Technical support

Satellite/Direct mode GSO/Intervisibility

Release number v1.0

Technical support
1. Introduction

This feature calculates for each point of the terrain, the visibility of a geostationary satellite.

It is accessible from the menu Satellite/Direct mode GSO/Intervisibility…

The following box will be displayed:

2. Calculation parameters

Longitude (-180° to +180°): Satellite longitude (from -180° to +180°).

Satellite ID: Notice ID corresponding to the satellite in the Satellite database. !!!

Earth station Rx antenna height (m): Receiver antenna height in meters.

The setting allows the calculation of the azimuth and tilt of the terrestrial satellite station.

The calculation model is made up of 2 parts:

• The first part performs the calculation in free space of the antenna station orientation toward
the satellite given in the ITU-R F.1249 recommendation (this takes into account the flattening
of the Earth);
• The second part performs an elevation correction due to the refraction according to the UIT-R
F.1333 recommendation.

The calculation gives 3 singular points that require a separated treatment. The 2 poles and the sub-
satellite point:
- For the sub-satellite point, the elevation is 90° and the azimuth has been fixed to 0°.
- For North pole, the azimuth is 180-(longS-longT)
- For South pole, the azimuth is 360+longS-longT if longS-longT<0, otherwise longS-longT.

The intervisibility coverage is calculated for each point, and progressively overlaid on the terrain.

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3. Controls

: Saves the satellite parameters into a .gso file.

: Loads the satellite parameters contained in a .gso file.

: Confirms the input, closes the Geostationary satellite parameters box and runs the
calculation.

: Closes the box without validation and stops the calculation procedure.

4. Sample result

Pink: Points seen by the sateliite

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