TWI843241B - A hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

A hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal system comprises a phased array antenna module, a motor turntable, and an antenna control unit. The phased array antenna module is used to radiate a main beam toward space, and the phased array antenna module is controlled by an elevation angle control signal to change an elevation angle θ of the main beam. The motor turntable is used for carrying and changing the phased array antenna module to rotate at different azimuth angles from 0 to 360 degrees, and the value of the azimuth angle φ is controlled by an azimuth angle signal. The elevation angle θ and the azimuth angle φ are in a spherical coordinate. The phased array antenna module is located at the origin of the spherical coordinate. The antenna control unit is electrically connected to the phased array antenna module and the motor turntable to respectively provide the elevation angle signal and the azimuth angle signal.

Description

Satellite Earth Terminal with Hybrid Mechanical and Electronic Control

The present invention relates to a communication terminal, in particular an earth terminal for satellite communication.

Figure 1 is from the paper "K. Kibaroglu, M. Sayginer, T. Phelps and GM Rebeiz, "A 64-Element 28-GHz Phased-Array Transceiver With 52-dBm EIRP and 8–12-Gb/s 5G Link at 300 Meters Without Any Calibration," in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques , vol. 66, no. 12, pp. 5796-5811, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.1109/TMTT.2018.2854174." discloses a structure diagram of a phased array module. This known phased array module uses a beamforming chip BFIC to control four electrically connected sub-antennas ANT1~ANT4, and each beamforming chip BFIC changes the amplitude and phase of the RF signal received or transmitted by the four electrically connected sub-antennas ANT1~ANT4. Through the control of multiple beamforming chips BFIC, the radiation beam synthesized by all the sub-antennas ANT1~ANT4 has the effect of electronic scanning as shown in FIG2. Although this known technology has the advantage of tracking low-orbit satellites when applied to the earth terminal UT of satellite communications, it still has room for improvement in terms of overall complexity, cost, practicality and heat dissipation. The reasons are:

Refer to Figures 3 and 4. Satellites fly in space along a predetermined circular or elliptical orbit 11. That is to say, when the location of the satellite communication terminal UT is set as the origin of the spherical coordinates, the low-orbit satellite LEO_SAT maintains a fixed azimuth angle φ relative to the origin of the spherical coordinates, and the elevation angle θ changes with the flight of the satellite. In most communication situations, the satellite will not change the azimuth angle φ arbitrarily. Therefore, this phenomenon reveals that the satellite earth terminal UT of this application only needs to identify the azimuth angle φ of the communication satellite first, then adjust the azimuth angle φ of its own antenna array, and finally use the antenna array to electronically switch in a 2D plane to only change the elevation angle θ to track the flying satellite. In other words, this application does not need to achieve the azimuth angle φ = 0 ~ 360 degrees and the elevation angle θ = 0 ~ 360 degrees as in the prior art of FIG. 1. To achieve a 3D stereo beam scanning range of 40~40 degrees, the antennas must be arranged in M The invention proposes a square array of M, or other known circular, octagonal and other designs that require a large number of sub-antennas (large area) as disclosed in the literature. It is also noted that the increase in the total number of sub-antennas will also correspond to the demand for more beamforming chips BFIC and filters, which will further lead to problems such as high cost, power consumption, and difficulty in heat dissipation.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention proposes a satellite earth terminal that combines mechanical and electronic control.

The first preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal includes a phased array antenna module, a motor turntable, an antenna control unit, a positioning module, a frequency up-conversion module, a low noise frequency down-conversion module and a modem.

The phased array antenna module is used to radiate a main beam toward space. The phased array antenna module is controlled by an elevation control signal to change an elevation angle of the main beam. The phased array antenna module includes three non-coplanar and mutually connected antenna panels, two adjacent antenna panels are connected by a rotating shaft device with a variable angle or by a flexible material, and each antenna panel has N×M antennas arranged in a rectangular array, wherein the parameters N and M are positive integers, and N≥1, M≥4, (M/N)≥2. For example, (N=4, M＝16), (N=1, M＝16), (N=4, M＝8).

The motor turntable is used to carry and link the phased array antenna module to rotate at different azimuth angles φ from 0 to 360 degrees, and the value of the azimuth angle φ is controlled by an azimuth angle signal, and the elevation angle θ and the azimuth angle φ are located in the same spherical coordinate, and the phased array antenna module is located at the origin of the spherical coordinate.

The positioning module is used to provide earth position information of the position of the earth where the positioning module is located.

The antenna control unit is electrically connected to the phased array antenna module and the motor turntable to provide the elevation signal and the azimuth signal respectively. To explain in more detail, the antenna control unit is also electrically connected to the positioning module and receives the earth position information, and selects a satellite orbit position information of a satellite constellation corresponding to the communication closest to its own position according to the earth position information. The antenna control unit uses the satellite orbit position information and the earth position information to determine the content of the azimuth signal, and the azimuth signal controls the motor turntable to rotate, and adjusts the value of the azimuth angle φ in a linked manner so that a scanning plane of the main beam rotation is parallel to the satellite constellation.

The up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module are electrically connected to the phased array antenna module. The data machine is electrically connected to the up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module, and outputs a communication quality parameter according to a satellite signal from the low-noise down-conversion module. The communication quality parameter is one or more of signal-to-noise ratio, bit signal-to-noise ratio Eb/No, error vector magnitude EVM and bit error rate BER.

The antenna control unit is powered on and connected to the modem and receives the communication quality parameters. The antenna control unit first determines the content of the azimuth signal and adjusts the motor turntable before adjusting the elevation signal according to the following steps:

Step (A): the antenna control unit transmits a plurality of different elevation angle signals to the phased array antenna module to change the elevation angle of the main beam, and records and stores the communication quality parameter corresponding to each elevation angle signal;

Step (B) the antenna control unit back-calculates and finds the corresponding elevation angle signal according to the best one of all the stored communication quality parameters; and

Step (C) The antenna control unit uses the elevation angle signal found in step (B) to control the phased array antenna module.

Through the above steps, the main beam can be controlled to align with the satellite with the best signal reception in the satellite chain.

The second preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal is similar to the first preferred embodiment, except that the second preferred embodiment further comprises a three-axis electronic compass mounted on the phased array antenna module to output the three-axis direction values of the phased array antenna module. The antenna control unit is electrically connected to the positioning module and receives the earth position information, and selects a satellite orbit position information of a satellite constellation that is closest to its own position and will correspond to the communication according to the earth position information. The antenna control unit is electrically connected to the three-axis electronic compass and receives the three-axis direction values representing the setting direction of the phased array antenna module. The antenna control unit jointly uses the earth position information, the satellite orbit position information and the three-axis direction values to determine the content of the azimuth signal. The azimuth signal controls the rotation of the motor turntable and adjusts the value of the azimuth angle φ in a linked manner so that a scanning plane of the main beam rotation is parallel to a line of the satellite constellation.

The third preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal is similar to the first preferred embodiment, except that:

The antenna control unit determines the satellite orbit line of the satellite constellation corresponding to the communication closest to its own position according to the following steps, and determines the azimuth signal, as follows:

Step (A): the antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate 360 degrees, and records the intensity of a satellite radio wave of the satellite constellation received by the phased array antenna module when the motor turntable is located at each different azimuth angle;

Step (B) the antenna control unit back-calculates the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable when the satellite radio wave with the largest intensity is measured based on the satellite radio wave with the largest intensity; and

Step (C) The antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate to the azimuth angle set when the satellite radio wave with the maximum intensity is measured through the elevation angle signal.

The fourth preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal is similar to the first preferred embodiment, except that:

The fourth preferred embodiment further comprises an up-conversion module, a low-noise down-conversion module and a modem. The up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module are electrically connected to the phased array antenna module, and the modem is electrically connected to the up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module, and outputs a communication quality parameter corresponding to a satellite signal from the low-noise down-conversion module, and the communication quality parameter is one of signal-to-noise ratio, bit signal-to-noise ratio, error vector magnitude and bit error rate. The antenna control unit is electrically connected to the modem and receives the communication quality parameter, and determines the satellite orbit line of the satellite constellation closest to the corresponding communication position of the antenna control unit according to the following steps, and determines the azimuth signal, as follows:

Step (A): the antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate 360 degrees, and records the communication quality parameters received by the phased array antenna module when the motor turntable is located at each different azimuth angle;

Step (B) the antenna control unit back-calculates the communication quality parameter with the largest value to find out the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable when the communication quality parameter with the largest value is measured; and

Step (C) The antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate to the azimuth angle set when the satellite radio wave with the maximum intensity is measured through the elevation angle signal.

The effects of the present invention are:

(1) By using the motor turntable to change the value of the azimuth angle φ, the main beam of the phased array antenna module only needs to be responsible for the change of the elevation angle θ. Therefore, it is not limited to the design of an M×M square array, but can adopt an N×M rectangular array with a relatively small number of components, and M/N 2, so an N×M rectangular array requires only half or even fewer components than an M×M square array, including antennas, beamforming chips, and filters. Fewer components means lower cost, lower power consumption, lighter product size, and easier heat dissipation.

(2) In maritime applications, the traditional M×M symmetrical square array will make the 3 dB beam width (HPBW) of any plane parallel to the Z axis (that is, the plane perpendicular to the earth) very narrow. This has the advantage of high directivity for non-mobile land-to-satellite communications, but it is not entirely an advantage for satellite communications on ships that are shaking all the time. The highly directive concentrated beam means that the beam must be switched frequently with any shaking in the direction of the waves. If the hardware switching operation speed is not real-time enough, it may even cause erroneous switching, reducing the signal transmission capacity or disconnecting the signal. However, the (N/M) 1/2, so the cross section with N antennas will get a wider 3dB beam width than the cross section with M antennas, which can overcome the shaking of waves.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the first preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal of the present invention comprises a phased array antenna module 1, a motor turntable 2, an antenna control unit 3, a positioning module 4, a frequency upconversion module BUC, a low noise frequency downconversion module LNB and a modem MODEM.

The phased array antenna module 1 is used for radiating a main beam 10 toward space. The phased array antenna module 1 is controlled by an elevation control signal to change an elevation angle θ of the main beam 10 .

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the phased array antenna module 1 includes three antenna panels 11 that are not coplanar and connected to each other. Two adjacent antenna panels 11 are connected by a rotating shaft device 12 that can change the angle or by a flexible material 13. Each antenna panel 11 has N×M antennas 111 arranged in a rectangular array, wherein the parameters N and M are positive integers, and N≥1, M≥4, and (M/N)≥2. For example, (N=4, M＝16), (N=1, M＝16), and (N=4, M＝8).

Referring back to FIG. 5 , the motor turntable 2 is used to carry and link the phased array antenna module 1 to rotate at different azimuth angles φ from 0 to 360 degrees, and the value of the azimuth angle φ is controlled by an azimuth angle signal, and the elevation angle θ and the azimuth angle φ are located in the same spherical coordinate, and the phased array antenna module 1 is located at the origin of the spherical coordinate.

The positioning module 4 is used to provide a piece of earth position information of the position of the earth where the positioning module 4 is located. In the preferred embodiment, the positioning module 4 is a global positioning system (GPS) module, and the earth position information is the latitude and longitude information of the position where the positioning module 4 is located.

The antenna control unit 3 is electrically connected to the phased array antenna module 1 and the motor turntable 2 to provide the elevation signal and the azimuth signal respectively. In more detail, the antenna control unit 3 is also electrically connected to the positioning module 4 and receives the earth position information, and selects the satellite orbit position information of a satellite constellation 9 that is closest to its own position and corresponds to the communication according to the earth position information. The antenna control unit 3 uses the satellite orbit position information and the earth position information to determine the content of the azimuth signal, and the azimuth signal controls the motor turntable 2 to rotate, and adjusts the value of the azimuth angle φ in a linked manner, so that a scanning plane of the main beam 10 rotation is parallel to the satellite orbit line 91 of the satellite constellation 9.

The up-conversion module BUC and the low-noise down-conversion module LNB are electrically connected to the phased array antenna module 1, and the modem MODEM is electrically connected to the up-conversion module BUC and the low-noise down-conversion module LNB, and outputs a communication quality parameter corresponding to a satellite signal from the low-noise down-conversion module LNB. The communication quality parameter is one or more of a signal-to-noise ratio SNR, a bit-to-noise ratio Eb/No, an error vector magnitude EVM, and a bit error rate BER.

The antenna control unit 3 is also electrically connected to the modem and receives the communication quality parameter. The antenna control unit 3 first determines the content of the azimuth signal and adjusts the motor turntable 2 before adjusting the elevation signal according to the following steps:

Step (A): The antenna control unit 3 transmits a plurality of different elevation angle signals to the phased array antenna module 1 to change the elevation angle of the main beam, and records and stores the communication quality parameter corresponding to each elevation angle signal;

Step (B) the antenna control unit 3 finds the corresponding elevation angle signal by back-calculating the best one among all the stored communication quality parameters; and

Step (C) The antenna control unit 3 uses the elevation angle signal found in step (B) to control the phased array antenna module 1.

Through the above steps, the main beam can be controlled to align with the one with the best signal reception in the satellite chain 9.

Referring to FIG. 8 , it is a schematic diagram of the second preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal. Compared with the first preferred embodiment, the second preferred embodiment is more suitable for application in mobile vehicles, such as vehicles and ships. The difference between the first and second preferred embodiments is that the second preferred embodiment further includes a three-axis electronic compass 5 mounted on the phased array antenna module 1 to output the three-axis direction values of the phased array antenna module 1. Therefore, the three-axis electronic compass 5 can detect the turning direction of the mobile vehicle. The antenna control unit 3 is also electrically connected to the positioning module 4 and receives the earth position information, and based on the positioning module 4, the positioning module 4 can detect the direction of the moving vehicle. According to the earth position information, the antenna control unit 3 selects the satellite orbit position information of the satellite constellation 9 that is closest to its own position and will correspond to the communication. The antenna control unit 3 is also electrically connected to the three-axis electronic compass 5 and receives the three-axis direction values representing the setting direction of the phased array antenna module 1. The antenna control unit 3 uses the earth position information, the satellite orbit position information and the three-axis direction values to determine the content of the azimuth signal. The azimuth signal controls the rotation of the motor turntable 2 and adjusts the value of the azimuth angle φ in a linked manner so that a scanning plane of the main beam 10 rotation is parallel to the satellite orbit line 91 of the satellite constellation 9.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the third preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal is similar to the first preferred embodiment, except that:

The antenna control unit 3 determines the satellite orbit line 91 of the satellite constellation 9 corresponding to the communication closest to its own position according to the following steps, and determines the azimuth signal, as follows:

Step (A): the antenna control unit 3 controls the motor turntable 2 to rotate 360 degrees, and records the intensity of a satellite radio wave of the satellite star chain 9 received by the phased array antenna module 1 when the motor turntable 2 is located at each different azimuth angle;

Step (B) the antenna control unit 3 back-calculates the strongest satellite radio wave to find out the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable 2 when the strongest satellite radio wave is measured; and

Step (C) The antenna control unit 3 controls the motor turntable 2 to rotate to the azimuth angle set when the satellite radio wave with the maximum intensity is measured through the elevation angle signal.

Since the third preferred embodiment directly receives the satellite radio wave through φ=0~360 degrees and then sets the motor turntable 2 to the angle that can receive the satellite radio wave with the strongest intensity, it can more flexibly track satellite φ other than the preset one compared to the first and second preferred embodiments, or the third preferred embodiment can be combined with the first and second preferred embodiments to increase the auxiliary judgment mechanism.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the fourth preferred embodiment of the hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal is similar to the first preferred embodiment, except that:

The fourth preferred embodiment is to determine the satellite orbit line 91 of the satellite constellation 9 that is closest to the corresponding communication position of the own position according to the following steps, and determine the azimuth signal, as follows:

Step (A): the antenna control unit 3 controls the motor turntable 2 to rotate 360 degrees, and records the communication quality parameters received by the phased array antenna module 1 when the motor turntable 2 is located at each different azimuth angle;

Step (B) the antenna control unit 3 back-calculates the communication quality parameter with the largest value to find out the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable 2 when the communication quality parameter with the largest value is measured; and

Step (C) The antenna control unit 3 controls the motor turntable 2 to rotate to the azimuth angle φ set when the satellite radio wave with the maximum intensity is measured through the elevation angle signal.

Furthermore, after the azimuth angle φ is determined in the fourth preferred embodiment, the step of determining the azimuth angle φ in the above-mentioned steps [0032] to [0035] is repeated.

The effects of the present invention are:

(1) By using the motor turntable 2 to change the value of the azimuth angle φ, the main beam 10 of the phased array antenna module 1 is only responsible for the change of the elevation angle θ, so it is not limited to the design of the M×M square array, but can adopt the N×M rectangular array with a relatively small number of components, and M/N ≥ 2. Therefore, the N×M rectangular array only needs half or even less components than the M×M square array. The components mentioned here include the antenna 111, the beamforming chip BFIC and the filter. The smaller number of components required means lower cost, lower power consumption, lighter product volume and easier heat dissipation.

(2) In maritime applications, the traditional M×M symmetrical square array will make the main beam MB very narrow as shown in FIG. 11. This has the advantage of high directivity for non-mobile land-to-satellite communications, but it is not entirely an advantage for satellite communications on ships that are shaking all the time. The highly directive concentrated beam means that any shaking in any direction of the waves will cause the beam to deviate from the tracking satellite and must be switched frequently. If the hardware switching operation speed is not real-time enough, it may even cause erroneous switching, thereby reducing the signal transmission capacity or disconnecting the signal. However, the phased array antenna module 1 of the present application adopts the design of (N/M)≤1/2 as shown in FIG. 6, so the main beam will present a flat fan shape as shown in FIG. 12, and the unfolded fan surface can relatively overcome part of the wave shaking.

However, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and should not be used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention.

BFIC   Beamforming chip ANT1~ANT4   Sub-antenna LEO_SAT Low-orbit satellite UT      Earth terminal LEO_SAT Low-orbit satellite 1         Phased array antenna module 11 Antenna board 111 Antenna 12 Rotating device 13 Flexible material 2         Motor turntable 3         Antenna control unit 4         Positioning module 5         Three-axis electronic compass 9   Satellite star chain 91 Satellite orbit line 10 Main beam BUC    Up-conversion module LNB    Low noise down-conversion module MODEM   Modem MB      Main beam

[Figure 1] is a schematic diagram of a phased array module disclosed in the paper. [Figure 2] is a beam scan radiation field diagram of the antenna. [Figure 3] is a schematic diagram of spherical coordinates, illustrating the angular relationship between the satellite and the earth terminal. [Figure 4] is a schematic diagram of multiple satellite star chains flying around the earth, illustrating the regularity of the star chain orbits. [Figure 5] is a schematic diagram of the first preferred embodiment of the satellite earth terminal of the present invention with hybrid mechanical and electronic control. [Figure 6] is a schematic diagram of various forms of the phased array antenna module of the first preferred embodiment. [Figure 7] is a schematic diagram of the phased array antenna module, illustrating the connection method between two adjacent antenna panels. [Figure 8] is a schematic diagram of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] is a schematic diagram of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] is a schematic diagram of the known technology in maritime application. [Figure 11] is a schematic diagram of the known technology in maritime application. [Figure 12] is a schematic diagram of the present invention in maritime application.

1    Phased array antenna module 11  Antenna board 2    Motor turntable 3    Antenna control unit 4    Positioning module 9    Satellite star chain 91  Satellite orbit line 10  Main beam BUC     Up-conversion module LNB     Low noise down-conversion module MODEM    Modem

Claims (9)

A satellite earth terminal with hybrid mechanical and electronic control includes: a phased array antenna module for radiating a main beam toward space, the phased array antenna module is controlled by an elevation control signal to change an elevation angle of the main beam; a motor turntable for carrying and linking the phased array antenna module to rotate at different azimuths of 0 to 360 degrees, and the azimuth value is controlled by an azimuth signal, and the elevation angle and the azimuth angle are located in the same spherical coordinate, and the phased array antenna module is located at the origin of the spherical coordinate; an antenna control unit, electrically connected to the phased array antenna module and the motor turntable, and providing The elevation signal and the azimuth signal; and a positioning module for providing earth position information of the position of the earth where the antenna is located; the antenna control unit is also electrically connected to the positioning module and receives the earth position information, and selects a satellite orbit position information of a satellite constellation corresponding to the communication closest to the antenna's position according to the earth position information. The antenna control unit uses the satellite orbit position information and the earth position information to determine the content of the azimuth signal. The azimuth signal controls the rotation of the motor turntable and adjusts the value of the azimuth in a linked manner so that a scanning plane of the main beam rotation is parallel to the satellite constellation. The hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal of claim 1 further comprises: an up-conversion module, a low-noise down-conversion module and a modem, wherein the up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module are electrically connected to the phased array antenna module, and the modem is electrically connected to the up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module, and outputs a demodulated communication quality parameter corresponding to a satellite signal from the low-noise down-conversion module, and after the antenna control unit determines the content of the azimuth signal and adjusts the motor turntable, it is electrically connected to the modem and receives the communication quality parameter. Quality parameters, and adjust the elevation signal according to the following steps: Step (A): The antenna control unit transmits a plurality of different elevation signals to the phased array antenna module to change the elevation of the main beam, and records and stores the communication quality parameters corresponding to each elevation signal; Step (B) The antenna control unit finds the corresponding elevation signal by back-testing the best one of all stored communication quality parameters; and Step (C) The antenna control unit uses the elevation signal found in step (B) to control the phased array antenna module. The hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal of claim 1 further comprises: a three-axis electronic compass mounted on the phased array antenna module for outputting the three-axis direction values of the phased array antenna module; the antenna control unit is electrically connected to the three-axis electronic compass and receives the three-axis direction values representing the setting direction of the phased array antenna module, the antenna control unit jointly uses the earth position information, the satellite orbit position information and the three-axis direction values to determine the content of the azimuth signal, the azimuth signal controls the rotation of the motor turntable, and adjusts the azimuth value in a linked manner so that the scanning plane of the main beam rotation is parallel to a line of the satellite star chain. A hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the phased array antenna module comprises two non-coplanar antenna panels connected to each other, each antenna panel having a plurality of antennas arranged in an N×M rectangular array, wherein the parameters N and M are positive integers, and N

1, M

4, (M/N)

2. A hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the phased array antenna module comprises three non-coplanar and mutually connected antenna panels, each antenna panel having a plurality of antennas arranged in an N×M rectangular array, wherein the parameters N and M are positive integers, and N

1, M

4, (M/N)

2. A hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal as claimed in claim 5, wherein the three non-coplanar and adjacent antenna panels are connected to each other by a mechanical shaft. In the satellite earth terminal of claim 1 with hybrid mechanical and electronic control, the antenna control unit further determines the satellite orbit line of the satellite star chain that is closest to the corresponding communication position of the antenna according to the following steps, and determines the azimuth signal, as follows: Step (A): The antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate 360 degrees, and records the phased array antenna when the motor turntable is located at each different azimuth angle. The antenna module receives the intensity of a satellite radio wave of the satellite star chain; step (B) the antenna control unit back-calculates the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable when the satellite radio wave with the strongest intensity is measured according to the satellite radio wave with the strongest intensity; and step (C) the antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate to the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable when the satellite radio wave with the strongest intensity is measured through the elevation signal. The hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal of claim 1 further comprises: an up-conversion module, a low-noise down-conversion module and a modem, wherein the up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module are electrically connected to the phased array antenna module, and the modem is electrically connected to the up-conversion module and the low-noise down-conversion module, and outputs a communication quality parameter after demodulation corresponding to a satellite signal from the low-noise down-conversion module, and the antenna control unit is electrically connected to the modem and receives the communication quality parameter, and determines a satellite orbit line of the satellite star chain corresponding to the communication closest to the own position according to the following steps, and determines the Azimuth angle signal, as follows: Step (A): The antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate 360 degrees, and records the communication quality parameter received by the phased array antenna module when the motor turntable is located at each different azimuth angle; Step (B) The antenna control unit back-calculates the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable when the communication quality parameter with the largest value is measured according to the communication quality parameter with the largest value; and Step (C) The antenna control unit controls the motor turntable to rotate to the azimuth angle set by the motor turntable when the satellite radio wave with the largest intensity is measured through the elevation angle signal. A hybrid mechanical and electronically controlled satellite earth terminal as claimed in claim 8, wherein the communication quality parameter is one of signal-to-noise ratio, bit-to-noise ratio, error vector magnitude and bit error rate.