Chapter 20: Satellite Communications

TRUE/FALSE

1. Communications satellites could be just passive reflectors.

ANS: T

2. A typical communications satellite can cover half of the earth's surface.

ANS: F

3. Most communications satellites are in a geosynchronous orbit.

ANS: T

4. Most communications satellites are in a geostationary orbit.

ANS: T

5. "Geostationary" means the same thing as "geosynchronous".

ANS: F

6. A geosynchronous orbit is about 3,600 km above the equator.

ANS: F

7. Signals from satellites in a geosynchronous orbit suffer a great deal of free-space attenuation.

ANS: T

8. It is easier to reach a geosynchronous satellite from higher northern latitudes.

ANS: F

9. At the frequencies satellites use, the ionosphere has negligible effect.

ANS: T

10. The closer a satellite is to earth, the faster the velocity it needs to stay in orbit.

ANS: T

11. In the Northern Hemisphere, an antenna must face south to reach a satellite.

ANS: T

12. You cannot communicate with a geosynchronous satellite from the Southern Hemisphere.

ANS: F
13. You cannot communicate with a geosynchronous satellite from the South Pole.

ANS: T

14. Typically, ground antennas must be movable to "track" a geosynchronous satellite.

ANS: F

15. The azimuth and elevation needed for an antenna to "see" a certain satellite depend on the
location of the antenna on the ground.

ANS: T

16. The power in the uplink signal to a typical communications satellite is in the range of 50 to 240
watts.

ANS: F

17. The power in the downlink signal from a typical communications satellite is in the range of 10 to
250 watts per transponder.

ANS: T

18. The EIRP of a satellite depends on the gain of its antenna.

ANS: T

19. The EIRP of a satellite is the same anywhere reception is possible.

ANS: F

20. It takes over half a second for a signal to go from point A to point B and back again via
geostationary satellite.

ANS: T

21. The useful life of a communications satellite is over when it runs out of fuel.

ANS: T

22. The maximum useful life of a communications satellite is about three years.

ANS: F

23. Using the C band for satellites may conflict with terrestrial microwave communications.

ANS: T

24. Ku-band antennas can be smaller than C-band antennas.

ANS: T

25. Conventional analog satellite transponders cannot be used with digital data signals.
 ANS: F

26. It is possible to transmit signals from one satellite to another.

ANS: T

27. In practice, the beamwidth of a parabolic reflector is independent of its diameter.

ANS: F

28. Communications satellites are particularly well suited to long-distance telephony.

ANS: F

29. With TDMA, more than one hundred earth stations can use the same satellite transponder.

ANS: T

30. LEO communications satellite systems have been a great commercial success.

ANS: F

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The height of the geosynchronous orbit above the equator is about:

a. 3,578 km c. 357,800 km
b. 35,780 km d. depends on satellite velocity
ANS: B

2. The high and low points of a satellite's orbit are called, respectively,:
a. apogee and perigee c. uplink and downlink
b. perigee and apogee d. downlink and uplink
ANS: A

3. The area on the earth that is "covered" by a satellite is called its:

a. earth station c. footprint
b. downlink d. plate
ANS: C

4. The velocity required to stay in orbit:

a. is constant
b. is zero (freefall)
c. is lower close to the earth than far from the earth
d. is higher close to the earth than far from the earth
ANS: D

5. An antenna is aimed by adjusting the two "look angles" called:

a. azimuth and elevation c. declination and elevation
b. azimuth and declination d. apogee and perigee
 ANS: A

6. The power per transponder of a typical Ku-band satellite is in the range:

a. 5 to 25 watts c. 500 to 2500 watts
b. 50 to 250 watts d. depends on its orbit
ANS: B

7. The power level for an earth station to transmit to a satellite is on the order of:
a. 101 watts c. 103 watts
b. 102 watts d. 104 watts
ANS: C

8. The "payload" on a communications satellite consists of:

a. transponders c. solar cells
b. batteries d. all of the above
ANS: A

9. "Station-keeping" refers to:

a. antenna maintenance c. orbital adjustments
b. power-level adjustments d. none of the above
ANS: C

10. DBS stands for:

a. decibels of signal c. direct-broadcast system
b. down-beam signal d. direct-broadcast satellite
ANS: D

11. LNA stands for:

a. low-noise amplifier c. low-noise amplitude
b. low north angle d. low-noise array
ANS: A

12. A reduction in TWT power for linearity is called:

a. backdown c. power-down
b. backoff d. EIRP drop
ANS: B

13. TVRO stands for:

a. television receive only c. television remote origin
b. television repeater only d. none of the above
ANS: A

14. TDMA stands for:

a. transponder-directed multiple antennas c. time-division multiple access
b. television distribution master antenna d. transmit delay minimum aperture
ANS: C

15. VSAT stands for:

 a. video satellite c. very small antenna terminal
b. video signal antenna terminal d. very small aperture terminal
ANS: D

16. On the uplink from a terminal, a VSAT system uses:

a. high power to a small antenna c. low power to a large antenna
b. low power to a small antenna d. LEO satellites
ANS: B

17. A typical VSAT system is configured as a:

a. star c. ring
b. mesh d. repeater
ANS: A

18. LEO stands for:

a. long elliptic orbit c. lateral earth orbit
b. low-earth orbit d. longitudinal earth orbit
ANS: B

19. For real-time communication, LEO systems require:

a. a constellation of satellites c. very high power
b. tracking dish antennas d. all of the above
ANS: A

20. The frequency bands used by Ku-band satellites are:

a. 4 GHz and 6 GHz c. 20 GHz and 30 GHz
b. 12 GHz and 14 GHz d. none of the above
ANS: B

COMPLETION

1. A satellite in geosynchronous orbit takes ____________________ hours to complete one orbit.

ANS: 24

2. The ____________________ is the signal path from the earth station to the satellite.

ANS: uplink

3. The ____________________ is the signal path from the satellite to the earth station.

ANS: downlink

4. A satellite in a ____________________ orbit appears to stay directly above one spot on the
equator.

ANS: geostationary

5. Non-geostationary satellites are sometimes called ____________________ satellites.

 ANS: orbital

6. A geosynchronous orbit is about ____________________ km above the earth.

ANS: 35,780

7. A ____________________ is an outline of the area on the earth's surface that a satellite

broadcasts to.

ANS: footprint

8. All satellite orbits are ____________________ in shape.

ANS: elliptical

9. The ____________________ is the distance of a satellite's closest approach to the earth.

ANS: perigee

10. The ____________________ is a satellite's farthest distance from the earth.

ANS: apogee

11. An antenna's ____________________ is its angular direction between east and west.

ANS: azimuth

12. An antenna's ____________________ is its vertical angle with respect to the earth's surface.

ANS: elevation

13. An antenna's ____________________ is the angle by which it is offset from the earth's axis.

ANS: declination

14. Satellites using the ____________________ band operate on 12 GHz.

ANS: Ku

15. The time for a signal to make a round trip via satellite is about ____________________
milliseconds.

ANS: 500

16. A ____________________ is a type of repeater used on communications satellites.

ANS: transponder

17. Both the gain and the beamwidth of a dish antenna depend on its ____________________.

ANS: diameter
18. VSAT systems commonly use a ____________________ network configuration.

ANS: star

19. To date, LEO satellite systems have been a financial ____________________.

ANS: failure

20. C-band antennas are ____________________ than Ku-band antennas.

ANS: larger

SHORT ANSWER

1. A receiving antenna with a gain of 44.4 dBi looks at a sky with a noise temperature of 15 K. The
loss between the output of the antenna and the input of the LNA is 0.4 dB, and the LNA has a
noise temperature of 40 K. Calculate the G/T.

ANS:
25 dB

2. A receiver has a noise figure of 1.7 dB. Find its equivalent noise temperature.

ANS:
139 K.

3. A receiving antenna with a G/T of 25 dB is used to receive signals from a satellite 38,000 km
away. The satellite has a 100-watt transmitter and an antenna with a gain of 30 dBi. The signal
has a bandwidth of 1 MHz at a frequency of 12 GHz. Calculate the C/N at the receiver.

ANS:
38 dB