)1 Key Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology for Space Systems, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.K. )1 Key Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology for Space Systems, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.K. )1 Key Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology for Space Systems, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.K. )1 Key Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology for Space Systems, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.K. )1 Key Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology for Space Systems, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.  
its widespread use in wireless networks (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, satellite communications, and Bluetooth) [4; 5; 6]. As a result, RF-based systems are constrained in terms of data rates and their ability to support high-speed communication. OWC technology can overcome the limitations of RF-based communication. Compared to current microwave communication systems [7; 8], which provide data transmission rates of only hundreds of Mbps, OWC offers much higher communication rates ranging from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Moreover, OWC provides superior anti-interception and interference capabilities, as well as excellent confidentiality, due to its small beam divergence and the point-to-point nature of optical/laser links [9; 10]. Since OWC uses light (infrared, visible, and ultraviolet) rather than electromagnetic waves, it is largely immune to RF interference [11]. OWC, also known as free-space optical (FSO) communication, can be classified into uplink/downlink and inter-satellite laser links in satellite communication systems. These links are capable of meeting the demands of next-generation satellite networks, which require a high capacity and low latency [12; 13; 14; 15]. Although OWC offers significant advantages, laser links are still subject to several disadvantages [4]. These include atmospheric conditions such as fog, snow, and rain, as well as atmospheric turbulence, which can cause beam wander, beam spread, scintillation, and divergence losses [16]. Other challenges include background noise, sky radiance, pointing (misalignment) losses, cloud blockage, atmospheric seeing, and fluctuations in the angle of arrival. Similarly, inter-satellite laser links encounter different challenges. Although they are located far above the atmosphere and are not subjected to weather conditions or cloud outages, they face issues such as the Point Ahead Angle (PAA), Doppler shift due to relative motion, satellite platform vibrations, and background noise sources such as solar and celestial bodies [17; 18]. In addition to these challenges, both uplink/downlink and inter-satellite laser links require precise pointing of the narrow beam to establish a LOS laser link. This process is managed by the APT system [19; 20; 21; 22]. The focus of this study is on the acquisition phase, which is the first step in establishing communication. In this phase, an uncertainty area is scanned to locate the receiver satellite. Once the receiver detects the beacon light and acquisition is complete, the receiver redirects the laser beam to the transmitter to establish alignment (pointing) from both sides. This is followed by the tracking phase, which ensures that the laser signal remains locked. The main tasks of the acquisition phase include the selection of acquisition schemes and the selection of scan paths [19; 23; 24]. Balancing the acquisition time and acquisition probability is a major challenge in the design of satellite communication systems using laser links and is the primary focus of this study.