Introduction and Brief History ofSatellites and CommunicationSatellites
By Anil Nigam
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Introduction and Brief History of SatellitesA satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). All masses that are part of the solar system, including the Earth, are satellites either of the Sun, or satellites of thoseobjects, such as the Moon. It is not always a simple matter to decide which is the 'satellite' in a pair of bodies. Because all objects exert gravity, the motion of the primary object is also affected by thesatellite. If two objects are ufficiently similar in mass, they are generally referred to as a binary systemrather than a primary object and satellite. The general criterion for an object to be a satellite is that thecenter of mass of the two objects is inside the primary object. In popular usage, the term 'satellite'normally refers to an artificial satellite (a man-made object that orbits the Earth or another body).In May, 1946, the Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship stated, "A satellitevehicle with appropriate instrumentation can be expected to be one of the most potent scientific tools of the Twentieth Century. The achievement of a satellite craft would produce repercussions comparable tothe explosion of the atomic bomb..."The space age began in 1946, as scientists began using captured German V-2 rockets to makemeasurements in the upper atmosphere. Before this period, scientists used balloons that went up to 30km and radio waves to study the ionosphere. From 1946 to 1952, upper-atmosphere research was
conducted using V-2s and Aerobee rockets. This allowed measurements of atmospheric pressure,density, and temperature up to 200 km. The U.S. had been considering launching orbital satellites since1945 under the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy. The Air Force's Project RANDeventually released the above report, but did not believe that the satellite was a potential militaryweapon; rather they considered it to be a tool for science, politics, and propaganda. Following pressure by the American Rocket Society, the National Science Foundation, and the International GeophysicalYear, military interest picked up and in early 1955 the Air Force and Navy were working on ProjectOrbiter, which involved using a Jupiter C rocket to launch a small satellite called Explorer 1 on January31, 1958.On July 29, 1955, the White House announced that the U.S. intended to launch satellites by the springof 1958. This became known as Project Vanguard. On July 31, the Soviets announced that theyintended to launch a satellite by the fall of 1957 and on October 4, 1957 Sputnik I was launched intoorbit, which triggered the Space Race between the two nations.The largest artificial satellite currently orbiting the earth is the International Space Station, which cansometimes be seen with the unaided human eye.Types of satellites· Astronomical satellites: These are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects.· Communications satellites: These are artificial satellites stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications using radio at microwave frequencies. Most communications satellites usegeosynchronous orbits or near-geostationary orbits, although some recent systems use low Earth-orbiting satellites.· Earth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar toreconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring,meteorology, map making etc. (See especially Earth Observing System.)· Navigation satellites are satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receiverson the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight between the satellitesand receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving electronics, allows satellite navigationsystems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few metres in real time.· Reconnaissance satellites are Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. Little is known about the full power of these satellites, asgovernments who operate them usually keep information pertaining to their reconnaissance satellitesclassified.· Solar power satellites are proposed satellites built in high Earth orbit that use microwave power transmission to beam solar power to very large antenna on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources.· Space stations are man-made structures that are designed for human beings to live on in outer space. Aspace station is distinguished from other manned spacecraft by its lack of major propulsion or landingfacilities -- instead, other vehicles are used as transport to and from the station. Space stations aredesigned for medium-term living in orbit, for periods of weeks, months, or even years.· Weather satellites are satellites that primarily are used to monitor the weather and/or climate of theEarth.· Miniaturized satellites are satellites of unusually low weights and small sizes. New classifications are
used to categorize these satellites: minisatellite (500-200 kg), microsatellite (below 200 kg),nanosatellite (below 10 kg).Orbit typesMany times satellites are characterized by their orbit. Although a satellite may orbit at almost anyheight, satellites are commonly categorized by their altitude:· Low Earth Orbit (LEO: 200 - 1200km above the Earth's surface)· Medium Earth Orbit (ICO or MEO: 1200 - 35286 km)· Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO: 35786 km above Earth's surface) and Geostationary Orbit ( zeroinclination geosynchronous orbit). These orbits are of particular interest for communication satellitesand will be discussed in detail later.· High Earth Orbit (HEO: above 35786 km)The following orbits are special orbits that are also used to categorize satellites:· Molniya orbits: Is a class of a highly elliptic orbit. A satellite placed in this orbit spends most of itstime over a designated area of the earth, a phenomenon known as apogee dwell. Molniya orbits arenamed after a series of Soviet/Russian Molniya communications satellites that have been using thisclass of orbits since the mid 1960s.· Heliosynchronous or sun-synchronous orbit: A heliosynchronous orbit, or more commonly a sun-synchronous orbit is an orbit in which an object always passes over any given point of the Earth'ssurface at the same local solar time. This is a useful characteristic for satellites that image the earth'ssurface in visible or infrared wavelengths (e.g. weather, spy and remote sensing satellites).· Polar orbit : A satellite in a polar orbit passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet (or other celestial body) on each revolution.· Hohmann transfer orbit: For this particular orbit type, it is more common to identify the satellite as aspacecraft. In astronautics and aerospace engineering, the Hohmann transfer orbit is an orbitalmaneuver that moves a spacecraft from one orbit to another.· Supersynchronous orbit or drift orbit : orbit above GEO. Satellites will drift in a westerly direction.· Subsynchronous orbit or drift orbit: orbits close to but below GEO. Used for satellites undergoingstation changes in an eastern direction.Communication SatellitesA communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed inspace for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use geosynchronousorbits, Molniya orbits or low Earth orbits.For fixed services, communications satellites provide a technology complementary to that of fiber opticsubmarine communication cables. For mobile applications, such as communications to ships and planessatellite based communicationis only the viable means of communications as application of other technologies, such as cable, are impractical or impossible.Early missions: The origin of satellite communication can be traced to an article written by Arthur C.Clarke in 1945. He suggested that a radio relay satellite in an equatorial orbit with a period of 24 hourswould remain stationary with respect to earth's surface and can be used for long-range radiocommunication, as it will over come the limitations imposed by earth curvature. Sputnik 1, The world'sfirst artificial (non communication) satellite, was launched on October 4, 1957. The first satellite to
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