## 1 Introduction  
Emergency scenarios can benefit from the deployment of a remote wireless sensor network (WSN) in the target area for a two-fold task: (1) gathering important information from the field; and (2) supporting audio, video and data communication when other terrestrial systems are not available. Additionally,sensor devices are frequently complemented by additional multimedia traffic sources (_i.e._, laptop computers, cameras and smart phones) [1,2]. Emergency communications can provide information transfer services for rescuers and victims in disasters using various sensor devices through a remote WSN [3,4]. The capability to transmit massive amounts of information (e.g., video, voice and data) back is essential to improve the coordination of rescuers during an emergency crisis and the response efforts. A satellite network can operate independently from terrestrial infrastructure. When terrestrial outages occur from man-made and natural events, satellite connections remain operational. Satellite networks have a number of potential advantages over conventional technologies [5,6], including: (1) global availability; (2) high reliability; (3) immediacy; and (4) scalability. Hence, satellites are vastly underused and can be utilized for various uses to construct an integrated remote wireless sensor and satellite network in extreme conditions [7,8]. Integrated remote wireless sensor and satellite networks are expected to optimally meet the emergency information requirements of emergency relief and recovery operations for tackling large-scale disasters [9]. Due to the distinguishing characteristics of integrated remote wireless sensor and satellite networks, how to make these satellites and remote wireless sensors cooperate efficiently is challenging and important. We study this problem by evaluating the integrated sensor and satellite network capacity and find opportunities to optimize the network schedules from the capacity trends. Since the seminal work of [PERSON] and [PERSON] [10], extensive research has been done in network capacity. However, most existing works are about ground networks, and there are limited works exploring the potential for sensor and satellite network capacity. [PERSON] _et al._[11] studied the models and tools to assess the communication capacity for geographically-diverse ground stations that loosely collaborate. In particular, they considered a specific ground-to-space scenario and optimized the ground station network. [PERSON] _et al._[12] proposed a distributed traffic load strategy based on network capacity estimation for a multi-layered satellite network. They also assumed a specific scenario where the inter-satellite links (ISLs) are lattice connected. [PERSON] _et al._[13] proposed a mathematical framework to formulate the relationship between the network capacity and architectural parameters for a two-layered low earth orbit (LEO) and middle earth orbit (MEO) satellite network. [PERSON] _et al._[14] analyzed the satellite communication network characteristics and pointed out that the characteristics will affect the network capacity. Furthermore, there are other works studying the satellite or ground node network capacity [15,16], but they lack universal properties that can be extended to study the capacity of dynamic heterogeneous integrated remote wireless sensor and satellite networks. We need a general, analytical model that enables us to explore the impact of dynamic parameters on remote sensor and satellite network capacity. In this article, we study the capacity problem of an integrated remote wireless sensor and satellite network (IWSSN). We propose a general capacity definition and analytic model for the IWSSN. Our model provides an accurate and efficient method to understand the effect of the network dynamics, e.g., the orbital dynamics of the satellite or new satellite injections into existing constellations. We sift through major capacity-impacting constraints and analyze the influence of these constraints.