Satellite Communications

Sub-satellite point
Point at which a line between the satellite and the center of
the Earth intersects the Earths surface
Location of the point expressed in terms of latitude and
longitude
If one is in the US it is common to use
o Latitude degrees north from equator
o Longitude degrees west of the Greenwich meridian

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Angle of Elevation
Is the vertical angle formed between the direction of
travel of an electromagnetic wave radiated from an
earth station antenna pointing directly toward asatellite
and horizontal plane.

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Azimuth angle
Is the horizontal angular distance from a
reference direction either the southern or the
northern most point of the horizon.

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Look angles elevation (El) and azimuth (Az)

Az angular distance of the satellite

from the north
o Az is between 0 and 360 degrees

El angular distance of the satellite

from the local horizontal plane
o El is between 0 and 90 degrees
Az and El are required for proper pointing of
the Earth station antenna
If the satellite is geo-stationary the antenna
is pointed once
If the satellite is on non stationary orbit, the
ground system needs to track the Az and El
in time

Definition of Az and El

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Azimuth northern hemisphere

SSP- sub-satellite point

ES Earth station
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Azimuth southern hemisphere

SSP- sub-satellite point

ES Earth station
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Limits of Visibility

Determine the farthest satellite

away that can be seen looking
east or west of the earth stations
longitude.

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Angle of Declination
the amount by which the antenna axis is
offset from the earths axis.

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Path Loss Calculation

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