Satellite Communication

Satellites have now become an integral part of the worldwide communication systems.
Although long–range and long distance communication took place much before the
introduction of satellite systems, they had a lot of disadvantages. Point – to – point
communication systems are very difficult in the case of remote & isolated locations,
which are surrounded by oceans, mountains and other obstacles created by nature.

The satellite is nothing more than a radio-relay station But, they have one potential
advantage- The capability of a direct line of sight path to 98% (excluding the polar caps,
which are in accessible to satellites) of the earth's surface.

One of the most important events in the history of satellite communication took place
when COMSAT or communication satellite corporation, launched four satellites within 6
years that is between 1965 to 1979. The first of these series was the ‘Early Bird' , which
was launched in 1965. This was the first communication station to handle worldwide
commercial telephone traffic from a fixed position in space. The next series INTELSAT
was a group of satellites that served 150 stations in 80 countries.

Satellites offer a number of important features, which are not readily

available with others means of communication. Some of them are
enumerated below.

1. Very large area of earth is visible from satellite (about 42%) i.e.
communication is possible beyond earth curvature (beyond line of sight)

2. Satellite offers communication with remote communities in sparsely

populated area, which are difficult to access by other means of
communication.

3. Satellite communication ignores political boundaries as well as

geographical boundaries.

4. Satellite provides communication with moving aircraft from ground control

station across the country.

5. Satellite provides remote sensing i.e. detection of water pollution, oil

field, monitoring and reporting of weather conditions etc.

6. The combination of three satellites, with the ability to relay messages

from one to the other could interconnect virtually all of the earth except the
Polar Regions
How the Satellite Works
Two Stations on Earth want to communicate through radio broadcast but are too far away to use
conventional means.

The two stations can use a satellite as a relay station for their communication

One Earth Station sends a transmission to the satellite. This is called a Uplink.

The satellite Transponder converts the signal and sends it down to the second earth station. This
is called a Downlink.

All of the ground equipment along with the transmission path and receiving antenna at the
satellite are included in the up-link system. Basically, this includes everything before the input
terminals of the satellite receiver. The down-link is described in terms of satellite transmitted
output power, down link antenna gain and beam width and the ground area that the transmitted
signal will cover the foot print.
BASIC COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION SATELLITE

Every communications satellite in its simplest form (whether low earth or

Geosynchronous) involves the transmission of information from an originating
ground station to the satellite (the uplink), followed by a retransmission of the
information from the satellite back to the ground (the downlink). The downlink may
either be to a select number of ground stations or it may be broadcast to everyone
in a large area. Hence the satellite must have a receiver and a receive antenna, a
transmitter and a transmit antenna, some method for connecting the uplink to the
downlink for retransmission, and prime electrical power to run all of the electronics.
The exact nature of these components will differ, depending on the orbit and the
system architecture, but every communications satellite must have basic
components shown in figure 5.

6.1 Transmitting and Receiving antenna:

Functional requirements of transmitting and receiving antenna have

markedly different but directional characteristics apply equally to both
antenna. A single antenna may be, and frequently be used for transmitting
and receiving the signal simultaneously. One of the biggest differences
between a low earth satellite and a geosynchronous satellite is in their
antennas. Transmitting antenna for low earth satellite requires less power
(approximately 9,000 times less) in compression to geosynchronous satellite
transmitting antenna. Transmitting antenna transmits the energy in one
direction for reducing the loss and this characteristic will decide the gain of
antenna. Gain simply tells us how much more power will fall on 1 square
meter (or square centimeter) with this antenna than would fall on that same
square meter (or square centimeter) if the transmitter power were spread
uniformly (isotropically) over all directions.

6.2 Transmitter (Power Amplifier)

The amount of power which a satellite transmitter needs to send out

depends a great deal on whether it is in low earth orbit or in geosynchronous
orbit. This is a result of the fact that the geosynchronous satellite is at an
altitude of 36000 Km, while the low earth satellite is only a few hundred Km.
The geosynchronous satellite is nearly 100 times as far away as the low
earth satellite, thus fairly large amount of microwave power is required for
transmitter in case of higher satellite than low-orbiting one, if everything
else were the same.

6.3 Control System and Electronics:

One other big difference between the geosynchronous antenna and the low
earth antenna is the difficulty of meeting the requirement that the satellite
antennas always be "pointed" at the earth. For the geosynchronous satellite,
of course, it is relatively easy (geosynchronous satellite relatively stationary
with respect to earth). As seen from the earth station, the satellite never
appears to move any significant distance. As seen from the satellite, the
earth station never appears to move. The low earth orbiting satellite, on the
other hand, as seen from the ground is continuously moving.
Likewise, the earth station, as seen from the satellite is a moving target. As
a result, both the earth station and the satellite need some sort of tracking
capability, which will allow its antennas to follow the target during the time
that it is visible thus a precise and accurate control electronics is required to
track the motion of satellite. The other alternative is to make that antenna
beam so wide that the intended receiver (or transmitter) is always within it.
Of course, making the beam spot larger decreases the antenna gain as the
available power is spread over a larger area, which in turn increases the
amount of power which the transmitter must provide. 
Types of Satellites
GEO
GEO stands for Geostationary Earth Orbit. This refers to satellites that are placed in
orbit such that they remain stationary relative to a fixed spot on earth. If a satellite is
placed at 35,900 km above the earth, its angular velocity is equal to that of the earth,
thereby causing it to appear to be over the same point on earth. This allows for them
to provide constant coverage of the area and eliminate blackout periods of ordinary
orbiting satellites, which is good for providing television broadcasting. However their
high altitude causes a long delay, so two way communications, which would need to
be uploaded and then downloaded over a distance of 72,000 km, are not often used
with this type of orbit.

LEO

LEO stands for Low Earth Orbit, and it refers to satellites in orbit at less that 22300
miles above the earth. This type of an orbit reduces transmission times as compared to
GEO. A LEO orbit can also be used to cover a polar region, which the GEO cannot
accomplish. Since it does not appear stationary to earth stations, however, earth
stations need an antenna assembly that will track the motion of the satellite.

Low earth orbiting satellites are less expensive to launch into orbit than
geostationary satellites and, due to proximity to the ground, don't require as high
signal strength (Recall that signal strength falls off as the square of the distance
from the source, so the effect is dramatic). Thus there is a tradeoff between the
number of satellites and their cost. In addition, there are important differences in
the onboard and ground equipment needed to support the two types of missions.

A group of satellites working in concert is known as a satellite constellation. Two

such constellations, intended to provide satellite phone services, primarily to
remote areas, are the Iridium and Globalstar systems. The Iridium system has 66
satellites. Another LEO satellite constellation known as Teledesic, with backing
from Microsoft entrepreneur Paul Allen, was to have over 840 satellites. This was
later scaled back to 288 and ultimately ended up only launching one test satellite.

MEO

MEO stands for Medium Earth Orbit .A MEO satellite is in orbit somewhere between
8,000 km and 18,000 km above the earth’s surface. MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellite in
functionality. MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods than LEO satellite, usually
between 2 to 8 hours. MEO satellites have larger coverage area than LEO satellites. A MEO
satellite’s distance gives it a longer time delay and weaker signal than a LEO satellite, though not
as bad as GEO satellite

Molniya.

It is highly inclined, guaranteeing good elevation over selected positions during

the northern portion of the orbit. (Elevation is the extent of the satellite’s position
above the horizon. Thus, a satellite at the horizon has zero elevation and a satellite
directly overhead has elevation of 90 degrees).Furthermore, the Molniya is
designed so that the satellite spends the great majority of its time over the far
northern latitudes, during which its ground footprint moves only slightly. Its period
is one half day, so that the satellite is available for operation over the targeted
region for eight hours every second revolution. In this way a constellation of three
Molniya satellites (plus in-orbit spares) can provide uninterrupted coverage.

FREQUENCY ALLOCATION FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATION:

The allocation of frequency for satellite communication is a complicated

process. This requires international co-ordination and planning and this is
carried out under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU). The allocation of frequency shall be carried out depending upon the
type of service provided by the satellite, for example, Broad casting satellite
service is providing land and aeronautical communication. Navigational
satellite services include Global Positioning System (GPS). The ITU has
decided the frequency bands for various type of communication. The band
designation, their nominal frequency range and principle use is given in table
1.

Band Designation Nominal Frequency Range Principal uses

HF 3 -30 M Hz short-wave Broadcast
VHF 30 -300 M Hz FM, TV
UHF 300 -3000 MHz TV, LAN, cellular, GPS
L 1-2 GHz Radar, GSO satellites
S 2 - 4 GHz
C 4 -8 GHz Satellite data links
X 8 -12 GHz
Ku 12 -18 GHz Radar, satellite data links
K 28 -27 GHz
Ka 27 - 40 GHz Radar ,Automotive data
mm (millimeter) wave 40 -300 GHz
Technological Overview
Satellites for Data

Characteristics
Incorporating satellites into terrestrial networks is often hindered by three
characteristics possessed by satellite communication.

 Latency (propagation delay): Due to the high altitudes of satellite orbits, the
time required for a transmission to navigate a satellite link (more than 2/10ths
of a second from earth station to earth station) could cause a variety of
problems on a high speed terrestrial network that is waiting for the packets.
 Poor Bandwidth: Due to radio spectrum limitations, there is a fixed amount of
bandwidth allocable to satellite transmission.
 Noise: A radio signals strength is in proportion to the square of the distance
traveled. Due to the distance between ground station and satellite, the signal
ultimately gets very weak. This problem can be solved by using appropriate
error correction techniques,

Error Correction
Due to the high noise present on a satellite link, numerous error correction techniques
have been tested in on such links. They fall into the two categories of forward-error-
correction (FEC) and automatic-repeat-request (ARQ):

 Forward-error-correction (FEC)
In this method a certain number of information symbols are mapped to new
information symbols, but in such a way as to get more symbols than were original
had. When these new symbols are checked on the receiving end, the redundant
symbols are used to decipher the original symbols, as well as to check for data
integrity. The more redundant symbols that are included in the mapping, the better the
reliability of the error correction. However it should be noted that the more redundant
symbols that are used to achieve better integrity, the more bandwidth that is wasted.
Since this method uses relatively a large amount redundant data, it may not be the
most efficient choice on a clear channel. However when noise levels are high,
FEC can more reliably ensure the integrity of the data.
 Automatic-repeat-request (ARR)
In this method, data is broken into packets. Within each packet is included an error
checking key. This key is often of the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) sort. If the
error code reflects a loss of integrity in a packet, the receiver can request the sender to
resend that packet. ARR is not very good in a channel with high noise, since many
retransmissions will be required, and the noise levels that corrupted the initial packet
will be likely to cause corruption in subsequent packets. ARR is more suitable to
relatively noise free channels.
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 Stop and Wait (SW)
With this form of ARR, the sender must wait for an acknowledgement of each packet
before it can send a new one. This can take upwards of 4/10ths of a second per packet
since it takes 2/10ths seconds for the receiver to get the packet an another 2/10th
seconds for the sender to receive the acknowledgement.
 Go-back-N (GBN)
This method of ARR is an improvement over stop and wait in that it allows the sender
to keep sending packets until it gets a request for a resend. When the sender gets such
a request, it sends packets starting at the requested packet over again. It can again
send packets until it receives another retransmit request, and so on.

 Selective-repeat (SR)
This ARR protocol is an improvement over GBN in that it allows the receiver to
request a retransmit of only that packet that it needs, instead of that packet and all that
follows it. The receiver, after receiving a bad packet and requesting a retransmit, can
continue to accept any good packets that are coming. This method is the most efficient
method for satellite transmissions of the three ARR methods discussed.
ARR methods can be demonstrated to provide a usable error correction scheme, but it
is also the most expensive, in terms of hardware. This is in part due to the buffering
memory that is required, but more importantly to the cost of the receiver, which needs
to be able to transmit re-requests. Systems such as the Digital Broadcast Satellites
used for television signal distribution would become inordinately expensive if they
had to make use of ARR, since the home based receiver would now need to be a
transmitter, and the 18 inch dish would be inadequate for the requirements of
transmitting back to a satellite.

The advantages of satellite communication over terrestrial communication are:

1. The coverage area of a satellite greatly exceeds that of a terrestrial system.
2. Transmission cost of a satellite is independent of the distance from the center of the
coverage area.
3. Satellite to Satellite communication is very precise.
4. Higher Bandwidths are available for use.
The disadvantages of satellite communication:
1. Launching satellites into orbit is costly.
2. Satellite bandwidth is gradually becoming used up.
3. There is a larger propagation delay in satellite communication than in terrestrial
communication

Various Uses of Satellite Communications

Traditional Telecommunications
Since the beginnings of the long distance telephone network, there has been a need to
connect the telecommunications networks of one country to another. This has been
accomplished in several ways. Submarine cables have been used most frequently.
However, there are many occasions where a large long distance carrier will choose to
establish a satellite based link to connect to transoceanic points, geographically
remote areas or poor countries that have little communications infrastructure. Groups
like the international satellite consortium Intelsat have fulfilled much of the world's
need for this type of service.
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Cellular
Various schemes have been devised to allow satellites to increase the bandwidth
available to ground based cellular networks. Every cell in a cellular network divides
up a fixed range of channels which consist of either frequencies, as in the case of
FDMA systems, or time slots, as in the case of TDMA. Since a particular cell can
only operate within those channels allocated to it, overloading can occur. By
using satellites which operate at a frequency outside those of the cell, we can provide
extra satellite channels on demand to an overloaded cell. These extra channels can just
as easily be, once free, used by any other overloaded cell in the network, and are not
bound by bandwidth restrictions like those used by the cell. In other words, a satellite
that provides service for a network of cells can allow its own bandwidth to be used by
any cell that needs it without being bound by terrestrial bandwidth and location
restrictions.
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Television Signals
Satellites have been used for since the 1960's to transmit broadcast television signals
between the network hubs of television companies and their network affiliates. In
some cases, an entire series of programming is transmitted at once and recorded at the
affiliate, with each segment then being broadcast at appropriate times to the local
viewing populace. In the 1970's, it became possible for private individuals to
download the same signal that the networks and cable companies were transmitting,
using c-band reception dishes. This free viewing of corporate content by individuals
led to scrambling and subsequent resale of the descrambling codes to individual
customers, which started the direct-to-home industry. The direct-to-home industry has
gathered even greater momentum since the introduction of digital direct broadcast
service.

C-band
C-Band (3.7 - 4.2 GHz) - Satellites operating in this band can be spaced as close as
two degrees apart in space, and normally carry 24 transponders operating at 10 to 17
watts each. Typical receive antennas are 6 to 7.5 feet in diameter. More than 250
channels of video and 75 audio services are available today from more than 20 C-
Band satellites over North America. Virtually every cable programming service is
delivered via C-Band.
Ku-Band
 Fixed Satellite Service (FSS)

Ku Band (11.7 - 12.2 GHz) - Satellites operating in this band can be spaced as closely
as two degrees apart in space, and carry from 12 to 24 transponders that operate at a
wide range of powers from 20 to 120 watts each. Typical receive antennas are three to
six feet in diameter. More than 20 FSS Ku-Band satellites are in operation over North
America today, including several "hybrid" satellites which carry both C-Band and Ku-
Band transponders. PrimeStar currently operates off Satcom K-2, an FSS or so-called
"medium-power" Ku-Band satellite. AlphaStar also uses an FSS-Ku Band satellite,
Telestar 402-R.

 Broadcasting Satellite Service (BSS)

Ku-Band (12.2 - 12.7 GHz) - Satellites operating in this band are spaced nine degrees
apart in space, and normally carry 16 transponders that operate at powers in excess of
100 watts. Typical receive antennas are 18 inches in diameter. The United States has
been allocated eight BSS orbital positions, of which three (101, 110 and 119 degrees)
are the so-called prime "CONUS" slots from which a DBS provider can service the
entire 48 contiguous states with one satellite. A total of 32 DBS "channels" are
available at each orbital position, which allows for delivery of some 250 video signals
when digital compression technology is employed.

 DBS
DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) -The transmission of audio and video signals via
satellite direct to the end user. More than four million households in the United States
enjoy C-Band DBS. Medium-power Ku-Band DBS surfaced in the late 1990s with
high power Ku-Band DBS launched in 1994.
Marine Communications
In the maritime community, satellite communication systems such as Inmarsat
provide good communication links to ships at sea. These links use a VSAT type
device to connect to geosynchronous satellites, which in turn link the ship to a land
based point of presence to the respective nations telecommunications system.

Spacebourne Land Mobile

Along the same lines as the marine based service, there are VSAT devices which can
be used to establish communication links even from the world's most remote regions.
These devices can be hand-held, or fit into a briefcase. Digital data at 64K ISDN is
available with some (Inmarsat).

Satellite Messaging for Commercial Jets

Another service provided by geosyncronous satellites are the ability for a passenger
on an airbourne aircraft to connect directly to a landbased telecom network.

Global Positioning Services

Another VSAT oriented service, in which a small apparatus containing the ability to
determine navigational coordinates by calculating a triangulating of the signals from
multiple geosynchronous satellite.