Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Introduction
Satellite communications are the outcome of research in the area of communications and
with the lowest possible costs. The World War II stimulated the expansion of two very
distinct technologies – missiles and microwaves. The expertise eventually gained in the
combined use of these two techniques opened up the era of satellite communications. The
service provided in this way usefully complements that previously provided exclusively
The space era started in 1957 with the launching of the first artificial satellite
(Sputnik). Subsequent years have been marked by various experiments including the
satellite (1960), powered relay satellites (Telstar and Relay in 1962), and the first
satellite Intelsat I (or Early Bird) inaugurated the long series of Intelsats; in the same
year, the first Soviet communications satellite of the Molniya series was launched.
Satellites are somewhat closer to the moon than the earth is (or rather, can be),
and might well have the sun blocked from them. Furthermore, they can move somewhat
more than the Earth, and thus have the potential for more eclipses. Since the shadow
effects are very important during the motion of the satellite around the earth, it must be
1
1.2 Problem Statement
A phase in which the satellite doesn't receive the sunlight to recharge itself through the
solar cells that in turn reduces the power of the satellite to transmit/receive signals from
2
2.1 Satellites
A satellite is a body that passes around some other body in a mathematically foreseeable
path which is often called an orbit. A communication satellite is nothing but a microwave
repeater station in space that plays a significant role in telecommunications, radio, and
Satellite communication is the technique of conveying data from one place to another
creating a channel between the transmitter and receiver which are located in two entirely
Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military
applications.
The high frequency radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line
of sight and so are obstructed by the curve of the earth. The purpose of communications
satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the earth allowing communication
3
range of radio and microwave frequencies. To avoid signal interference, international
organizations are allowed to use. This allocation of bands minimizes the risk of signal
interference.
communication.
communication.
The introductory
excessively high.
4
Table2.1: The advantages, disadvantages and applications of satellite
communication.
Broadcasting
outcomes
Communications satellite.
Navigation satellite.
Geocentric orbit type satellites – Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit
Drone satellite.
Ground satellite.
5
2.2 Satellite Communications System
The satellite system is composed of a space segment, a control segment, and a ground
segment: The space segment contains one or several active and spare satellites organized
into a constellation. The control segment consists of all ground facilities for the control
and monitoring of the satellites, also named Tracking, Telemetry, and Command (TT&C)
stations, and for the management of the traffic and the associated resources on board the
satellite for communication networks. The ground segment consists of all the traffic earth
stations. Depending on the type of service considered, these stations can be of different
size, from a few centimeters to tens of meters. Figure 2.1 gives an overview of a satellite
6
2.3 Communications Links
its Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP), which is the power fed to the antenna
multiplied by the gain of the antenna in the considered direction. The performance of the
receiving equipment is measured by G/T, the ratio of the antenna receive gain G, in the
considered direction and the system noise temperature T; G/T is called the receiver’s
Uplinks and downlinks consist of radio frequency modulated carriers, while Inter
Satellite Links (ISLs) can be either radio frequency or optical. Some large-capacity data-
relay satellites also use optical links with their ground stations. Carriers are modulated by
The orbit is the trajectory followed by the satellite. The trajectory is within a plane and
shaped like an ellipse with a maximum extension at the apogee and a minimum at the
perigee. The satellite moves more slowly in its trajectory as the distance from the earth
increases, according to the laws of physics. The most favorable orbits are as follows:
7
- Elliptical orbits inclined at an angle of with respect to the equatorial plane. This
gravitational potential and, owing to its inclination, enables the satellite to cover
regions of high latitude for a large fraction of the orbital period as it passes to the
apogee. This type of orbit has been adopted by Russia for the satellites of the Molniya
system with a period of 12 hours. Figure 2.2 shows the geometry of the orbit. The
satellite remains above the regions located under the apogee for a time interval on the
order of eight hours. Continuous coverage can be ensured with three phased satellites
in different orbits. Several studies relate to elliptical orbits with a period of 24 hours
(Tundra orbits) or a multiple of 24 hours. These orbits are particularly useful for
satellite systems for communication with mobiles, where the masking effects caused
by surrounding obstacles such as buildings and trees and multiple-path effects are
pronounced at low elevation angles (less than ). In fact, inclined elliptic orbits can
provide the possibility of links at medium latitudes when the satellite is close to the
provided at the same latitudes by geostationary satellites. In the late 1980s, the
European Space Agency (ESA) studied the use of elliptical highly inclined orbits
HEOs for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and mobile communications in the
framework of its Archimedes program. The concept became reality at the end of the
1990s with the Sirius system delivering satellite digital audio radio services to millions
of subscribers (mainly automobiles) in the United States using three satellites in HEO
Tundra-like orbits (AKT-08). Both Molnya and Tundra orbits provide users with
higher elevation angles than Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) orbit at high latitude.
8
Figure 2.2 The orbit of a Molniya satellite.
- Circular LEOs: The altitude of the satellite is constant and equal to several hundreds
of kilometers. The period is on the order of one and a half hours. With near
the combined motion of the satellite and earth rotation, as shown in Figure 1.7. This is
the reason for choosing this type of orbit for observation satellites (for example, the
SPOT satellite: altitude 830 km, orbit inclination , period 101 minutes). One can
satellites in low-altitude (e.g. IRIDIUM with 66 satellites at 780 km) circular orbits
9
orbits with less than inclination can also be envisaged. For instance, the
inclination.
- Circular MEOs, also called Intermediate Circular Orbits (ICOs), have an altitude of
about 10000 km and an inclination of about . The period is six hours. With
kind was the ICO system (which emerged from Project 21 of International
10
case of a MEO circular orbit satellite constellation with altitude at 8063 km and 20
satellites. Each satellite has 12 steerable Ka band antennas of which 2 are for gateways
- Circular orbits with zero inclination (equatorial orbits): The most popular is the
geostationary satellite orbit; the satellite orbits around the earth in the equatorial plane
according to the earth’s rotation at an altitude of 35786 km. The period is equal to that
of the rotation of the earth. The satellite thus appears as a point fixed in the sky and
ensures continuous operation as a radio relay in real time for the area of visibility of
The geostationary satellite is certainly the most popular. At the present time there are
around 600 geostationary satellites in operation within the f the whole orbital arc.
Some parts of this orbital arc, however, tend to be highly congested (for example, above
the American continent and Europe). Figure 2.4 illustrates the satellite orbit altitudes
11
Figure 2.4 Illustration of orbit altitudes and coverage
These orbits are named after Johannes Kepler (a German mathematician, astronomer, and
astrology, 27 December 1571–15 November 1630), who established, at the start of the
seventeenth century, that the trajectories of planets around the sun were ellipses and not
combinations of circular movements as had been thought since the time of Pythagoras (a
Greek philosophy, around 570–4950 BC. Keplerian movement is the relative movement
of two point bodies under the sole influence of their Newtonian attractions.
body. The real earth differs from this primarily by a flattening at the poles. The terrestrial
the line of the poles whose parameters depend on the model chosen. The International
12
Astronomical Unit (AU) has, since 1976, recommended a value of 6378.144 km mean
Equatorial Radius (ER) for the semi-major axis and for the oblate-ness
A = (a - b)/a Eq.(1)
The earth rotates around the sun as shown in Figure 2.5 with a period of approximately
365.25 days following an ellipse of eccentricity 0.01673 and semi-major axis 149597870
km, which defines the AU of distance. Around 2 January, the earth is nearest to the sun
(the perihelion), while around 5 July it is at its aphelion (around 152100000 km). The
plane of the orbit is called the plane of the ecliptic. The plane of the ecliptic makes an
angle of (the obliquity of the ecliptic, which decreases around 47 per century)
13
The apparent movement of the sun around the earth with respect to the equatorial plane is
represented by a variation of the declination of the sun. The declination varies during the
year between +23.44∘ (at the summer solstice) and -23.44∘ (at the winter solstice). The
declination is zero at the equinoxes. The direction of the sun at the spring equinox defines
the vernal point or 𝛾 point on the celestial sphere (the geocentric sphere of infinite
radius). The sun passes through it from the southern hemisphere to the northern
hemisphere, and the declination is zero becoming positive. The relation between the
declination of the sun 𝛿 and the date is obtained by considering the apparent movement of
the sun about the earth in an orbit of ellipticity e equal to 0.01673, inclined at the equator
with obliquity 𝜀.
With sin 𝜀 = sin 23.44∘ = 0.39795 and u, the nodal elongation of the sun, equal to
the sum of the true anomaly of the sun and the argument of the perigee 𝜔SUN. The
argument of the perigee of the orbit representing the apparent movement of the sun about
the earth remains more or less constant through the years if the precession of the
equinoxes is neglected and has a value around 280∘. Figure 2.6 shows the apparent
14
Figure 2.6 Apparent movement of the sun about the earth
An eclipse of the sun occurs for a satellite when it passes into the conical shadow region
of the earth or moon. The occurrence and duration of these eclipses depend on the
characteristics of the satellite orbit. The consequences of the eclipse on the satellite are of
two types. On the one hand, the electrical power supplies system of the satellite, which
includes photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy into electrical energy, must make use
of an alternative energy source. On the other hand, as the satellite is no longer heated by
the sun, the thermal equilibrium of the satellite is greatly modified and the temperature
A satellite is said to be in eclipse when the earth or moon prevents sunlight from
reaching it. If the earth’s equatorial plane coincides with the plane of earth’s orbit around
sun, the geostationary orbit will be eclipsed by the earth. This is called the earth eclipse
15
of satellite. For a geostationary satellite, the solar eclipse due to earth occurs during two
periods that begin 23 days before equinox and ends 23 days after equinox. Because
during equinox (autumn and spring) the sun, earth and the satellite are in the same plane.
Solar eclipses are important as they affect the working of the satellite because during
eclipse satellite receives no power from its solar panels and it has to operate on its
onboard standby batteries which reduce satellite life. All these situations the eclipse
The orbit of the moon around the earth, with a semi-major axis of 384400 km and a
period of 27 days, has an inclination of with respect to the ecliptic. The Right
Ascension of the Ascending Node (RAAN) on the ecliptic is also affected by a precession
in the retrograde direction of period 18.6 years. The relative movement of an artificial
16
earth satellite and the natural satellite is thus complex, and determination of the dates at
which the artificial satellite is aligned with the sun-moon direction cannot easily be
Eclipses by the moon are infrequent, are most often of short duration, and most
often do not totally obscure the solar disc. They do not generally constrain the satellite
design and operation unless they precede or follow an eclipse of the sun by the earth that
extends the total time during which the satellite is in the dark.
In addition to eclipses due to the earth, the solar disc as seen by a geostationary
satellite can be partially or totally obscured by the moon. Compared with those due to the
earth, eclipses due to the moon are of irregular occurrence and extent. The number of
eclipses per year due to the moon for a given orbital position varies from zero to four
with a mean of two. Eclipses can occur twice in a period of 24 hours. The duration of an
eclipse varies from several minutes to more than two hours with a mean of around 40
The sun’s rays are assumed to be parallel, and this corresponds to a sun assumed to be a
point at infinite distance. The relationship between the declination 𝛿 of the sun and the
latitude l of the satellite for there to be an eclipse is as follows refers to Figure 2.6
−𝛿 − arc sin (RE / r) < latitude of the satellite < −𝛿 + arc sin (RE ∕ r) Eq.(3)
17
The center of the eclipse corresponds to a value of the nodal angular elongation u
of the satellite (equal to the sum of the argument of the perigee 𝜔 and the true anomaly v
Where: 𝛼SUN is the right ascension of the sun and Ω is the RAAN of the satellite
orbit. The duration of the eclipse varies as a function of the distance r and the inclination i
of the satellite orbit with respect to the declination of the sun. The longest durations are
observed when the declination of the sun is equal to the inclination of the orbit.
satellites that use solar cells as a source of energy. Furthermore, an eclipse causes a
thermal shock that should be taken into account in the design of the satellite.
Duration of an eclipse: The movement of the earth around the sun is represented in
Figure 2.5. Figure 2.8 shows the apparent movement of the sun with respect to the
equatorial plane. The orbit of the satellite is perpendicular to the plane of the figure. At
the solstices, the satellite is always illuminated; but in the vicinity of the equinoxes, it
could pass in the earth’s shadow. Considering, as a first approximation, that the sun is a
point at infinity, this shadow is a cylinder that is tangential to the earth. On the day of the
equinox, the eclipse has a maximum duration dmax determined from Figure 2.9 such that:
In reality, the sun has an apparent diameter of . As seen from the earth, and there is a
cone of shadow where the eclipse is total and a region of penumbra where the eclipse is
partial. The penumbra has a width equal to the apparent diameter of the sun: that is .
18
In its orbit, the satellite moves in four minutes; also, the total duration of the eclipse is
equal to 71.5 minutes, of which 2 minutes are penumbra at the start and finish.
Figure 2.8 Apparent movement of the sun with respect to the orbit of geostationary
satellites
19
2.9 Satellite Eclipse Affects
Darkness does not affect geostationary satellites; however they have been affected by
lack of solar energy coming from sun since they have a large amount of equipment
attached to the satellite for functioning which cannot rely on batteries for such long
Satellite failure is more at such times when satellite enters into eclipse (sudden
switch to no solar power region) and when it moves out of eclipse (suddenly large
satellite. Eclipse caused by moon occurs when moon passes in front of sun but that is less
important as it takes place for short duration (twice in every 24 hours for an average of
few minutes).
Satellite longitudes which are west rather than east of the earth station are most desirable.
When satellite longitude is east of the earth station, the satellite enters eclipse during
daylight and early morning hours of the earth station. This can be undesirable if the
satellite has to operate on reduced battery power when satellite longitude is west of the
earth station, eclipse does not occur until the earth station is in darkness when usage is
likely to be low. Figure 2.10 shows the position of the satellite eclipse.
20
Figure 2.10 The position of the satellite eclipse
2.11 Conclusion
In this report we discussed the satellite communication and its system, the different
orbits, the geostationary satellites, Keplerian orbits, the earth’s orbit and its motion
around the sun, satellite eclipses of the sun (definition, eclipse by the moon and earth),
satellite eclipse affects and way to avoid eclipse during satellite lifetime.
21
REFRENCES
1. Gerard Maral, [Satellite Communications Systems], sixth edition, Zhili Sun, Michel
Bousquet.
2. https://www.vedantu.com/physics/satellite-communication
3. https://www.ques10.com/p/2938/what-is-earth-eclipse-of-satelliteare-there-any--1/
4. https://www.ict-pulse.com/2016/09/satellite-communication-pros-cons/
5. https://www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/satellite_suneclipse_info.htm
6. https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/22691/how-does-a-solar-eclipse-affect-
satellites
22