Systems LLC, “International Bureau,” Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, USA, Rep. No. SAT-LOA-20190704-00057, 2020. Accessed: Jan. 14, 2022. [Online] . Available: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATLOA2019070400057&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_ numberC/File+Number
[12] N. Pachler, I. del Portillo, E. F. Crawley, and B. G. Cameron, “An updated comparison of four low earth orbit satellite constellation systems to provide global broadband,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Commun. Workshops, 2021, pp. 1–7, doi: 10.1109/ICCWorkshops50388.2021.9473799.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2023.3256862