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Satellite Communications
• SATELLITE
SATELLITE • A celestial body that orbits around a planet
• A space vehicle launched by humans and orbits the Earth or
COMMUNICATIONS another celestial body
• COMMUNICATION SATELLITE
ECE145P-1 • Man-made satellites that orbit the Earth providing multitude of
communication functions to a wide variety of consumers, including
Microwave and Satellite Communications military, governmental, private and commercial subscribers
• A microwave repeater in the sky that consists of a diverse
combination of one or more of the following: receiver, transmitter,
amplifier, regenerator, filter, onboard computer, multiplexer,
demultiplexer, antenna, waveguide and about any other electronic
communications circuit ever developed

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History of Satellite History of Satellite

• 1954 • 1957
• The Moon became the first passive satellite when the US Navy • Russia launched Sputnik I, the first active Earth satellite
successfully transmitted the first message over this Earth-to-Moon- • Sputnik I transmitted telemetry information for 21 days
to-Earth communication systems • Later, US launched Explorer I which transmitted telemetry
• 1956 information for nearly five months
• A relay service was established between Washington D.C. and • 1958
Hawaii • NASA launched Score, a 150-pound conical-shaped satellite
• 1962 • Score was the first artificial satellite used for relaying terrestrial
• Offered reliable long-distance radio communication service limited communications (delayed repeater)
only by the availability of the Moon • 1960
• NASA in conjunction with Bell Laboratories and the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory launched Echo, a 100-foot-diameter plastic balloon with
an aluminum coating

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History of Satellite History of Satellite

• 1960
• The first transatlantic transmission using a satellite was
accomplished using Echo
• Department of Defense launched Courier, which was the first
transponder-type satellite
• 1962
• AT&T launched Telstar I, the first active satellite to simultaneously
receive and transmit radio signals
• 1963
• Telstar II was successfully launched and was electronically identical
to Telstar I except more radiation resistant
• Telstar II was used for telephone, television, facsimile and data
transmission and accomplished the first successful transatlantic
video transmission
• February 1963
• Syncom I was launched and was the first attempt to place a
geosynchronous satellite into orbit however it was lost during the
orbit injection
• Syncom II was successfully launched
• August 1964
• Syncom III satellite was successfully launched and was used to
broadcast the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo
• 1965
• Intelsat I was the first commercial telecommunications satellite
launched by Cape Kennedy
• Intelsat I used two transponder and a 25-MHz bandwidth to
simultaneously carry one television signal and 480 voice channels

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History of Satellite History of Satellite

• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization • 1966
(INTELSAT) • The former Soviet Union launched the first set of domestic satellites
• A commercial global satellite network that manifested in 1964 from and called them Molniya
within the United Nations • 1972
• A consortium of over 120 nations with the commitment to provide • Canada first launched its first commercial satellite designated Anik
worldwide, nondiscriminatory satellite communications using four which is an Inuit
basic service categories: international public switched telephone,
broadcasting, private-line/business network, and domestic/regional • 1974
communications • Western Union launched their first Wester satellite

• 1966 – 1967 • 1975

• Intelsat launched a series of satellites designated Intelsat II, III, IV, • Radio Corporation of America (RCA) launched its first Satcom
V and VI satellites
• Intelsat VI has a capacity of 80,000 voice channels

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History of Satellite Kepler’s Law

• Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT)
• A publicly owned company in US, regulates the use and operation
of US satellites and also sets their tariffs
• 1976
• MARISAT, the first mobile communications satellite
• 1979
• INMARSAT formed
• 1997
• AGILA 2 satellite launched, the first Philippine satellite in orbit
• German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
discovered the laws that govern satellite motion
• The laws of planetary motion describe the shape of the
orbit, the velocities of the planet and the distance a planet
is with respect to the sun
• Kepler’s Laws
1. The planets move in ellipses with the sun at one focus
2. The line joining the sun and a planet sweeps out equal areas in
equal intervals of time
3. The square of the time of revolution of a planet divided by the
cube of its mean distance from the sun gives a number that is
the same for all planets

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Kepler’s First Law Kepler’s Second Law

• States that a satellites will orbit a primary body following • LAW OF AREAS
an elliptical path • States that for equal intervals of time a satellite will sweep out
equal areas in the orbital plane, focus at the barycenter

Where ε is eccentricity

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Kepler’s Third Law Example

• LAW OF HARMONIC • Calculate the approximate height of a GEO satellite using
• States that the square of the periodic time of orbit is proportional to Kepler’s Third Law (A = 42241.0979; P = 0.9972)
the cube of the mean distance between primary and the satellite

Where: A – constant (unitless)

α – semimajor axis (kilometers)
P – mean solar Earth days

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Kepler’s Law Kepler’s Law

Satellite Orbits:
Elliptical

Satellite Orbits:
Circular

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Satellite Orbits Satellite Orbits

• SATELLITE ELEVATION CATEGORIES • SATELLITE ELEVATION CATEGORIES
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites • Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Satellites
• The following are descriptions of LEO satellite system: • The following are descriptions of LEO satellite system:
• Orbital Height : 100 – 300 miles • Orbital Height : 6,000 – 12,000 miles
• Orbital Velocity (average) : 17,500 mph • Orbital Velocity (average) : 9,580 mph
• Orbital Time (period) : 1.5 hours • Orbital Time (period) : 5 to 12 hours
• Satellite Availability : 15 minutes per orbit • Satellite Availability : 2 to 4 hours per orbit
• Typical Operating Frequency : 1.0 – 2.5 GHz • Typical Operating Frequency : 1.2 – 1.66 GHz

• Examples of existing LEO system: • Examples of existing MEO system:

• Motorola’s Iridium Satellite System • NAVSTAR
• A constellation of 66-LEO satellites for worldwide voice and data • US Department of Defense’s satellite-based GPS
communications • With 21 working satellites and 6 spares orbiting approximately 9500 miles
above Earth

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Satellite Orbits Satellite Orbital Patterns

• SATELLITE ELEVATION CATEGORIES • Terms
• Geostationary/Geosynchronous (GEO) Satellites • Apogee
• The following are descriptions of LEO satellite system: • The point in an orbit that is located farthest from Earth
• Orbital Height : 22,000 miles (within 19,000 – 25,000 miles) • Perigee
• Orbital Velocity (average) : 6,879 mph
• The point in an orbit that is located nearest to Earth
• Orbital Time (period) : 24 hours
• Major Axis
• Satellite Availability : 24 hours per orbit
• Typical Operating Frequency : 2 – 18 GHz • The line joining the perigee and apogee through the center of the Earth
• Sometimes called line of apsides

• Note that this system is ideal for continuous communications so • Minor Axis
that satellites for communications purpose are located in this orbit • The line perpendicular to the major axis and halfway between the
perigee and apogee

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Satellite Orbital Patterns Satellite Orbital Patterns

• The trajectory followed by the satellite in equilibrium
between two opposing forces is called orbit
• There are three satellite orbital patterns:
• EQUITORIAL ORBIT
• A circular orbit with zero inclination
• Located directly above the equator
• Its altitude is approximately 35,855 km
• The satellite period in this orbit is equal to Earth’s own period
• POLAR ORBIT
• The satellite in this orbit rotates in a path that takes it over the North and
South Poles perpendicular to the equatorial plane
• Also a circular orbit

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Satellite Orbital Patterns Satellite Orbital Patterns

• There are three satellite orbital patterns:
• There are three satellite orbital patterns:
• INCLINED ORBIT
• Inclined at angle of 64 degrees with respect to the equatorial plane
• It is elliptical in shape thus it has the perigee point and apogee point

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Satellite Orbit Directions Geosynchronous Satellites

• Prograde or Posigrade Orbit (West to East)
• In prograde or posigrade orbit direction, the satellite’s revolution
and Earth’s rotation are in the same direction
• Retrograde Orbit (East to West)
• In retrograde orbit, the satellite’s revolution is against the direction
of Earth’s rotation
• Stationary or Geostationary Satellites
• Appear to remain in a fixed location above one spot on
Earth’s surface
• No special antenna tracking equipment is necessary,
Earth station antennas are simply pointed at the satellite
• Geosynchronous orbits are circular therefore the speed of
rotation is constant throughout the orbit
• Ideally, geosynchronous satellites should remain above a
chosen location over the equator in an equatorial orbit,
however the sun and the moon exert gravitational forces,
solar winds sweep past Earth and Earth is not perfectly
spherical

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Geosynchronous Satellites Geosynchronous Satellite

• There are several requirements for satellite in • Orbital Velocity : ≈ 6840 mph
geostationary orbits
• Geosynchronous satellites must have 0 degree angle of inclination • Round-Trip Delay : 238 ms
• The satellite must also be orbiting in the same direction as Earth’s
rotation with the same angular velocity – one revolution per day
• Geosynchronous earth-orbit satellites revolved around the
Earth in a circular pattern directly above the equator
42,164 km from the center of the Earth

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Geosynchronous Satellites Geosynchronous Satellites

• GEO satellites sometimes referred to as Clarke orbit or
Clarke belt
• It meets the precise set of specifications for GEO Three
satellites orbits: geosynchronous
• Be located directly above the equator satellites in Clarke
orbits
• Travel the same direction as Earth’s rotation at 6840 mph
• Have an altitude of 22,300 miles above the Earth
• Complete one revolution in 24 hours
• International agreement initially mandated that all
satellites placed in the Clarke orbit must be separated by
at least 1833 miles

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Geosynchronous Satellites Geosynchronous Satellites

• ADVANTAGES
• Remain almost stationary in respect to a given Earth station,
expensive equipment is not required at the Earth station
• Available to all Earth stations within their shadow 100% of the time
• There is no need to switch from one geosynchronous satellite to
another as they orbit overhead, there are no transmission breaks
due to switching times
• The effects of Doppler shift are negligable

Satellites in geosynchronous earth orbits

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Geosynchronous Satellites Antenna Look Angles

• DISADVANTAGES
• Require sophisticated and heavy propulsion devices onboard to
keep them in a fixed orbit
• High altitude GEO satellites introduce much longer propagation
delays
• Require higher transmit powers and more sensitive receivers
because of longer distances and greater path losses
• High-precision spacemanship is required to place a GEO satellite
into orbit and keep it there
• To optimize the performance of a satellite communications
system, the direction of maximum gain of an Earth station
antenna must be pointed directly at the satellite
• To ensure that the Earth station is aligned, azimuth and
elevation angles must be determined
• With geo satellites, the look angles of Earth station
antennas need to be adjusted only once, as the satellite
will remain in a given position permanently, except for
occasional minor variations

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Antenna Look Angles Antenna Look Angles

• ANGLE OF ELEVATION
Geosynchronous satellite
position, subsatellite
point and Earth longitude
and latitude coordinate
system
• The vertical angle formed between the direction of travel of an EM
wave radiated from an Earth station antenna pointing directly
toward a satellite and the horizontal plane
• The smaller the angle of elevation, the greater the distance a
propagated wave must pass through Earth’s atmosphere
• If the angle of elevation is too small and the distance the wave
travels through Earth’s atmosphere is too long, the wave may
deteriorate to the extent that it no longer provides acceptable
transmission quality

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Antenna Look Angles Antenna Look Angles

• ANGLE OF ELEVATION • AZIMUTH ANGLE
• The horizontal angular
distance from a reference
direction, either the southern
or northern most point of the
horizon
• Defined as the horizontal
pointing angle of an Earth
Where: β – angle of elevation
ϕ = cos-1 [cosφcosλ] station antenna
λ – difference in longitude between an Earth station • Measured in a clockwise
antenna and the sub-satellite point direction in degrees from the
φ – latitude of Earth station antenna true north
h – satellite height in km
R – Earth’s radius = 6378 km

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Antenna Look Angles Antenna Look Angles

• AZIMUTH ANGLE

Where: Az – azimuth angle in degrees

ϕ = cos-1 [cosφcosλ]
λ – difference in longitude between an Earth station
antenna and the sub-satellite point
φ – latitude of Earth station antenna

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Antenna Look
Slant Distance
Angles
• The Line-of-Sight distance between an Earth station
antenna and satellite

Where: β – angle of elevation

ϕ = cos-1 [cosφcosλ]
λ – difference in longitude between an Earth station
antenna and the sub-satellite point
φ – latitude of Earth station antenna
h – satellite height in km
R – Earth’s radius = 6378 km

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Example Orbital Height

• An Earth station is located in Houston, Texas which has a • The average distance of a satellite above the surface of
longitude of 95.5°W and a latitude of 29.5°N. The satellite the Earth
of interest is RCA’s Satcom I, which has a longitude of
135°W. Determine the azimuth angle and elevation angle
for Earth station.

Where: T – orbital period in sec

g – acceleration due to gravity
R – Earth radius = 6378 km

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Orbital Period Orbital Velocity

• The period of time that it takes a satellite to rotate around • The apparent velocity of a satellite as it rotates around the
the Earth Earth

Where: T – orbital period in sec Where: T – orbital period in sec

g – acceleration due to gravity g – acceleration due to gravity
R – Earth radius = 6378 km R – Earth radius = 6378 km
h – satellite height h – satellite height

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Satellite Classifications, Spacing and

Limits of Visibility
Frequency Allocations
• For an Earth station in any given location, the Earth’s • CLASSIFICATIONS
curvature establishes the limits of visibility which • Spinner Satellite: uses the
determine the farthest satellite away that can be seen angular momentum of its
looking east or west of the Earth station’s longitude spinning body to provide roll
and yaw stabilization
• The maximum LOS distance is achieved when the Earth
station’s antenna is pointing along the horizontal plane
• The limits of visibility depend in part on the antenna’s
elevation and Earth station’s longitude and latitude

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Satellite Classifications, Spacing and Satellite Classifications, Spacing and

Frequency Allocations Frequency Allocations
• CLASSIFICATIONS • SPACING
• Three-Axis Stabilizers • Each communications satellite is assigned a longitude in the
Satellite: the body remains geostationary arc approximately 22,300 miles above the equator
fixed relative to Earth’s • The position in the slot depends on the communications frequency
surface while an internal bands used
subsystem provides roll and • Satellites operating at or near the same frequency must be
yaw stabilization sufficiently separated in space to avoid interfering with each other
• The required spatial separation is dependent on:
1. Beamwidths and side lobe radiation of both Earth station and satellite
antennas
2. RF carrier frequency
3. Encoding or modulation technique used
4. Acceptable limits of interference
5. Transmit carrier power

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Satellite Satellite Classifications, Spacing and

Classifications, Frequency Allocations
Spacing and • FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS
Frequency • 6/4 GHz and 14/12 GHz
• Different uplink and downlink frequencies are used to prevent
Allocations ringaround from occuring
• SPACING • The higher the carrier frequency, the smaller the diameter required
of an antenna for a given gain
• Domestic satellites used 6/4 GHz

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Satellite Classifications, Spacing and Satellite Classifications, Spacing and

Frequency Allocations Frequency Allocations

Satellite Bandwidths available in the United States

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Satellite Antenna Radiation Pattern Satellite Antenna Radiation Pattern

• FOOTPRINTS • FOOTPRINTS
• The geographical representation of a satellite antenna’s radiation
pattern
• The area on Earth’s surface that the satellite can receive from or
transmit to
• The shape of the satellite’s footprint depends on the satellite orbital
path, height and the type of antenna used
• The higher the antenna the more of the Earth’s surface it can cover

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Antenna
Satellite Antenna Radiation Pattern
Radiation
• FOOTPRINTS Pattern
• Spot and Zonal Beams:
• BEAMS
• Concentrate their power to very small geographical areas and typically
have proportionately higher EIRPs than those targeting much larger
areas because a given output power can be more concentrated
• The higher the DL frequency, the more easily the beam can be focused
into a smaller spot pattern A: SPOT
• Hemispherical Beams B: ZONAL
• Hemispherical DL antennas typically up to 20% of the Earth’s surface C: EARTH
and have EIRPs that are 3 dB or 50% lower than those transmitted by
spot beams
• Earth (Global) Beams
• The radiation patterns of Earth coverage antennas have a beamwidth of
approximately 17 degrees and are capable of covering 42% of Earth’s
surface

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Satellite Link Models Satellite Link Models

• UPLINK MODEL • UPLINK MODEL
• Components of uplink section in a satellite system is the Earth
station transmitter
• Consist of:
• IF modulator
• IF-to-RF microwave up-converter
• high power amplifier (HPA)
• bandlimiting

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Satellite Link Models Satellite Link Models

• TRANSPONDER • TRANSPONDER
• Consists of an:
• input bandlimitng device (BPF)
• input low-noise amplifier (LNA)
• frequency translator
• low-level power amplifier
• output bandpass filter

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Satellite Link Models Satellite Link Models

• DOWNLINK MODEL • DOWNLINK MODEL
• An Earth station receiver includes an:
• Input BPF
• LNA
• RF-to-IF down-converter

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Satellite Link Models Satellite System Parameters

• CROSS LINKS • BACK-OFF LOSS
• The amount of output level is backed off from rated levels is
equivalent to a loss
• To reduce the amount of intermodulation distortion caused by
nonlinear amplification of the HPA, the input power must be
reduced by several dB
• This allows the HPA to operate in a more linear region

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Satellite System Parameters Example

• TRANSMIT POWER AND BIT ENERGY • For a total transmit power of 1000 W, determine the
energy per bit for a transmission rate of 50 Mbps.

Where: Eb – energy of a single bit (joules per bit)

Pt – total saturated output power (watts or joules per second
Tb – time of a single bit (seconds)

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Satellite System Parameters Satellite System Parameters

• EFFECTIVE ISOTROPIC TRANSMIT POWER • EQUIVALENT NOISE TEMPERATURE
• Typical Te of the receivers used in satellite transponders are about
1000 K
• For Earth stations, Te values are between 20 K and 1000 K

Where: Pin – antenna input power (dBW)

Lbo – back-off loss of HPA (dB)
Lbf – total branching and feeder loss (dB) At – transmit antenna gain (dB)
Pt – transmit amplifier output power (dBW)

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Satellite System Parameters Example

• NOISE DENSITY • For an equivalent noise bandwidth of 10 MHz and a total
• The noise power normalized to a 1-Hz bandwidth noise power of 0.0276 pW, determine the noise density
and equivalent noise temperature.

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Satellite System Parameters Satellite System Parameters

• CARRIER-TO-NOISE DENSITY RATIO • ENERGY OF BIT-TO-NOISE DENSITY RATIO
• Average wideband carrier power-to-noise density ratio
• Wideband carrier power is the combined power of the carrier and
its associated sidebands

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Example Satellite System Parameters

• A coherent BPSK transmitter operates at a bit rate of 20 • GAIN-TO-EQUIVALENT NOISE TEMPERATURE RATIO
Mbps. For a probability of error of 10-4, • A figure of merit used to represent the quality of satellite or Earth
• Determine the minimum theoretical C/N and Eb/No ratios for a station receiver
receiver BW equal to the minimum double-sided Nyquist BW • Ratio of the receive antenna gain to the equivalent system noise
• Determine the C/N if the noise is measured at a point prior to the temperature of the receiver
bandpass filter where the BW is equal to twice the Nyquist BW
• Determine the C/N if the noise is measured at a point prior to the
bandpass filter where the BW is equal to three times the Nyquist
BW

Where: Ta – antenna temperature (Kelvin)

Tr – receiver effective input noise temperature (Kelvin)
G – receive antenna gain (dB)

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Satellite System Link Equations Satellite System Link Equations

• UPLINK EQUATIONS

Expressed as log,

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Satellite System Link Equations Satellite System Link Equations

• DOWNLINK EQUATIONS • DOWNLINK EQUATIONS

d d

Expressed as log,

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Example
• Complete the link budget for a satellite system with the
following parameters:
• UPLINK
• Earth station transmitter output power at saturation, 2000 W: 33 dBW
• Earth station back-off loss: 3 dB
• Earth station branching and feeder loss: 4 dB
• Earth station transmit antenna gain: 64 dB
• Additional uplink atmospheric losses: 0.6 dB
• Free-space path loss: 206.5 dB
• Satellite receiver G/Te ratio: -5.3 dBK-1
• Satellite branching and feeder loss: 0 dB
• Bit rate: 120 Mbps
• Modulation scheme: 8-PSK
Example
• Complete the link budget for a satellite system with the
following parameters:
• DOWNLINK
• Earth station transmitter output power at saturation, 10 W: 10 dBW
• Earth station back-off loss: 0.1 dB
• Earth station branching and feeder loss: 0.5 dB
• Earth station transmit antenna gain: 30.8 dB
• Additional downlink atmospheric losses: 0.4 dB
• Free-space path loss: 205.6 dB
• Earth station receiver antenna gain: 62 dB
• Satellite receiver G/Te ratio: 37.7 dBK-1
• Earth station equivalent noise temperature: 270 K
• Satellite branching and feeder loss: 0 dB
• Bit rate: 120 Mbps
• Modulation scheme: 8-PSK

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