Interference-aware multi-dimensional resource scheduling for beam hopping in NGSO satellite constellations

The rapid advancement of Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite constellations is propelling the evolution of next-generation satellite internet toward seamless global coverage and high-speed connectivity. Beam hopping (BH), with its ability to flexibly steer spot beams in a time-division manner, has emerged as a key technique for matching spatiotemporally dynamic traffic demands with limited on-board resources. However, dense beam deployment induces severe co-channel interference (CCI), and the coupling of multi-dimensional resources further complicates the scheduling process. To address these challenges, this paper introduces an integrated, efficient, and readily deployable interference-aware cooperative resource scheduling framework for multi-satellite BH systems. The original optimization problem is decomposed into three subproblems: satellite–cell association, joint illumination pattern and bandwidth allocation, and power optimization. Satellite-cell association is determined by simulated annealing (SA) algorithm to achieve inter-satellite load balancing. Furthermore, the beam illumination pattern is designed via integer linear programming (ILP), while the beam-frequency allocation is jointly optimized based on interference graph and graph coloring theory. Finally, a bandwidth-aware water-filling algorithm is developed to determine the power allocation for each active beam. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves a 94.2% improvement in inter-satellite load balancing. Under high traffic intensity, it delivers significantly higher system throughput and reduces average delay by over 16% compared to baseline schemes. Moreover, the approach consistently maintains high user satisfaction and ensures service fairness across all cells, with effective tail-performance control under varying traffic intensities.