Cooperative multi-satellite and multi-RIS beamforming: Enhancing LEO SatCom and mitigating LEO-GEO intersystem interference

Satellite communication (SatCom) is regarded as a key enabler for bridging connectivity and capacity gaps in sixth-generation (6G) networks. However, the proliferation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites raises significant intersystem interference risks with Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) systems. This paper introduces a cooperative multi-satellite multireconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) transmission framework to mitigate such interference while enhancing LEO SatCom performance. Specifically, cooperative beamforming is designed under a non-coherent cell-free paradigm, considering both adaptive and max ratio (MR) precoding, as well as statistical and two-timescale channel state information (CSI), aiming to synthesize the advantages of cell-free and RIS into SatCom in a practical way. Firstly, an alternating optimization (AO)-based design leveraging statistical CSI with adaptive precoding is proposed. Then, we propose a power allocation algorithm under MR precoding with given RIS phase shifts obtained from the former, along with a direct two-stage design bypassing prior results. Additionally, we extend derived closed-form expressions and proposed algorithms to exploit two-timescale CSI. Numerical results demonstrate the impact of intersystem interference mitigation constraints, compare the performance of proposed algorithms, draw insights into the effects of transmit power, interference threshold, and Rician factors, validate SatCom performance enhancements achieved by RISs, and discuss the advantages of multi-satellite cooperation.