  Adapting the transmission rate in an LMS channel is a challenging task
because of the relatively fast time variations, of the long delays involved,
and of the difficulty in mapping the parameters of a time-varying channel into
communication performance. In this paper, we propose two strategies for dealing
with these impairments, namely, multi-layer coding (MLC) in the forward link,
and open-loop adaptation in the return link. Both strategies rely on
physical-layer abstraction tools for predicting the link performance. We will
show that, in both cases, it is possible to increase the average spectral
efficiency while at the same time keeping the outage probability under a given
threshold. To do so, the forward link strategy will rely on introducing some
latency in the data stream by using retransmissions. The return link, on the
other hand, will rely on a statistical characterization of a physical-layer
abstraction measure.
