{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T17:12:09Z","timestamp":1789751529164,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]],"date-time":"2025-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758153600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Space TTC&amp;O (Space Engineering University), Ministry of Education, China","award":["CYK2024-02-12"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CYK2024-02-12"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>With the maturation of reusable launch vehicle technology and satellite mass-production capabilities, global mega-constellation projects have entered a phase of rapid expansion. Inter-satellite networking is a key approach for enhancing constellation performance, as it crucially impacts overall constellation effectiveness. However, existing studies mostly focus on the network layer protocol optimization, with insufficient attention to topological structure design, and fail to fully consider the engineering challenges associated with inter-orbit Inter-Satellite Links (ISLs). To address these issues, this paper proposes a heterogeneous ISL topology architecture for mega-constellations, centered on \u201cstable high-speed laser backbone connection within intra-orbit planes + dynamic and flexible radio network between inter-orbit planes\u201d. First, we clarify the optimization objectives for mega-constellation topological design under this architecture and theoretically prove that the optimization problem is NP-hard. Building on this, we introduce Topological Structure Units (TSUs) and employ a unit reuse strategy to simplify topological design. Furthermore, we propose a TSU-based heterogeneous ISL topological design algorithm. Considering the uneven satellite distribution across latitude zones within the constellation, we further propose a regional TSU-based topological design algorithm. Finally, through simulation experiments in Starlink and GW constellation scenarios, we conduct multi-dimensional verification to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in reducing end-to-end delay and decreasing ISL hops.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s25185840","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,19]],"date-time":"2025-09-19T08:11:01Z","timestamp":1758269461000},"page":"5840","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Efficient Topology Design for LEO Mega-Constellation Using Topological Structure Units with Heterogeneous ISLs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6496-849X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Space Engineering University, Beijing 101416, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Intelligent Space TTC&O, Ministry of Education, Beijing 101416, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tao","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Space Engineering University, Beijing 101416, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xucun","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Space Engineering University, Beijing 101416, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guixin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Space Engineering University, Beijing 101416, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1931-7203","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongbin","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Space Engineering University, Beijing 101416, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De Freitas Bart, R., Duda, K.R., and Hoffman, J. 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