Part II

1. Orbital Elements
2. Look Angles
3. Orbital Perturbations
4. Tracking and Orbital Determination
5. Launches and Launch Vehicles
6. Orbital Effects in Communication System Performance
 Orbital Parameters
 Apogee – the point farthest from earth.
 Perigee – the point closest to earth.
 Line of Apsides – the line joining the perigee and apogee through the
center of the earth.
 Ascending Node – the point where the orbit crosses the equatorial
plane, going from south to north.
 Descending Node – the point where the orbit crosses the equatorial
plane, going from north to south.
 Line of Nodes – the line joining the ascending and descending nodes
through the center of the earth.
 Argument of Perigee,  – the angle from ascending node to perigee,
measured in the orbital plane.
 Right Ascension of the Ascending Node,  – the angle measured
eastward, in the equatorial plane, from the line to the ascending
node.
 The inclination angle, i, is the angle between the orbital plane and
the earth‟s equatorial plane.
 A satellite that is in an orbit with some inclination angle is in an
inclined orbit.
 A satellite that is in an orbit in the equatorial plane (inclination
angle=0◦) is in an equatorial orbit.
 A satellite that has an inclination angle of 90◦ is in a polar orbit.
 The orbit may be elliptical or circular, depending on the orbital
velocity and direction of motion imparted to the satellite on insertion
into orbit.
 An orbit in which the satellite moves in the same direction as the
earth‟s rotation is called a prograde orbit.
 The inclination angle of a prograde orbit is between 0◦ and 90◦.
 A satellite in a retrograde orbit moves in a direction opposite to the
earth‟s rotation, with an inclination angle between 90◦ and 180◦.
Orbital elements
 Orbital elements defines the set of parameters
needed to uniquely specify the location of an orbiting
satellite.
 The minimum number of parameters required is six:
 Eccentricity;
 Semi-Major Axis;
 Time of Perigee;
 Right Ascension of Ascending Node;
 Inclination Angle;
 Argument of Perigee.
 Geostationary look angles
 Elevation angle
Calculation
 𝑟𝑠  Vector from the center of
the earth to the satellite.
 𝑟𝑒  Vector from the center of
the earth to the earth station.
 d Vector from the earth
station to the satellite.
 These three vectors lie in the
same plane and form a triangle.
 𝛾 Central angle between the
𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑠
 angle between the earth station and
the satellite.
   angle measured from
𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑
 non-negative.

 𝛾  related to the earth

station north latitude 𝐿𝑒
 𝐿𝑒  number of degrees in
latitude that the earth station is
north from the equator.
 𝑙𝑒  west longitude
 number of degrees in longitude
that the earth station is west from
the Green which meridian.
 𝐿𝑠 Sub satellite point at
north latitude.
 𝑙𝑠 West Longitude.
 cos 𝛾 = cos 𝐿𝑒 cos 𝐿𝑆 cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒 + sin 𝐿𝑒 sin 𝐿𝑆 1
 Relating the magnitudes of the vector joining the center of the earth,
satellite and the earth station due to law of cosines.
𝑟𝑒 2 𝑟𝑒
𝑑 = 𝑟𝑠 1 + −2 cos 𝛾 2
𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑠
 Elevation angle 𝐸𝑙 is related to central angle  by
𝐸𝑙 =  − 90° (From the fig) 3
 Law of sines, gives (from fig)
𝑟𝑠 𝑑
= 4
sin  sin 𝛾
 Combining 2,3,4, we get
cos 𝐸𝑙 = sin 
𝑟𝑠 sin 𝛾
cos 𝐸𝑙 =
𝑑
sin 𝛾
cos 𝐸𝑙 =
2
𝑟 𝑟𝑒
1+ 𝑒 −2 cos 𝛾
𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑠
 For most Geo stationery satellites, the sub satellite point is on the
equator at longitude 𝑙𝑠 and the latitude 𝐿𝑆 is zero.
 Since 𝑙𝑠 is zero.
 Eqn. 1  cos 𝛾 = cos 𝐿𝑒 cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒
𝑟𝑠 = 42,164.17 𝑘𝑚
𝑟𝑒 = 6378.137 𝑘𝑚
 Eqn. 2 𝑑 = 42,164.17 1.02288235 − 0.30253825 cos 𝛾
sin 𝛾
cos 𝐸𝑙 =
1.02288235 − 0.30253825 cos 𝛾

𝑟𝑠
= 6.6107345
𝑟𝑒
−1
6.6107345 − cos 𝛾
𝐸𝑙 = tan −𝛾
sin 𝛾
 Azimuth angle
 Because the earth station, the center of the earth, the satellite,
and the sub satellite point all lie, in the same plane, the Azimuth
angle 𝐴𝑍 from the earth station to the satellite is same as the
Azimuth from the earth station to the sub satellite point.
 More difficult to compute than the elevation angle.
 Because, the exact geometry depends on whether the sub satellite point is
east or west of the earth station and northern or southern hemisphere of
the earth station.
 Problem simplified for GEO satellites.
 For LEO satellites
 Calculating the individual look angles on a second by second basis.
 To find the azimuth angle, an intermediate angle „‟ must be
found.
 Intermediate angle  Permits the correct 90° quadrant to be found
for the azimuth, since azimuthal angle can lie anywhere between 0° &
360° .
−1 tan 𝑙𝑠 −𝑙𝑒
𝛼= tan
sin 𝐿𝑒
 Azimuth angle can be found from:
 Case-(i) Earth station is in the northern hemisphere
a) Satellite to the south east of the earth station
𝐴𝑍 = 180° − 𝛼
b) Satellite to the south west of the earth station.
𝐴𝑍 = 180° + 𝛼
 Case-(ii) Earth station is in the southern hemisphere
a) Satellite to the North east of the earth station:
𝐴𝑍 = 𝛼
(d) Satellite to the North west the earth station
𝐴𝑍 = 360° − 𝛼
Visibility test
 For a satellite to be visible from an earth station,
its Elevation angle 𝐸𝑙 must be above some
minimum value.
 A positive or zero elevation angle requires
𝑟𝑒
𝑟𝑠 ≥
cos 𝛾
𝑟𝑒
cos 𝛾 ≥
𝑟𝑠
𝑟
𝛾 ≤ cos −1 𝑒
𝑟𝑠
 This is the maximum central angle separation
between the earth station and the sub satellite
point.
 For a nominal geo satellite, the value of central
angle 𝛾 ≤ 81.3° so that the satellite will be
visible.
 An earth station situated in the Docklands of London needs to
calculate the look angle to a geostationary satellite in the Indian ocean
operated by Intelsat. The details of the earth and the satellite are as
follows:
 Earth station latitude and longitude are 52. 0° 𝑁 𝑎𝑛𝑑 0°
 Satellite longitude (Sub satellite point) is 66. 0° 𝐸.
 Step-1:- Find the central angle, 𝛾,
cos 𝛾 = cos 𝐿𝑒 cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒
= cos 52° cos 66° = 0.2504
𝛾 = 75. 4981°
 The central angle 𝛾 is less than 81.3° so the satellite is visible from the
earth station.
 Step-2:- Find the elevation angle
−1
6.6107345 − cos 𝛾
𝐸𝑙 = tan −𝛾
sin 𝛾
𝐸𝑙 = 5.847°
 Step -3:- Find the intermediate angle 𝛼.
−1 tan 𝑙𝑠 −𝑙𝑒
𝛼= tan
sin 𝐿𝑒
°
𝛼 = 70. 667

 Step-4:- Find the azimuth angle,

 The earth station is in the Northern hemisphere and the satellite is to
the southeast of the earth station,
𝐴𝑍 = 180° − 𝛼
𝐴𝑍 = 109. 333°
(Clockwise from true north)
 An interactive experiment is being set up between the
University of York, England (approximately 359.5oE,
53.5oN) and the Technical University of Graz, Austria
(approximately 15oE, 47.5oN) that will make use of a
geostationary satellite. The earth stations at both
universities are constrained to work only above elevation
angles of 20o due to buildings, etc., near their locations.
The groups at the two universities need to find a
geostationary satellite that will be visible to both
universities simultaneously, with both earth stations
operating at, or above, an elevation angle of 20o. What is
the range of subsatellite points between which the
selected geostationary satellite must lie?
 sin 𝛾
cos 𝐸𝑙 =
1.02288235 − 0.30253825 cos 𝛾

 Let cos 𝛾 = X, C = cos 𝐸𝑙 , A = 1.02288235, B = 0.30253825,

and so (1 – X2)1/2 = sin 𝛾
 The equation relating El to 𝛾 can be written as a quadratic in X and
solved by the quadratic formula as follows:
1 – X2 = C2(A – BX)
 Solving gives

 The correct solution is the positive root.

 With a minimum elevation angle of 20o,
 C = 0.9396926 giving X = 0.4721212, and
 Thus 𝛾 = cos-1(0.4721212) = 61.8279251o.
 cos 𝛾 = cos 𝐿𝑒 cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒

 For York: cos(61.8279251) = cos(53.5) cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒

 Giving cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒 = 0.7937174.
 The difference between the York longitude and the sub-
satellite point is cos-1(0.7937174) = 37.4657212o.
 Since York is at a longitude of 359.5oE,
 There are two solutions for the placement of the
satellite (one east of York and one west of York).
 Only the placement east of York will be visible to Graz
and so the east most placement of the satellite as far as
York is concerned is 36.9657212oE = 36.97oE.
 For Graz: cos(61.8279251) = cos(47.5) cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒
 Giving cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒 = 0.6988278.
 The difference between the Graz longitude and the sub-satellite
point is cos-1(0.6988278) = 45.6669685o.
 Since Graz is at a longitude of 15oE, there are two solutions for
the placement of the satellite (one east of Graz and one west of
Graz).
 Only the placement west of Graz will be visible to York and so
the west most placement of the satellite as far as Graz is
concerned is 329.3330315oE = 329.33oE

 The range of sub-satellite points that will provide an elevation

angle of at least 20o to both York and Graz is from 329.33oE to
36.97oE.
 The state of Virginia may be represented roughly as a rectangle
bounded by 39.5o N latitude on the north, 36.5oN latitude on the
south, 76.0o W longitude on the east, and 86.3oW longitude on the
west. If a geostationary satellite must be visible throughout Virginia at
an elevation angle no lower than 20o, what is the range of longitudes
within which the sub-satellite point of the satellite must lie?
sin 𝛾
cos 𝐸𝑙 =
1.02288235 − 0.30253825 cos 𝛾
 Let cos 𝛾 = X, C = cos 𝐸𝑙 , A = 1.02288235, B = 0.30253825, and so
(1 – X2)1/2 = sin 𝛾
 The equation relating El to 𝛾 can be written as a quadratic in X and solved by
the quadratic formula as follows:
1 – X2 = C2(A – BX)
 Solving gives

 The correct solution is the positive root. With a minimum elevation angle of
20o,
 C = 0.9396926 giving X = 0.4721212, and thus 𝛾 = cos-1(0.4721212) =
61.8279251o.
 The lowest elevation angles will be at earth stations
located at the north most corners of Virginia.
 That is at latitude 39.5oN, with one at 76oW and the
other at 86.3oW.
 The factor cos(Le) will be the same in both cases,
cos(39.5) = 0.7716246, as will cos(ls – le), which will be
cos(61.8279251)/(0.7716246) = 0.6118535,
 Which yields a separation between ls and le of
52.2763585o.
 Thus the satellite may be approximately 52.3o east or
west of the earth station to remain at an elevation angle
of 20o.
 However, to enable the other northern corner of
Virginia to still “see” the satellite at an elevation
angle of at least 20o, the satellite must be east of the
west most earth station and west of the east most
earth station.
 The east most northern earth station site is at
76oW and the west most earth station site is at
86.3oW.
 The subsatellite points must therefore be between
76oW + 52.2763585 = 128.2763585oW and
86.3oW – 52.2763585 = 34.0236415oW
 An earth station is located at 30° 𝑊 longitudes and 60° 𝑁
latitude. Determine the earth station azimuth and elevation
angles with respect to geostationary satellite located at
50° 𝑊 longitude. (Assume orbital radius = 42164.17 km
and earth‟s radius=6378 km)

−1
tan 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒
𝛼 = tan
sin 𝐿𝑒
°
tan 20
𝛼 = tan−1
sin 60°

𝛼 = 22.8°
 Earth station is in the northern hemisphere and the sub
satellite point is towards the south west of the earth station.

𝐴𝑧 = 180° + 𝛼
= 180° + 22.8°
𝐴𝑧 = 202.8°

cos 𝛾 = cos 𝐿𝑒 cos 𝑙𝑠 − 𝑙𝑒

−1
6.6107345 − cos 𝛾
𝐸𝑙 = tan −𝛾
sin 𝛾

𝐸𝑙 = 19.8°
Orbital Perturbations
 Perturbation  classical approach to the many body problem of
astronomy.
 Orbital perturbation  analysis of spacecraft
 Orbit for which other perturbing forces are of importance than for the planets of the
solar system.
 Simple term – Orbital Disturbance
 2 types of Orbital Perturbations
 Gravitational – When considering third body interaction and the non-
spherical shape of the earth
 Non gravitational – like atmospheric drag, solar radiation, solar pressure
and tidal friction.
 Can also be classified as,
 Conservative disturbances force – depends only on the position
 Non-conservative disturbances force – depends on both position and
velocity
Reasons
 Will discuss the most important disturbances
 Necessary to do because it is required to know
the lifetime of the satellite before it will
tumble down to earth
 How the orbit changes due to the different
disturbances.
 These calculations are required to do the
predicted orbit and lifetime more accurate.
Non-Spherical earth

 Far away from perfectly spherical

 Depends on the rotation, making the
radius from center of the earth to the
equator larger than from the center of the
earth to the poles.
 Gravitation potential, Gravity harmonics,
force approach.
Atmospheric disturbances
 Almost empty atmosphere is considered
 Main cause in determining the lifetime of the satellite.
 The drag that can be calculated is an empirical function
based on Cd which is a constant depending on the shape
of the body.
 Density of the atmosphere depends on some different
environmental factors such as the activity of the sun.
 Atmosphere below 1000 km consists of
𝑂2 , 𝑁2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑒 .
 Minor particles - 𝑂3 , 𝐶𝑂2 , 𝐻2 , 𝑁𝑂, electrons and both
positive and negative ions.
 The difficulty to determine the density is
because of the chemical reactions especially
photo chemical reactions.
 Driven by the sunlight and therefore the
activity of the sun is important.
 The other chemical reaction in the
atmosphere is diffusion.
 The minor constituents are controlled by
photochemical processes and therefore the
density depends on the sunlight.
 Mean value of the density,
1 2
𝐶𝐷 𝐴
𝑎𝐷 = − 𝜌𝑔𝑜 𝑉 𝑖𝑣
2 𝑊
 𝑎𝐷  atmospheric drag acceleration vector
 𝜌  atmospheric density
 V  Velocity of the satellite
 𝑔𝑜  Earth gravitation at the sea level.
 A  Projected satellite Area.
 W Satellite weight at sea level.
 𝑖𝑣  Unit vector of satellite velocity.
 𝐶𝐷  Drag coefficient depending on the shape surface.
 Sphere, 𝐶𝐷 =2.2
 Cylinder, 𝐶𝐷 =3.0
 Usually 𝐶𝐷 =2.2 is considered.
Solar radiation and solar wind
 Solar Radiation
All kind of electromagnetic field emitted
by the sun, from X rays to radio waves
 Solar wind
Consists of particles emitted by the sun,
mainly ionized nuclei and electrons.
 Solar pressure is also not constant, but it
fluctuate by < 1%
 The presume is 𝑝𝑜 = 4.7. 10−6
 The perturbing forces can be calculated by,
2
𝑎𝑝 −6
𝐴 𝑎𝑜
= (4.7)(10 ) 1 + 𝛽
𝑔𝑜 𝑊 𝑟𝑜
 𝑎𝑝 → Acceleration due to the solar radiation pressure.
 𝑔𝑜 →Gravitation at the surface of the earth.
 𝛽 →Optical reflection constant
 𝛽 = 1 total reflection (mirror)
0 total reception (black body)
-1 total transmission (transparent)
 A effective satellite projected Area
 W Total satellite weight
 𝑟𝑜  radius of the earth‟s orbit around the sun.
 𝑎𝑜  Semi major axis of the earth‟s orbit around the sun.
 The effect due to the solar radiation pressure is not that much big
for a LEO.
 The aerodynamic drag has a more disturbing effect
 But altitudes above 1000 km and an orbit close to the ecliptic
plane, it has a more distinct effect.

Third body Interaction

 Other planets disturbing the satellite

Attitude Perturbations
 Disturbance in orientation or attitude Atmospheric drag,
(or) Aerodynamic pressure
 Solar pressure
 Magnetic disturbance
Atmospheric drag
 Pressure due to the atmosphere affects the satellite
 Satellite has some kind of atmosphere.
 If the center of pressure of the body is different
from the center of mass, the pressure acts on the
body and the resultant of the forces is not through
the center of the mass and there is a torque due to
the atmosphere.
 The force on a differential area can be expressed by,
𝑑𝐹 = −𝜌𝑣 2 2 − 𝑓𝑛 𝑣 . 𝑛 2 . 𝑛 + 𝑓𝑡 𝑣 . 𝑛 𝑛 × 𝑣 × 𝑛 𝑑𝐴

 𝑣  Unit velocity vector

 𝑣  Magnitude of the velocity
 𝜌 Atmospheric density
 n normal to the surface of dA
 𝑓𝑛  normal momentum interchange coefficient
(between 0.8 and 1)
 𝑓𝑡  tangential momentum interchange coefficient
(between 0.8 and 1)
 The total torque can be found when integrating
𝑑𝑁 = 𝑟 × 𝑑𝐹
Where r is the distance vector from dA to the center of mass.
Solar Pressure
 Just like, the pressure from the atmosphere, a torque due to solar
pressure act on the satellite.
 The pressure of the sun and the difference of the center of the
pressure and the center of mass causes a torque on the satellite.
 The force on a differential area can be described as,
𝑑𝐹 = −𝑝 1 − 𝑣 𝑥𝑠 . 𝑛 2 𝑛 + 1 − 𝑣 𝑥𝑠 . 𝑛 𝑛 × 𝑥𝑠 × 𝑛 𝑑𝐴

 𝑣  Satellite surface reflection (unity for total reflection)

 𝑥𝑠  Unit vector towards the sun
 𝑝  Solar pressure.
 n  normal to the surface dA.
 The total torque can be found when integrating,
𝑑𝑁 = 𝑟 × 𝑑𝐹
r  distance vector from dA to the center of the mass.
Earth magnetic field
 When satellite rotates in a magnetic field,
 The magnetic field induces eddy currents in the shell and
due to the resistance of the shell it produces heat.
 The energy it takes to produce the heat is taken from the
rotational energy but the effects are very small.
 For short life cycle of the satellite, it won‟t be
considered for the calculations.
 The torques due to eddy currents are,
𝑁𝐸𝑑𝑑𝑦 = 𝑘𝑒 𝜔 × 𝐵 × 𝐵
 𝑘𝑒 is a constant depending on the satellites Geometry.
 B  Vector of the magnetic strength of the earth.
Limits of visibility
 Satellite is visible to a given observer depends on many factors such
as
 Observer location
 Time of day
 Satellite altitude
 Sky condition

Factors affecting satellite visibility

 Orbit Altitude and Inclination
 Earth‟s Shadow
 Ground Track
 Other factors
Orbit Altitude and Inclination
 GEO
 MEO
 LEO
 HEO

Earth’s shadow
 When eclipsed, a satellite is naturally not visible.
Ground Track
 Few satellites have an orbital period which is a simple fraction of the
day, the GEO satellites being the exception.
 The orbital period is dictated by the satellite‟s altitude.
 Satellites in LEO completes one orbit in around 90 min.
 Whereas the satellites in GEO, takes 24 hours.
 This cycle of visibility varies with orbital inclination, altitude and
observer location.

Other factors
 Satellite suffers greater air resistance in the lower orbit.
 The forces on the satellite due to the Earth, moon and sun vary through
its orbit giving rise to continual change in the orbit.
Orbit determination and Tracking
 Requires that sufficient measurements be made to determine
uniquely the six orbital elements needed to calculate the future
orbit of the satellite and hence calculate the required changes that
need to be made to the orbit to keep it with in the nominal orbit
location.
 Eccentricity;
 Semi-Major Axis;
 Time of Perigee;
 Right Ascension of Ascending Node;
 Inclination Angle;
 Argument of Perigee.
 Three angular position measurements are needed.
 The control earth stations used to measure the angular
position of the satellites and carry out range measurements
using unique time stamps in the telemetry stream.
 These earth stations are generally referred as TTC&M
(Telemetry, Tracking, Command and Monitoring) stations of
the satellite network.
 Major satellite networks maintain their own TTC&M
stations.
 Smaller satellite systems generally contract for such TTC&M
from the space craft manufacture (or) from the larger
satellite system operators.
 Uneconomic to build advanced TTC&M stations with fewer
than three satellites to control.
Launches and launch vehicles
 A satellite cannot be placed into a stable orbit unless two
parameters that are uniquely coupled together.
 Velocity vector
 Orbital height.

 In some cases,
 In obtaining the correct height and not having the
appropriate velocity component in the correct direction to
achieve the desired orbit.

 A Geostationary satellite out from the earth, greater the

energy required from the launch vehicle to reach that orbit.
 In any satellite launch, the largest fraction of the energy
expended by the rocket used to accelerate the vehicle from rest
to about 20 miles (32 km) above the earth.

 To make the efficient use of the fuel, it is common to shed excess

mass from the launches as it moves upward on launch.
 This is called as staging.

 Most launch vehicles have multiple stages.

 At each stage of completion, that portion of the launcher is
expended until the final stage places the satellite into the desired
trajectory.
 Hence it is termed as expendable launch vehicle (ELV).
Schematic of a Proton launch
 The space shuttle called space transportation system (STS) by
NASA is partially reusable.
 The solid rocket boosters are recovered and refurbished for
future missions.
 In this case, the shuttle vehicle itself is flown back to earth for
refurbishment and reuse.
 Hence the term reusable launch vehicle (RLV).
 The earth spins towards the east.
 At the equator, the rotational velocity of a sea level site in the
plane of the equator is
2𝜋 × 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑕
= 0.4651 𝑘𝑚 𝑠
𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑦
 This velocity increment is approximately 1000 mph.
 An easterly launch from the equator has a velocity increment
of 0.4651 𝑘𝑚 𝑠 imparted by the rotation of the earth.

 A satellite in a circular, equatorial orbit at an altitude of 900

km requires an orbital velocity of 7.4 𝑘𝑚 𝑠 tangential to
the surface of the earth.
 A rocket launched from the equator need to impart an
additional velocity of 7.4 − 0.47 𝑘𝑚 𝑠 = 6.93 𝑘𝑚 𝑠 .
 In other words, the equatorial launch has reduced the energy
required by about 6%.

 Equatorial launch - Led to the concept of a sea launch.

 Not a equatorial launch  Pay load capabilities of any given
rocket reduces as the inclination increases.
 A satellite launched into a prograde orbit from a latitude of  degrees
will enter the orbit with an inclination of  degrees to the equator.
 If the satellite is intended for GEO, the satellite must be given a
significant velocity increment to reorient the orbit into the earth‟s
equatorial plane.
 Example
 A satellite launched from cape Canaveral at 28.5° 𝑁 latitude requires a
velocity increment to attain an equatorial orbit from a GEO orbit plane
of 28.5°
 Ariane is launched from the Guiana space center in French Guiana,
located at latitude 5° 𝑆 in south America.

 Sea launch can launch from the equator.

 The lower latitude of these launch sites results in significant savings in
the fuel used by the Apogee kick motor (AKM).
Expendable Launch Vehicles

 1998 Important year for ELV

 Number of commercial launches in US surpassed the

number of government launches for the first time.
Launch Vehicle Selection Factors
 Some of the launch vehicles deliver the space craft directly to
GEO.
 Called as a direct insertion launch.

 While others inject the space craft into GTO.

 Space craft launched into GTO, must carry additional rocket
motors and propellant to enable the vehicle to reach the
GEO.

 3 basic ways to place satellites in GEO.

 Geostationary Transfer orbit and AKM.
 GEO stationary Transfer orbit with slow orbit raising.
 Direct Insertion to GEO.
Geostationary Transfer orbit and AKM
 Initial approach to launch
geostationary satellites, into
LEO.
 Place the spacecraft with
the final rocket stage still
attached.
 After a couple of orbits,
during which the orbital
elements are measured, the
final stage is reignited and
the space craft is launched
into Geostationary transfer
orbit.
  The GTO has a perigee
and apogee
 Perigee - Original LEO
orbit altitude.
 Apogee - GEO altitude.
 Position of the apogee
point
 Close to the orbital
longitude
 Would be in orbit test
location of the satellite
prior to it being moved
to its operational
position.
 After a few orbits in the GTO while the orbital elements are measured, a
rocket motor (contained within the satellite) is ignited at apogee and the
GTO is raised until it is a circular geostationary orbit.
 Since the rocket motor fires
at apogee, it is commonly
referred as the apogee kick
motor (AKM).

 AKM - Used to circularize

the orbit at GEO, and to
remove any inclination
error so that the final orbit
of the satellite is very close
to Geostationary.
GTO with slow orbit raising
 Rather employing an
Apogee kick motor that
imparts a vigorous
acceleration over a few
minutes.
 The space craft thrusters
– used to raise the orbit
from GTO to GEO over a
number of burns.
 Since the space craft
cannot be spin stabilized
during the GTO, many of
the satellite elements are
deployed in GTO
including solar panels.
 Satellite has two power levels of thrusters.
 One for more powerful orbit raising maneuvers and one for on-orbit
maneuvers
 Since the thrusters take many
hours of operation to achieve
Geostationary orbit, the
perigee of the orbit is gradually
raised over successive thruster
firings.
 The thruster firings occur
symmetrically about the
apogee although they could
occur at the perigee as well.
 The burns are typically 60 to
80 min long on successive
orbits and upto six orbits can
be used.
 In the first two cases,
 AKM and slow orbit raising, the GTO may be a modified
orbit with the apogee well above the required altitude for
GEO.

 The excess energy of the orbit due to the higher altitude at

apogee can be traded for energy required to raise the
perigee.

 The net energy to circularize the orbit at GEO is less and

the satellite can retain more fuel for on-orbit operations.
Direct insertion to GEO
 Similar to GTO technique
 The launch service provider contracts to place the satellite into
GEO
 The final stages of the rocket are used to place the satellite
directly into GEO rather than the satellite using its own
propulsion system to go from GTO to GEO.

Orbital effects in communication system

performance
 Doppler Shift
 Range Variations
 Solar Eclipse
 Sun Transit Outage
Doppler Shift
 To a stationary observer, the frequency of a moving radio transmitter
varies with the transmitter‟s velocity relative to the observer.

 If the true transmitter frequency is fT,

 Then the received fR is higher than fT when the transmitter is moving
towards the receiver and lower than fT when the transmitter is moving
away from the receiver.

 Mathematically, the relationship between the transmitted and received

frequencies is,
𝑓𝑅 − 𝑓𝑇 ∆𝑓
=
𝑓𝑇 𝑓𝑇
∆𝑓 𝑉𝑇
=
𝑓𝑇 𝑣𝑝
 𝑉𝑇 𝑓𝑇 𝑉𝑇 𝑓𝑇 𝑉𝑇
∆𝑓 = = =
𝑣𝑝 𝐶 
 Where VT is the transmitted velocity directed towards the receiver.
 𝑣𝑝 = 𝐶 is the velocity of light and  is the wavelength of the
transmitted signal.

 If the transmitter is moving away from the receiver, then VT is

negative.
 This change in frequency is called as the Doppler shift.

 For Geostationary satellites, the effect is negligible compared to LEO

and MEO.
A low earth orbit satellite is in a circular polar orbit with an altitude of 1000 km. A transmitter
on the satellite has a frequency of 2.65 GHZ. Find,
i) The velocity of the satellite in orbit.
ii) The component of velocity towards an observer at an earth station as the satellite appears
over the horizon, for an observer who is in the plane of the satellite orbit.
iii) Find the Doppler shift of the received signal at the earth station use a mean earth radius
value of 6378 km.
iv) The satellite also carries a Ka band transmitter at 20 GHZ. Find the Doppler shift for this
signal when it is received by the same observer.
2
4𝜋 2 𝑎3
𝑇 =
𝜇
𝑎 = 6378 + 1000
𝑎 = 7378 𝑘𝑚
𝜇 = 3.986 × 105
𝑇 2 = 3.977754 × 107 𝑠 2
𝑇 = 6306.94 𝑠
𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡 = 2𝜋𝑎
= 46,357.3 𝑘𝑚.
46,357.3
𝑣𝑠 =
6306.94
= 7.350 𝑘𝑚 𝑠 .
ii) 𝑣𝑇 = 𝑣𝑠 cos 𝜃
Where 𝜃 is the angle between the satellite velocity vector and the direction of the
observer at the satellite.
𝑟𝑒
cos 𝜃 =
𝑟𝑒 + 𝑕
= 0.8645
𝑣𝑇 = 𝑣𝑠 cos 𝜃 = 6354 𝑚 𝑠 .

𝑉𝑇 6354
iii) ∆𝑓 = =
 0.1132
∆𝑓 = 56,130𝐻𝑍

iv) 𝑓 = 20𝐺𝐻𝑍
=0.015m
𝑉𝑇 6354
∆𝑓 = =
 0.015
∆𝑓 = 423.60 𝑘𝐻𝑍
Range Variations
 Even with the best station keeping systems available for geostationary
satellites, the position of a satellite with respect to the earth exhibits a cyclic
daily variation.
 The variation in position will lead to a variation in range between the
satellite and user terminals.
 If TDMA is being used, careful attention must be paid to the timing of the
frames within the TDMA bursts, so that the individual user frames arrive at
the satellite in the correct sequence and at the correct time.
 Range variations on LEO satellites can be significant, as can path loss
variations.
 While guard times between bursts can be increased to help in any range or
tine accuracies.
 This reduces the capacity of the transponder.
 The on-board capabilities of some satellites permit both timing control of
the burst sequence and power level control of individual user streams.
Solar Eclipse
 A Satellite is said to be in eclipse when the earth prevents sunlight from
reaching it,
 When the satellite is in the shadow of the earth.
 For Geostationary satellites, eclipse occur during two periods that begin 23
days before the equinox and end 23 days after the equinox periods.
 Eclipses occur close to the equinoxes as these are the times when the sun,
the earth and the satellite are all nearly in the same plane.
 During full eclipse, a satellite receives no power from its solar array and it
must operate entirely from its batteries.
 Batteries are designed to operate with a maximum depth of discharge.
 The better the battery, lower the percentage of depth of discharge.
 The eclipse season is a design challenge for spacecraft builders.
 Not only is the main power source (the sun) but also the rapidity with which
the satellite enters and exits the shadow can cause extreme changes in both
power and heating effects over relatively short periods.
 Eclipse periods are therefore monitored carefully by ground controllers, as
this when most of the equipment failures are likely to occur.
Sun Transit Outage
 During the equinox periods,
not only does the satellite pass
through the earth‟s shadow on
the dark side of the earth, but
the orbit of the satellite will
also pass directly in front of the
sun on the sunlit side of the
earth.
 The sun is a hot micro wave
source with an equivalent
temperature of about 6000K to
10,000K , depending on the
time within the 11-year sunspot
cycle, at the frequencies used
by communications satellites (4
to 50 GHZ)
 The earth station antenna will therefore receive not only the signal from the
satellite but also the noise temperature transmitted by the sun.
 The added noise temperature will cause the fade margin of the receiver to
be exceeded and an outage will occur.
 These outages may be precisely
predicted.
 For satellite system operators with
more than one satellite at their
disposal, traffic can be off-loaded to
satellites that are just out of, or are
yet to enter a sun outage.
 The outage in this situation can
therefore be limited as far as an
individual user is concerned.
 However, the outage can be
detrimental to operators
committed to operations during
daylight hours.
References

 Timothy Pratt, Charles Bostian and Jeremy Allnutt, “Satellite

Communications”, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

 Ray E. Sheriff and Y. Fun Hu, “Mobile Satellite Communication

Networks”, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

 Louis J. Ippolito, Jr., “Satellite Communications Systems

Engineering”, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.