4.

1 Satellite Communication (III Semester CBCS) Mahesh H

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

A satellite is a celestial body, which revolves around the earth in a predetermined orbit.
An artificial satellite is the one which is assembled and launched by man and revolves
around the earth. They orbit around the earth in the same way as planets orbit around the
Sun. Hence, Kepler’s Laws can be applied to their motion around the earth. The first
artificial satellite was launched by Russia in 1957 (Sputnik-1). In 1958, USA launched its
first satellite called Explorer 1. Today, there are hundreds of satellites in space used in
different fields.
India started its space programme with the establishment of ISRO (Indian Space
Research Organization) in 1969 (earlier called INCOSPAR-Indian National Committee for
Space Research, formed in 1962). ISRO, under DOS, plays a key role in the planning and
execution of national space activities. The first Indian satellite was launched on April 19,
1975 called Aryabhata. Then came Bhaskara –I and II. Now India is front runner in space
technology with a capability to assemble, launch and operate not only national satellites but
also those from other countries. India has the capability to launch remote sensing
satellites, communication (geosynchronous) satellites and other satellites of military,
technical, navigational application and weather forecasting.
In satellite communication, a satellite orbiting around the earth receives the signal from
the earth station, processes (frequency conversion and amplification) and retransmits the
signal back to the earth. Thus, the satellite acts as a microwave repeater.
Following are some of the applications of the satellite:
1. Agriculture: Crop production forecast, saline/sodic soils mapping, pest, floods,
drought surveillance, Irrigation infrastructure assessment, wetland conservation
plans etc.
2. Bio Resources and environment: Forest cover and type mapping, costal,
mangroves, coral related mapping, snow and glacier studies.
3. Cartography: large scale mapping, satellite based topo-map updatation.
4. Geology and mineral resources: Landslide hazard zonation, mineral/oil
exploration, mining areas, seismo-tectonic studies.
5. Ocean and meteorology: Ocean status forecast, storm surge modeling, regional
weather prediction, monsoon prediction.
6. Urban development: Urban mapping of major cities, master plans, national urban
information system.
7. Water Resources:, snow melt information, reservoir capacity evaluation
8. Natural resource census: Evaluation of natural resources, Land use/land cover
soil, wetland, snow and glacier, vegetation
9. Communication: Satellite TV and telephony, Tele education, Tele medicine,
Disaster management system (DMS), DTH broadcasting etc.
10. Navigation: Global positioning system (GPS), GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented
Navigation) which helps in safety of civil aviation and railway and roadway, ships and
spacecraft, location based services.
11. Space technology: Study of celestial objects such as moon (Chandrayan, Apollo),
Mars (Mangalayaan, Maven etc)

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12. Scientific and Research application: Many big and small satellites are launched
periodically to study the Earth's atmosphere, radiations from the Sun, magnetic field
of earth, zero gravity experiments, study of clouds for weather forecast etc.
13. Military applications: Satellites are extensively used in warfare in guiding the
missiles, locating and intercepting the enemy missiles, identifying enemy locations
etc.
Some of the Indian satellites are:
1. Earth observation satellites: there are 13 such satellite- Resourcesat-1, 2, Cartosat-
1, 2, 2A, 2B, Oceansat-2, Insat-3D, Kalpana and Insat 3A, Insat-3DR.
2. Communication satellites: There are 15 operational satellites – INSAT-3A, 3C, 4A,
4B, 4CR and GSAT-6,7,8,9,10,12,14,18. Presently INSAT system has more than 200
transponders in the C, extended C and Ku band.
3. Navigation satellite: GAGAN, IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System),
4. Experimental satellites: INS-1B, INS-1A, YOUTHSAT, APPLE, Rohini Technology
Payload (RTP), Aryabhata etc.
5. Space Science: AstroSat, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), Chandrayan-1 and -2

Kepler’s Laws : As discussed earlier Kepler’s Laws can be applied to the satellite orbits.
There are three Laws given by Johannese Kepler: (1571-1630 AD)
First Law : It states that the path followed by a satellite around the earth will be an ellipse.
An ellipse has two focal points F 1 and F2 as shown in the figure .The centre of mass of the
two body system, termed as barycentre coincides with the centre of earth so that the earth
is situated at one of the foci. The semi major axis of the ellipse is denoted by a, and the

semi minor axis is denoted by b. The eccentricity e is given by

e=
√ a2 −b2
a

For an elliptical orbit 0<e<1 and when e=0 the orbit becomes circular.

Kepler’s second law states that for equal time

intervals a satellite will sweep out equal areas
in its orbital plane, focused at the barycentre.
In the figure assuming that the satellite travels distances, S 1 and S2 meters in 1s, the areas
A1 and A2 will be equal. The average velocities are S 1 and S2 in m/s. Because of the equal

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4.1 Satellite Communication (III Semester CBCS) Mahesh H

area law it follows that distance S 1 is greater than distance S2 and hence the velocity S1 is
greater than velocity S2. Generalizing, it can be said that the velocity will be greater at the
point of closest approach to the earth (perigee) and will be the least at the farthest point
from the earth (apogee).
Kepler’s Third law states that the square of the periodic time of orbit is proportional to the
cube of the mean distance between the two bodies. The mean distance is equal to the semi
major axis and third law can be stated in mathematical form as
a = AP0 2/3
where A is a constant. With a in kilometers and Po in mean solar days, the constant A for
earth is given by A = 42241 km
ORBITS : Although an infinite number of orbits are possible, only a very limited number of
these are of use for satellite communication. Some of the terms used in describing an orbit
are :
1. Apogee: This is the point farthest from the earth
2. Perigee : This is the point of closest approach to earth.
3. Line of apsides : The line joining apogee and perigee through the centre of the earth.
4. Ascending node : The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from
south to north.
5. Descending node : The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from
north to south.
6. Line of nodes : The line joining the ascending nod descending nodes through the
centre of he earth.
7. Inclination : The angle between the orbital plane and the earth’s equatorial plane
measured counterclockwise at the ascending node.
8. Azimuth and elevation angles : To maximize transmission and reception the
direction of maximum gain of the earth station antenna must point directly at the
satellite. To align the antenna in this way, two angles must be known. They are
azimuth or the angle measured from the true north and the elevation that is angle
measured up from the local horizontal plane.
Azimuth angle is also defined as the angle produced by intersection of local
horizontal plane and the plane passing through the earth station, the satellite and the
centre of the earth. We can show that the azimuth angle is given by

A=tan −1
( tan|θ S −θ L|
Sin θl )
Where θl = earth station latitude
θS = satellite longitude
θL = earth station longitude

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Types of satellite orbits : Mainly there are three types of satellite orbits – namely elliptical,
circular polar and geostationary orbits.

(i) Polar satellite orbits: Polar circular orbiting satellites follow an orbit that is close to the
earth and passes over the poles. The inclination of such orbit is close to 90 0. The average
height of these orbits is typically 800 – 1000 km above the earth. They are used mainly for
earth observation and surveillance (weather, pollution monitoring etc.,) and search and
rescue operations.

(ii) Inclined highly elliptical orbit: The satellites in this orbit are used for communication in
the regions of high latitude. Kepler’s second law states that the satellite velocity is the
minimum at apogee. Hence, the apogee is placed above the required region so that the
satellite is visible for a longer time in these regions.
It is found that the satellite orbit rotates due to the equatorial bulge of the earth. However
at an inclination angle of 63.4 0 this rotation will be absent. Hence polar communication
satellites are placed in this 630 slot.

(iii) Geostationary Satellites : A geostationary satellite is the one which appears to be

stationary relative to the earth. Geostationary orbit is the most widely used orbit. The most
important requirement of a geostationary orbit is that the inclination must be zero. Hence
the orbit lies on the equatorial plane. Second requirement of this orbit is that it should travel
eastward at the same rotational velocity as the earth. In other words the periodic time of the
satellite is made equal tot he the rotational period of the earth (23 hrs 56 min) around its
own axis. From Kepler’s law it follows that the orbit must be circular as the velocity is
constant. Such an orbit will be approximately 36,000 km above the earth surface.
Advantages of geostationary satellites over polar satellites:
1. Since the satellite appears fixed from the earth tracking is easy.
2. They are well above the atmosphere and ionosphere so that the communication is
relatively noise free.
3. There is no atmospheric drag so that path is not disturbed much.
4. Since the satellite is far away and much above the earth surface it is sunlit over 99%
of time and eclipse occurs for only a very small time in an year.

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5. Earth’s magnetic field is very small at geostationary orbits.

6. At any given point of time, 40% of earth surface is visible so that large area can be
covered.
7. Since the satellite is fixed the Doppler shift (of frequency) is negligible.
However, there are a few disadvantages of geostationary satellites.
Disadvantages of geostationary satellites over polar satellites:
1. High powers of transmitter and sensitive receivers are required because of large
distance.
2. There is time delay in telephony due to the same reason.
3. The orbit is likely to slightly inclined because of the gravitational pull of the sun
and moon. Hence, position control becomes essential.
4. Longitudinal and inclination errors must be kept very small due to the large
distance.
Calculation of height of geostationary orbit:
For the satellite to be geostationary orbit the time period of the satellite should be equal the
time taken by the earth to make one complete rotation about its own axis. Hence we can
substitute T = 23 hrs and 56 min, G =6.67x10 -11 Nm2kg-2 and mass of the earth = M=
5.98x1014 kg. If the orbital velocity of the satellite is v and the radius of the orbit is r then
GMm = mv2
r2 r
Rearranging we get

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4.1 Satellite Communication (III Semester CBCS) Mahesh H

Satellite System:
Types of satellite and frequency allocation :
There are many types of satellites used for different purposes such as earth observation,
search and rescue operation, navigation, fixed and wireless communication, weather
forecasting etc., A single satellite can’t be used for all of the above applications. Therefore,
we find satellites such as DOMSAT, INTELSAT, INSAT, remote sensing satellites, GPS
satellites.
The frequencies used in satellite communication must be very high. There are many
reasons. Most important of them are i) Low frequencies are reflected by the ionosphere
surrounding the earth. Hence the satellite frequency must be more than the critical
frequency so that it penetrates the ionosphere and reaches the satellite.
ii) the antenna size must be small onboard the satellite which is possible only when the
frequencies are very high. Some of the frequency bands used in satellite communication
are as shown below:

Frequency range It is to be noted that the bands as assigned

Name of the band by ITU are different such as VLF,LF,MF,HF,VHF,
(in GHz)
0.1 – 0.3 VHF UHF, SHF and EHF etc., (already discussed
To facilitate satellite planning the world is divided
0.3 – 1.0 UHF
into three regions:
1.0 – 2.0 L
Region 1 : Europe, Africa and former USSR
2–4 S
Region 2 : North and South America and
4–8 C
Greenland
8 – 12 X
Region 3 : Asia, Australia and south west pacific.
12 – 18 Ku
Within these regions, frequency bands are
18 – 27 K
allocated to various satellites services, although a
27 – 40 Ka given service may be allocated different frequency
40 – 75 V band in different regions.
75 – 110 W
110 – 300 mm Satellite system: As discussed earlier, the satellite
200 -3000 μm acts as a relay station between transmitter and
receiver both situated on the earth. The frequency with which the signals are transmitted to
the satellite is called uplink frequency. Similarly, the frequency of signal received from the
satellite is called downlink frequency. Generally, uplink frequency and downlink frequency
are kept different to eliminate interference between the two. Also uplink frequency is always
kept higher than the downlink frequency. e.g., in C band uplink frequency will be about 6
GHz and downlink frequency will be 4 GHz. The reason for making uplink frequency higher
is that i) when the frequency is high the size of the antenna decreases. It is always better to
have a smaller receiving antenna in a satellite. In addition, it is easier to increase the power
at the earth station rather than on the satellite. Any increase in size of antenna will make
the satellite costly. The satellite receives the uplink frequency, amplifies it and down
converts it to downlink frequency and retransmits back to the earth.

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In broadcasting satellites there will be one

transmitter (control station) but many receivers.
This is similar to star connection of a network.
Uplink system : The main component of the
uplink section of the satellite system is the
transmitter at the earth station. A typical
transmitter (uplink system) at the earth consists
of an IF modulator which modulates the signal
(FM,PSK of QAM modulation). The modulated
signal are passed through a band pass filter
and fed to the up converter. This converts the
signal in IF frequency to microwave frequency
(6 MHz in C band). They are then power amplified using high power amplifier and finally fed
to the transmitting antenna.

Transponder: The word transponder is derived from transmitter-responder and refers to

equipment in the satellite that connects the receive antenna with the transmit antenna.
Transponder itself is not a single unit of equipment, but consists of some units that are
common to all transponder channels and other that can be identified with a particular
channel. The figure below shows the block diagram of a typical C band transponder.

Figure (a)

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Fig (b)

A basic bandwidth of 500 MHz is available for all the channels (for a given satellite)
Hence a frequency range of 5.925 – 6.425 GHz is available at the input (uplink frequency).
This is a wide range frequency and is passed through a wideband pass filter (BPF) to limit
noise and interference. The frequencies are then passed to a wide band receiver (shown in
fig (b)). Wide band receiver provides the down conversion and amplification of the signals
to increase the signal to noise ratio. The output range of wideband receiver is 3.7 to 4.2
GHz which is downlink frequency. The signals then go to a de-multiplexer, which separates
the wideband frequency into individual carriers (12, 24 or 36, 48 in number). A typical
transponder bandwidth is 36 MHz or 40 MHz including guard band of 4 MHz. Following the
demultiplexer, power amplifiers are provided for the individual transponders channels which
amplify the signal so that they can be retransmitted back to the earth station. Generally
traveling wave tube (TWT) amplifiers are used since they have a large bandwidth.
In wide band receiver, a redundant receiver is provided as a backup in case of failure of
the original receiver.

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Downlink system: The figure shows the downlink system block diagram of satellite

communication system.
The downlink frequencies are received by the earth station. The signals received from
the satellite (using the dish antenna) are passed through a band pass filter to eliminate
noise and interference then fed to low noise amplifier. The signals are then conversion from
RF to IF is done using mixer system (shown as a block down converter) and then they are
demodulated to get original signals.

Block diagram of the Earth Station:. The earth station consists of two elements viz.,
uplink system and downlink systems. Hence, the uplink and downlink block diagrams may
be combined to form the block diagram of the earth station

Note : The satellite system can be divided into two segments : Space segment and
Ground segment. Uplink system and downlink system come under ground segment and
transponder system come under space segment.

Cross link: Sometimes it becomes necessary for one satellite to communicate directly with
another. This becomes possible if a cross link or inter satellite link (ISL) is provided. The

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transmitter and receiver are both in space in case of an ISL. Here input and output powers
and frequencies of transmitters and receivers of both satellites are selected accordingly.

Solar panels: Satellite receives the energy to power the electronic equipment on board.
This energy is supplied by solar cells. There are two types of solar panel arrangements:
(i) Cylindrical panels:
The satellites in cylindrical shape have solar
panels arranged over their body. The advantage of
cylindrical arrangement is that the satellite can be
stabilized by spinning it. The gyroscopic effect maintains
the position of the satellite. However the disadvantage is
that at any given time only one third of the satellite body
is illuminated and hence the power available is limited.
Typically at least 2 kW of energy can be generated by
cylindrical solar panel.
(ii) Flat solar panels:
Another arrangement is to employ solar sails i.e,
flat solar panel. However, with this type spin stabilization
is not possible. But advantage is that solar sails can be
automatically oriented in such a way that maximum solar
energy is received. Using this at least 7 kW of energy can
be generated.
Battery backup is provided in the satellite so that
the equipment operates during the eclipse period, which
occurs when earth shadow falls on the satellite.

Polarization and frequency reuse: Generally, a satellite is allocated with baseband

frequency of 500 MHz. This bandwidth is divided into 12 transponder frequencies, each
having a bandwidth of 36 MHz and 4 MHz of guard band. Remaining 20 MHz is used for
tracking and telemetry. To increase the number of transponders polarization discrimination
is used. ie., adjacent transponder channels can be assigned alternate polarization. One
may be horizontally polarized and the other may be vertically polarized. This way the no. of
transponders may be doubled. (12 horizontally polarized transponders and 12 vertically
polarized transponders with overlapping frequencies). Here two transponders may have the
same frequency but will have different polarization and there will be no interference. The
no. of transponders can be further increases by applying other types of polarization such
has right hand circular (RHC), left hand circular (LHC), elliptical polarization etc.,

Antenna used in satellite communication: Generally a parabolic dish antenna is used in

satellite communication. Sometimes horn antenna is also used.
Horn can also be used as
feed element for the
reflector.

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Satellite system parameters:

1. Back off loss: The high power amplifiers (HPA) used in earth station transmitters and
travelling wave tube (typically used in satellite transponders) are non linear devices.
i.e., their gain is dependent on input power. It is found that when the input levels are
increased the output power does not increase accordingly. Therefore, to make the
input-output relation linear the amount of output power must be backed off (reduced)
which means that the efficiency of the amplifier decreases (the loss increases). This
type of loss due to backing off of the output power is called back-of loss (L bo).
2. Transmit power and bit energy : For efficient amplification the power amplifier it is
operated near saturation. Thus the power level will be very high in earth station
transmitter of satellite system. Here power P is generally expressed as dBW (decibel
in respect to 1W) rather than dbm (decibel in respect to 1mW).
Most of the satellite system use PSK or QAM modulation instead of FM. Since
baseband frequency may be PCM encoded, time division multiplexed (digital in
nature) several bits may be encoded in a single transmit signaling element.
Consequently, a parameter energy per bit (Eb) is used for power instead of carrier
power.
Mathematically where Pt = total saturated output power
(watts)
Eb = Pt. Tb Tb = Time of a single bit (s)
Eb = energy of a single it (joule/bit)
Since Tb = 1/fb where fb is the bit rate per second

Eb = Pt/fb = joules/bit

3. Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP): It is defined as an equivalent transmit

power and is expressed mathematically as
EIRP = Pin.At where Pin = antenna input power (w)
At =transmit antenna gain
In log term EIRP(dBW) = Pin (dBW) + Gt (dB)

Also we know that Pin = Pt – Lbo – Lbf

Where Pt = saturated amplifier output power
Lbo= back-of losses of HPA (db)
Lbf = total branching and feeder loss (dB)
Gt = transmit antenna gain (dB)
Pin = antenna input power (Watt)

Therefore we can write EIRP = Pt – Lbo – Lbf +Gt

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4. Equivalent Noise temperature : In satellite receivers the noise introduced must be

very precise and noise figure is inadequate for such precise calculations. Therefore,
here a new term is used which is equivalent noise temperature.
Total noise power is expressed as = N = kTB ----------- (1 )
where N = total noise power (watt)
k = Boltzmann constant
T = temperature (Kelvin)
B = bandwidth
Rearranging we get T = N/kB
Also we can show that M = 1 + Te/T ------------ (2)
Where Te = equivalent noise temperature
M = Figure of merit or noise factor
T = temperature of the environment
From (2) Te = T (F – 1)

Typically equivalent noise temperature of the receivers used in satellite’s

transponders is about 1000K.
5. Noise density : Noise density is, No, is defined as the ratio of noise power to
bandwidth.
No = N/B = kTB/B = kTc –--------------- (3)

6. Transmission Path : Consider a satellite stationed with elevation angle β. Let a be

the radius of the earth, h be height of the satellite from the ground. Now we have to
calculate the distance d. The angle β is the angle of maximum gain for the antenna.
Applying the cosine rule for the triangle shown:

(a+h)2 = a2 + d2 – 2adCos (90+β)

= a2 + d2 + 2adSinβ
This is a quadratic equation in d which, when solved
for positive d, gives

d = √(a+h)2 – (aCosβ)2 ― a Sin β

the minimum distance is when β = 900.

Now d = √(a+h)2 – a = h.

In theory the max. distance occurs when β=00

giving d = 41,743 km. for geostationary orbit.
In practice, the minimum angle of elevation is about 5 0
but this makes negligible difference to the maximum
value calculated above.

7. Path Loss : All the energy radiated by the antenna will

not reach the satellite but some of it will be lost in the

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path. This is given by path loss. This loss is due to the spreading of the signal,
antenna limitations (w.r.to aperture etc). It can be shown that the
L = 32.5 + 20 log d + 20 log f where d is in km and f is in MHz.

8. Carrier to noise density ratio (C/N ratio) : Carrier to noise density ratio is the most
important and most often used parameter when evaluating a digital radio system. It
is the ration of energy per bit to noise density.
C
=φs+M−G 1 +¿228 .6 ¿
N0 dB where φs =saturation flux density expressed in
dBW/m , antenna figure of merit M in dB and k = 10 log 1.38x10 -23 = 228.6
2

G1= 10 log(4π/λ2) is the isotropic gain of the antenna with effective area =1m 2
We can show that
C
=EIRP+M −L+228 . 6
No dB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advantages of Satellite Communication:
 Satellite communication is helpful for the people staying in remote areas
 The satellite communication services are helpful for the department of
defense, where the people on the fields cannot use wired service every time.
 It provides with the status of weather.
 Satellite communication services are easy to install and use and are portable.
 Transmission cost of a satellite is independent of the distance from the centre
of the coverage area
 Higher bandwidths are available for use.
 Mobile communication can be easily established by satellite communication
 Sat.Com is economical when compared to terrestrial communication
especially in long distance communication.
 Using satellite communication large population can be reached such as in
broadcasting.

Disadvantages of Satellite Communication:

 Launching of a satellite is very costly

 The bandwidth slowly used up since the bandwidth is limited
 Not possible to repair the satellite
 Overpopulation of satellites in space (space junk) poses environmental
hazard.
 Delay in communication due to large distance between earth and satellite.

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Large number of disused rockets and

debris of satellite revolve around the
Earth

---- xxooxx ---

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