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CommunicationssatelliteWikipedia

Communicationssatellite
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Acommunicationssatelliteisanartificialsatellitethatrelaysand
amplifiesradiotelecommunicationssignalsviaatransponderitcreatesa
communicationchannelbetweenasourcetransmitterandareceiverat
differentlocationsonEarth.Communicationssatellitesareusedfor
television,telephone,radio,internet,andmilitaryapplications.Thereare
over2,000communicationssatellitesinEarthsorbit,usedbybothprivate
andgovernmentorganizations.[1]
Wirelesscommunicationuseselectromagneticwavestocarrysignals.
Thesewavesrequirelineofsight,andarethusobstructedbythecurvature
AnAdvancedExtremelyHigh
oftheEarth.Thepurposeofcommunicationssatellitesistorelaythesignal
Frequencycommunicationssatellite
aroundthecurveoftheEarthallowingcommunicationbetweenwidely
relayssecurecommunicationsforthe
[2]
UnitedStatesandotherallied
separatedpoints. Communicationssatellitesuseawiderangeofradio
countries.
andmicrowavefrequencies.Toavoidsignalinterference,international
organizationshaveregulationsforwhichfrequencyrangesor"bands"
certainorganizationsareallowedtouse.Thisallocationofbandsminimizestheriskofsignalinterference.[3]

Contents
1 History
2 Satelliteorbits
2.1 LowEarthOrbiting(LEO)satellites
2.2 Satelliteconstellation
2.3 MediumEarthOrbit(MEO)
2.3.1 Example
2.4 Geostationaryorbits(GEO)
2.4.1 Examples
2.5 Molniyasatellites
2.6 PolarOrbit
3 Structure
4 FrequencyAllocationforsatellitesystems
5 Applications
5.1 Telephone
5.2 Television
5.3 Radiobroadcasting
5.4 Amateurradio
5.5 Internetaccess
5.6 Military
6 Seealso
7 References
8 Externallinks

History
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TheconceptofthegeostationarycommunicationssatellitewasfirstproposedbyArthurC.Clarke,buildingon
workbyKonstantinTsiolkovskyandonthe1929workbyHermanPotonik(writingasHermanNoordung)Das
ProblemderBefahrungdesWeltraumsderRaketenmotor.InOctober1945Clarkepublishedanarticletitled
"ExtraterrestrialRelays"intheBritishmagazineWirelessWorld.[4]Thearticledescribedthefundamentalsbehind
thedeploymentofartificialsatellitesingeostationaryorbitsforthepurposeofrelayingradiosignals.Thus,Arthur
C.Clarkeisoftenquotedasbeingtheinventorofthecommunicationssatelliteandtheterm'ClarkeBelt'employed
asadescriptionoftheorbit.[5]
DecadeslateraprojectnamedCommunicationMoonRelaywasatelecommunicationprojectcarriedoutbythe
UnitedStatesNavy.Itsobjectivewastodevelopasecureandreliablemethodofwirelesscommunicationbyusing
theMoonasapassivereflectorandnaturalcommunicationssatellite.
ThefirstartificialEarthsatellitewasSputnik1.PutintoorbitbytheSovietUniononOctober4,1957,itwas
equippedwithanonboardradiotransmitterthatworkedontwofrequencies:20.005and40.002MHz.Sputnik1
waslaunchedasastepintheexplorationofspaceandrocketdevelopment.Whileincrediblyimportantitwasnot
placedinorbitforthepurposeofsendingdatafromonepointonearthtoanother.Anditwasthefirstartificial
satelliteinthestepsleadingtotoday'ssatellitecommunications.
ThefirstartificialsatelliteusedsolelytofurtheradvancesinglobalcommunicationswasaballoonnamedEcho
1.[6]Echo1wastheworld'sfirstartificialcommunicationssatellitecapableofrelayingsignalstootherpointson
Earth.Itsoared1,600kilometres(1,000mi)abovetheplanetafteritsAug.12,1960launch,yetreliedon
humanity'soldestflighttechnologyballooning.LaunchedbyNASA,Echo1wasa30metre(100ft)aluminised
PETfilmballoonthatservedasapassivereflectorforradiocommunications.Theworld'sfirstinflatablesatellite
or"satelloon",astheywereinformallyknownhelpedlaythefoundationoftoday'ssatellitecommunications.
Theideabehindacommunicationssatelliteissimple:Senddataupintospaceandbeamitbackdowntoanother
spotontheglobe.Echo1accomplishedthisbyessentiallyservingasanenormousmirror,10storiestall,thatcould
beusedtoreflectcommunicationssignals.
ThefirstAmericansatellitetorelaycommunicationswasProjectSCOREin1958,whichusedataperecorderto
storeandforwardvoicemessages.ItwasusedtosendaChristmasgreetingtotheworldfromU.S.President
DwightD.Eisenhower.[7]Courier1B,builtbyPhilco,launchedin1960,wastheworld'sfirstactiverepeater
satellite.
Therearetwomajorclassesofcommunicationssatellites,passiveandactive.Passivesatellitesonlyreflectthe
signalcomingfromthesource,towardthedirectionofthereceiver.Withpassivesatellites,thereflectedsignalis
notamplifiedatthesatellite,andonlyaverysmallamountofthetransmittedenergyactuallyreachesthereceiver.
SincethesatelliteissofaraboveEarth,theradiosignalisattenuatedduetofreespacepathloss,sothesignal
receivedonEarthisveryweak.Activesatellites,ontheotherhand,amplifythereceivedsignalbeforere
transmittingittothereceiverontheground.[3]Passivesatelliteswerethefirstcommunicationssatellites,butare
littleusednow.Telstarwasthesecondactive,directrelaycommunicationssatellite.BelongingtoAT&Taspartof
amultinationalagreementbetweenAT&T,BellTelephoneLaboratories,NASA,theBritishGeneralPostOffice,
andtheFrenchNationalPTT(PostOffice)todevelopsatellitecommunications,itwaslaunchedbyNASAfrom
CapeCanaveralonJuly10,1962,thefirstprivatelysponsoredspacelaunch.Relay1waslaunchedonDecember
13,1962,andbecamethefirstsatellitetobroadcastacrossthePacificonNovember22,1963.[8]
AnimmediateantecedentofthegeostationarysatelliteswasHughes'Syncom2,launchedonJuly26,1963.
Syncom2wasthefirstcommunicationssatelliteinageosynchronousorbit.Itrevolvedaroundtheearthonceper
dayatconstantspeed,butbecauseitstillhadnorthsouthmotion,specialequipmentwasneededtotrackit.Its
successor,Syncom3wasthefirstgeostationarycommunicationssatellite.Syncom3obtainedageosynchronous
orbit,withoutanorthsouthmotion,makingitappearfromthegroundasastationaryobjectinthesky.
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BeginningwiththeMarsExplorationRovers,probesonthesurfaceofMarshaveusedorbitingspacecraftas
communicationssatellitesforrelayingtheirdatatoEarth.Theorbitersaredesignedforthisrelaypurposetoallow
thelanderstoconservepower.Theorbitershavelargerantennasandmorepowerfultransmitters,whichenable
themtotransmitdatawithamuchstrongersignalthanalandercouldmanageonitsownfromthesurface.[9]

Satelliteorbits
Communicationssatellitesusuallyhaveoneofthreeprimarytypesoforbit,whileotherorbitalclassificationsare
usedtofurtherspecifyorbitaldetails.
Geostationarysatelliteshaveageostationaryorbit(GEO),whichis35,786kilometres(22,236mi)from
Earthssurface.Thisorbithasthespecialcharacteristicthattheapparentpositionofthesatelliteinthesky
whenviewedbyagroundobserverdoesnotchange,thesatelliteappearsto"standstill"inthesky.Thisis
becausethesatellite'sorbitalperiodisthesameastherotationrateoftheEarth.Theadvantageofthisorbit
isthatgroundantennasdonothavetotrackthesatelliteacrossthesky,theycanbefixedtopointatthe
locationintheskythesatelliteappears.
MediumEarthorbit(MEO)satellitesareclosertoEarth.Orbitalaltitudesrangefrom2,000to35,786
kilometres(1,243to22,236mi)aboveEarth.
TheregionbelowmediumorbitsisreferredtoaslowEarthorbit(LEO),andisabout160to2,000
kilometres(99to1,243mi)aboveEarth.
AssatellitesinMEOandLEOorbittheEarthfaster,theydonotremainvisibleintheskytoafixedpointonEarth
continuallylikeageostationarysatellite,butappeartoagroundobservertocrosstheskyand"set"whentheygo
behindtheEarth.Therefore,toprovidecontinuouscommunicationscapabilitywiththeselowerorbitsrequiresa
largernumberofsatellites,soonewillalwaysbeintheskyfortransmissionofcommunicationsignals.However,
duetotheirrelativelysmalldistancetotheEarththeirsignalsarestronger.

LowEarthOrbiting(LEO)satellites
AlowEarthorbit(LEO)typicallyisacircularorbitabout160to2,000
kilometres(99to1,243mi)abovetheearth'ssurfaceand,correspondingly,
aperiod(timetorevolvearoundtheearth)ofabout90minutes.
Becauseoftheirlowaltitude,thesesatellitesareonlyvisiblefromwithina
radiusofroughly1,000kilometres(620mi)fromthesubsatellitepoint.In
addition,satellitesinlowearthorbitchangetheirpositionrelativetothe
groundpositionquickly.Soevenforlocalapplications,alargenumberof
satellitesareneededifthemissionrequiresuninterruptedconnectivity.
LowEarthorbitingsatellitesarelessexpensivetolaunchintoorbitthan
geostationarysatellitesand,duetoproximitytotheground,donotrequire
ashighsignalstrength(Recallthatsignalstrengthfallsoffasthesquareof
thedistancefromthesource,sotheeffectisdramatic).Thusthereisatrade
offbetweenthenumberofsatellitesandtheircost.

LowEarthorbitinCyan

Inaddition,thereareimportantdifferencesintheonboardandgroundequipmentneededtosupportthetwotypes
ofmissions.

Satelliteconstellation

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Agroupofsatellitesworkinginconcertisknownasasatelliteconstellation.Twosuchconstellations,intendedto
providesatellitephoneservices,primarilytoremoteareas,aretheIridiumandGlobalstarsystems.TheIridium
systemhas66satellites.
ItisalsopossibletoofferdiscontinuouscoverageusingalowEarthorbitsatellitecapableofstoringdatareceived
whilepassingoveronepartofEarthandtransmittingitlaterwhilepassingoveranotherpart.Thiswillbethecase
withtheCASCADEsystemofCanada'sCASSIOPEcommunicationssatellite.Anothersystemusingthisstoreand
forwardmethodisOrbcomm.

MediumEarthOrbit(MEO)
AMEOisasatelliteinorbitsomewherebetween2,000and35,786kilometres(1,243and22,236mi)abovethe
earthssurface.MEOsatellitesaresimilartoLEOsatellitesinfunctionality.MEOsatellitesarevisibleformuch
longerperiodsoftimethanLEOsatellites,usuallybetween2and8hours.MEOsatelliteshavealargercoverage
areathanLEOsatellites.AMEOsatelliteslongerdurationofvisibilityandwiderfootprintmeansfewersatellites
areneededinaMEOnetworkthanaLEOnetwork.OnedisadvantageisthataMEOsatellitesdistancegivesita
longertimedelayandweakersignalthanaLEOsatellite,althoughtheselimitationsarenotassevereasthoseofa
GEOsatellite.
LikeLEOs,thesesatellitesdontmaintainastationarydistancefromtheearth.Thisisincontrasttothe
geostationaryorbit,wheresatellitesarealwaysapproximately35,786kilometres(22,236mi)fromtheearth.
Typicallytheorbitofamediumearthorbitsatelliteisabout16,000kilometres(10,000mi)aboveearth.Invarious
patterns,thesesatellitesmakethetriparoundearthinanywherefrom212hours,whichprovidesbettercoverage
towiderareasthanthatprovidedbyLEOs.
Example
In1962,thefirstcommunicationssatellite,Telstar,waslaunched.Itwasamediumearthorbitsatellitedesignedto
helpfacilitatehighspeedtelephonesignals.Althoughitwasthefirstpracticalwaytotransmitsignalsoverthe
horizon,itsmajordrawbackwassoonrealized.Becauseitsorbitalperiodofabout2.5hoursdidnotmatchthe
Earth'srotationalperiodof24hours,continuouscoveragewasimpossible.ItwasapparentthatmultipleMEOs
neededtobeusedinordertoprovidecontinuouscoverage.

Geostationaryorbits(GEO)
Toanobserverontheearth,asatelliteinageostationaryorbitappears
motionless,inafixedpositioninthesky.Thisisbecauseitrevolvesaround
theearthattheearth'sownangularvelocity(360degreesevery24hours,in
anequatorialorbit).
Ageostationaryorbitisusefulforcommunicationsbecauseground
antennascanbeaimedatthesatellitewithouttheirhavingtotrackthe
satellite'smotion.Thisisrelativelyinexpensive.
Inapplicationsthatrequirealargenumberofgroundantennas,suchas
DirecTVdistribution,thesavingsingroundequipmentcanmorethan
outweighthecostandcomplexityofplacingasatelliteintoorbit.
Examples
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Geostationaryorbit

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ThefirstgeostationarysatellitewasSyncom3,launchedonAugust19,1964,andusedforcommunication
acrossthePacificstartingwithtelevisioncoverageofthe1964SummerOlympics.ShortlyafterSyncom3,
IntelsatI,akaEarlyBird,waslaunchedonApril6,1965andplacedinorbitat28westlongitude.Itwasthe
firstgeostationarysatellitefortelecommunicationsovertheAtlanticOcean.
OnNovember9,1972,Canada'sfirstgeostationarysatelliteservingthecontinent,AnikA1,waslaunchedby
TelesatCanada,withtheUnitedStatesfollowingsuitwiththelaunchofWestar1byWesternUniononApril
13,1974.
OnMay30,1974,thefirstgeostationarycommunicationssatelliteintheworldtobethreeaxisstabilized
waslaunched:theexperimentalsatelliteATS6builtforNASA.
AfterthelaunchesoftheTelstarthroughWestar1satellites,RCAAmericom(laterGEAmericom,now
SES)launchedSatcom1in1975.ItwasSatcom1thatwasinstrumentalinhelpingearlycableTVchannels
suchasWTBS(nowTBS),HBO,CBN(nowFreeform)andTheWeatherChannelbecomesuccessful,
becausethesechannelsdistributedtheirprogrammingtoallofthelocalcableTVheadendsusingthe
satellite.Additionally,itwasthefirstsatelliteusedbybroadcasttelevisionnetworksintheUnitedStates,
likeABC,NBC,andCBS,todistributeprogrammingtotheirlocalaffiliatestations.Satcom1waswidely
usedbecauseithadtwicethecommunicationscapacityofthecompetingWestar1inAmerica(24
transpondersasopposedtothe12ofWestar1),resultinginlowertransponderusagecosts.Satellitesinlater
decadestendedtohaveevenhighertranspondernumbers.
By2000,HughesSpaceandCommunications(nowBoeingSatelliteDevelopmentCenter)hadbuiltnearly40
percentofthemorethanonehundredsatellitesinserviceworldwide.Othermajorsatellitemanufacturersinclude
SpaceSystems/Loral,OrbitalSciencesCorporationwiththeSTARBusseries,IndianSpaceResearch
Organisation,LockheedMartin(ownstheformerRCAAstroElectronics/GEAstroSpacebusiness),Northrop
Grumman,AlcatelSpace,nowThalesAleniaSpace,withtheSpacebusseries,andAstrium.

Molniyasatellites
Geostationarysatellitesmustoperateabovetheequatorandthereforeappearloweronthehorizonasthereceiver
getsthefartherfromtheequator.Thiswillcauseproblemsforextremenortherlylatitudes,affectingconnectivity
andcausingmultipathinterference(causedbysignalsreflectingoffthegroundandintothegroundantenna).
Thus,forareasclosetotheNorth(andSouth)Pole,ageostationarysatellitemayappearbelowthehorizon.
Therefore,Molniyaorbitsatelliteshavebeenlaunched,mainlyinRussia,toalleviatethisproblem.
Molniyaorbitscanbeanappealingalternativeinsuchcases.TheMolniyaorbitishighlyinclined,guaranteeing
goodelevationoverselectedpositionsduringthenorthernportionoftheorbit.(Elevationistheextentofthe
satellite'spositionabovethehorizon.Thus,asatelliteatthehorizonhaszeroelevationandasatellitedirectly
overheadhaselevationof90degrees.)
TheMolniyaorbitisdesignedsothatthesatellitespendsthegreatmajorityofitstimeoverthefarnorthern
latitudes,duringwhichitsgroundfootprintmovesonlyslightly.Itsperiodisonehalfday,sothatthesatelliteis
availableforoperationoverthetargetedregionforsixtoninehourseverysecondrevolution.Inthiswaya
constellationofthreeMolniyasatellites(plusinorbitspares)canprovideuninterruptedcoverage.
ThefirstsatelliteoftheMolniyaserieswaslaunchedonApril23,1965andwasusedforexperimental
transmissionofTVsignalsfromaMoscowuplinkstationtodownlinkstationslocatedinSiberiaandtheRussian
FarEast,inNorilsk,Khabarovsk,MagadanandVladivostok.InNovember1967Sovietengineerscreatedaunique
systemofnationalTVnetworkofsatellitetelevision,calledOrbita,thatwasbasedonMolniyasatellites.

PolarOrbit

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IntheUnitedStates,theNationalPolarorbitingOperationalEnvironmentalSatelliteSystem(NPOESS)was
establishedin1994toconsolidatethepolarsatelliteoperationsofNASA(NationalAeronauticsandSpace
Administration)NOAA(NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration).NPOESSmanagesanumberof
satellitesforvariouspurposesforexample,METSATformeteorologicalsatellite,EUMETSATfortheEuropean
branchoftheprogram,andMETOPformeteorologicaloperations.
Theseorbitsaresunsynchronous,meaningthattheycrosstheequatoratthesamelocaltimeeachday.For
example,thesatellitesintheNPOESS(civilian)orbitwillcrosstheequator,goingfromsouthtonorth,attimes
1:30P.M.,5:30P.M.,and9:30P.M.

Structure
CommunicationsSatellitesareusuallycomposedofthefollowingsubsystems:
CommunicationPayload,normallycomposedoftransponders,antennas,andswitchingsystems
Enginesusedtobringthesatellitetoitsdesiredorbit
StationKeepingTrackingandstabilizationsubsystemusedtokeepthesatelliteintherightorbit,withits
antennaspointedintherightdirection,anditspowersystempointedtowardsthesun
Powersubsystem,usedtopowertheSatellitesystems,normallycomposedofsolarcells,andbatteriesthat
maintainpowerduringsolareclipse
CommandandControlsubsystem,whichmaintainscommunicationswithgroundcontrolstations.The
groundcontrolearthstationsmonitorthesatelliteperformanceandcontrolitsfunctionalityduringvarious
phasesofitslifecycle.
Thebandwidthavailablefromasatellitedependsuponthenumberoftranspondersprovidedbythesatellite.Each
service(TV,Voice,Internet,radio)requiresadifferentamountofbandwidthfortransmission.Thisistypically
knownaslinkbudgetingandanetworksimulatorcanbeusedtoarriveattheexactvalue.

FrequencyAllocationforsatellitesystems
Allocatingfrequenciestosatelliteservicesisacomplicatedprocesswhichrequiresinternationalcoordinationand
planning.ThisiscarriedoutundertheauspicesoftheInternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU).(http://www.i
tu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx)Tofacilitatefrequencyplanning,theworldisdividedintothreeregions:Region1:
Europe,Africa,whatwasformerlytheSovietUnion,andMongoliaRegion2:NorthandSouthAmericaand
GreenlandRegion3:Asia(excludingregion1areas),Australia,andthesouthwestPacific
Withintheseregions,frequencybandsareallocatedtovarioussatelliteservices,althoughagivenservicemaybe
allocateddifferentfrequencybandsindifferentregions.Someoftheservicesprovidedbysatellitesare:
Fixedsatelliteservice(FSS)(http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/F/fixed_service_satellite.html)
Broadcastingsatelliteservice(BSS)
Mobilesatelliteservice
Radionavigationsatelliteservice
Meteorologicalsatelliteservice
Amateursatelliteservice

Applications
Telephone

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Thefirstandhistoricallymostimportantapplicationforcommunicationsatellites
wasinintercontinentallongdistancetelephony.ThefixedPublicSwitched
TelephoneNetworkrelaystelephonecallsfromlandlinetelephonestoanearth
station,wheretheyarethentransmittedtoageostationarysatellite.Thedownlink
followsananalogouspath.Improvementsinsubmarinecommunicationscables
throughtheuseoffiberopticscausedsomedeclineintheuseofsatellitesforfixed
telephonyinthelate20thcentury.

Satellitecommunicationsarestillusedinmanyapplicationstoday.Remoteislands
suchasAscensionIsland,SaintHelena,DiegoGarcia,andEasterIsland,whereno
submarinecablesareinservice,needsatellitetelephones.Therearealsoregionsofsomecontinentsandcountries
wherelandlinetelecommunicationsareraretononexistent,forexamplelargeregionsofSouthAmerica,Africa,
Canada,China,Russia,andAustralia.SatellitecommunicationsalsoprovideconnectiontotheedgesofAntarctica
andGreenland.Otherlanduseforsatellitephonesarerigsatsea,abackupforhospitals,military,andrecreation.
Shipsatsea,aswellasplanes,oftenusesatellitephones.[10]
Satellitephonesystemscanbeaccomplishedbyanumberofmeans.Onalargescale,oftentherewillbealocal
telephonesysteminanisolatedareawithalinktothetelephonesysteminamainlandarea.Therearealsoservices
thatwillpatcharadiosignaltoatelephonesystem.Inthisexample,almostanytypeofsatellitecanbeused.
Satellitephonesconnectdirectlytoaconstellationofeithergeostationaryorlowearthorbitsatellites.Callsare
thenforwardedtoasatelliteteleportconnectedtothePublicSwitchedTelephoneNetwork.

Television
Astelevisionbecamethemainmarket,itsdemandforsimultaneousdeliveryofrelativelyfewsignalsoflarge
bandwidthtomanyreceiversbeingamoreprecisematchforthecapabilitiesofgeosynchronouscomsats.Two
satellitetypesareusedforNorthAmericantelevisionandradio:Directbroadcastsatellite(DBS),andFixed
ServiceSatellite(FSS).
ThedefinitionsofFSSandDBSsatellitesoutsideofNorthAmerica,especiallyinEurope,areabitmore
ambiguous.MostsatellitesusedfordirecttohometelevisioninEuropehavethesamehighpoweroutputasDBS
classsatellitesinNorthAmerica,butusethesamelinearpolarizationasFSSclasssatellites.Examplesoftheseare
theAstra,Eutelsat,andHotbirdspacecraftinorbitovertheEuropeancontinent.Becauseofthis,thetermsFSSand
DBSaremoresousedthroughouttheNorthAmericancontinent,andareuncommoninEurope.
FixedServiceSatellitesusetheCband,andthelowerportionsoftheKuband.Theyarenormallyusedfor
broadcastfeedstoandfromtelevisionnetworksandlocalaffiliatestations(suchasprogramfeedsfornetworkand
syndicatedprogramming,liveshots,andbackhauls),aswellasbeingusedfordistancelearningbyschoolsand
universities,businesstelevision(BTV),Videoconferencing,andgeneralcommercialtelecommunications.FSS
satellitesarealsousedtodistributenationalcablechannelstocabletelevisionheadends.
FreetoairsatelliteTVchannelsarealsousuallydistributedonFSSsatellitesintheKuband.TheIntelsat
Americas5,Galaxy10RandAMC3satellitesoverNorthAmericaprovideaquitelargeamountofFTAchannels
ontheirKubandtransponders.
TheAmericanDishNetworkDBSservicehasalsorecentlyutilizedFSStechnologyaswellfortheirprogramming
packagesrequiringtheirSuperDishantenna,duetoDishNetworkneedingmorecapacitytocarrylocaltelevision
stationspertheFCC's"mustcarry"regulations,andformorebandwidthtocarryHDTVchannels.

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AdirectbroadcastsatelliteisacommunicationssatellitethattransmitstosmallDBSsatellitedishes(usually18to
24inchesor45to60cmindiameter).Directbroadcastsatellitesgenerallyoperateintheupperportionofthe
microwaveKuband.DBStechnologyisusedforDTHoriented(DirectToHome)satelliteTVservices,suchas
DirecTVandDISHNetworkintheUnitedStates,BellTVandShawDirectinCanada,FreesatandSkyintheUK,
Ireland,andNewZealandandDSTVinSouthAfrica.
OperatingatlowerfrequencyandlowerpowerthanDBS,FSSsatellitesrequireamuchlargerdishforreception(3
to8feet(1to2.5m)indiameterforKuband,and12feet(3.6m)orlargerforCband).Theyuselinear
polarizationforeachofthetransponders'RFinputandoutput(asopposedtocircularpolarizationusedbyDBS
satellites),butthisisaminortechnicaldifferencethatusersdonotnotice.FSSsatellitetechnologywasalso
originallyusedforDTHsatelliteTVfromthelate1970stotheearly1990sintheUnitedStatesintheformof
TVRO(TeleVisionReceiveOnly)receiversanddishes.ItwasalsousedinitsKubandformforthenowdefunct
PrimestarsatelliteTVservice.
SomesatelliteshavebeenlaunchedthathavetranspondersintheKaband,suchasDirecTV'sSPACEWAY1
satellite,andAnikF2.NASAandISRO[11][12]havealsolaunchedexperimentalsatellitescarryingKaband
beaconsrecently.[13]
SomemanufacturershavealsointroducedspecialantennasformobilereceptionofDBStelevision.UsingGlobal
PositioningSystem(GPS)technologyasareference,theseantennasautomaticallyreaimtothesatellitenomatter
whereorhowthevehicle(onwhichtheantennaismounted)issituated.Thesemobilesatelliteantennasare
popularwithsomerecreationalvehicleowners.SuchmobileDBSantennasarealsousedbyJetBlueAirwaysfor
DirecTV(suppliedbyLiveTV,asubsidiaryofJetBlue),whichpassengerscanviewonboardonLCDscreens
mountedintheseats.

Radiobroadcasting
Satelliteradiooffersaudiobroadcastservicesinsomecountries,notablytheUnitedStates.Mobileservicesallow
listenerstoroamacontinent,listeningtothesameaudioprogramminganywhere.
Asatelliteradioorsubscriptionradio(SR)isadigitalradiosignalthatisbroadcastbyacommunicationssatellite,
whichcoversamuchwidergeographicalrangethanterrestrialradiosignals.
Satelliteradiooffersameaningfulalternativetogroundbasedradioservicesinsomecountries,notablytheUnited
States.Mobileservices,suchasSiriusXM,andWorldspace,allowlistenerstoroamacrossanentirecontinent,
listeningtothesameaudioprogramminganywheretheygo.Otherservices,suchasMusicChoiceorMuzak's
satellitedeliveredcontent,requireafixedlocationreceiverandadishantenna.Inallcases,theantennamusthave
aclearviewtothesatellites.Inareaswheretallbuildings,bridges,orevenparkinggaragesobscurethesignal,
repeaterscanbeplacedtomakethesignalavailabletolisteners.
InitiallyavailableforbroadcasttostationaryTVreceivers,by2004popularmobiledirectbroadcastapplications
madetheirappearancewiththearrivaloftwosatelliteradiosystemsintheUnitedStates:SiriusandXMSatellite
RadioHoldings.LatertheymergedtobecometheconglomerateSiriusXM.
Radioservicesareusuallyprovidedbycommercialventuresandaresubscriptionbased.Thevariousservicesare
proprietarysignals,requiringspecializedhardwarefordecodingandplayback.Providersusuallycarryavarietyof
news,weather,sports,andmusicchannels,withthemusicchannelsgenerallybeingcommercialfree.

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Inareaswitharelativelyhighpopulationdensity,itiseasierandlessexpensivetoreachthebulkofthepopulation
withterrestrialbroadcasts.ThusintheUKandsomeothercountries,thecontemporaryevolutionofradioservices
isfocusedonDigitalAudioBroadcasting(DAB)servicesorHDRadio,ratherthansatelliteradio.

Amateurradio
Amateurradiooperatorshaveaccesstoamateursatellites,whichhavebeendesignedspecificallytocarryamateur
radiotraffic.Mostsuchsatellitesoperateasspacebornerepeaters,andaregenerallyaccessedbyamateursequipped
withUHForVHFradioequipmentandhighlydirectionalantennassuchasYagisordishantennas.Duetolaunch
costs,mostcurrentamateursatellitesarelaunchedintofairlylowEarthorbits,andaredesignedtodealwithonlya
limitednumberofbriefcontactsatanygiventime.Somesatellitesalsoprovidedataforwardingservicesusingthe
X.25orsimilarprotocols.

Internetaccess
Afterthe1990s,satellitecommunicationtechnologyhasbeenusedasameanstoconnecttotheInternetvia
broadbanddataconnections.Thiscanbeveryusefulforuserswhoarelocatedinremoteareas,andcannotaccessa
broadbandconnection,orrequirehighavailabilityofservices.

Military
Communicationssatellitesareusedformilitarycommunicationsapplications,suchasGlobalCommandand
ControlSystems.ExamplesofmilitarysystemsthatusecommunicationsatellitesaretheMILSTAR,theDSCS,
andtheFLTSATCOMoftheUnitedStates,NATOsatellites,UnitedKingdomsatellites(forinstanceSkynet),and
satellitesoftheformerSovietUnion.IndiahaslauncheditsfirstMilitaryCommunicationsatelliteGSAT7,its
transpondersoperateinUHF,F,CandKubandbands.[14]TypicallymilitarysatellitesoperateintheUHF,SHF
(alsoknownasXband)orEHF(alsoknownasKaband)frequencybands.

Seealso
Commercializationofspace
Listofcommunicationsatellitecompanies
Listofcommunicationssatellitefirsts
Reconnaissancesatellite
Satellitespacesegment

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Externallinks
SatelliteIndustryAssociation(http://www.sia.org/)
EuropeanSatelliteOperatorsAssociation(http://www.esoa.net/)
http://prmt.com/glossaryofterms/SatelliteGlossary]
SatMagazine(http://www.satmagazine.com)
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BeyondTheIonosphere:FiftyYearsofSatelliteCommunication(NASASP4217,1997)(http://history.nasa.
gov/SP4217/sp4217.htm)
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