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Commercial Space Technologies and Applications: Communication, Remote Sensing, GPS, and Meteorological Satellites Mohammad Razani
Commercial Space Technologies and Applications: Communication, Remote Sensing, GPS, and Meteorological Satellites Mohammad Razani
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Commercial Space
Technologies and
Applications
Commercial Space
Technologies and
Applications
Communication, Remote Sensing,
GPS, and Meteorological Satellites
Second Edition
Mohammad Razani
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
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Preface.......................................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments............................................................................................... xiii
Author......................................................................................................................xv
1. Overview...........................................................................................................1
vii
viii Contents
3. Satellites.......................................................................................................... 89
3.1 Fundamental Concepts....................................................................... 89
3.1.1 Types of Satellites.................................................................... 92
3.1.2 The Benefits of Satellites........................................................ 95
3.1.3 Satellite Orbits......................................................................... 96
3.1.4 Mission Analysis..................................................................... 97
3.1.5 Satellite Software.................................................................. 101
3.1.6 Satellite Regulations............................................................. 108
3.1.7 Economics of Satellite Systems........................................... 110
3.1.7.1 Space Value Chain: A Breakdown...................... 112
3.2 Application Satellites......................................................................... 114
3.2.1 Remote-Sensing Satellites.................................................... 115
3.2.1.1 Satellite Remote Sensing and Climate
Change���������������������������������������������������������������� 117
3.2.1.2 Early Satellite Sensing.......................................... 122
3.2.1.2.1 U-2 Aircraft Reconnaissance
Program������������������������������������������������ 122
3.2.1.2.2 CORONA Program.............................. 122
3.2.1.2.3 Nimbus Satellites................................. 123
3.2.1.2.4 Landsat Program................................. 125
3.2.1.2.5 SPOT...................................................... 128
3.2.1.2.5.1 Spatial Resolution............ 131
3.2.1.3 L ow-to-Medium Resolution Satellite Sensing..... 133
3.2.1.3.1 Terra Satellite........................................ 133
3.2.1.3.2 Aqua Satellite........................................ 134
3.2.1.3.3 ADEOS................................................... 135
3.2.1.3.4 Radarsat................................................. 137
3.2.1.3.5 ERS......................................................... 141
3.2.1.4 High-to-Very-High-Resolution Satellite
Sensing������������������������������������������������������������������� 142
3.2.1.4.1 Ikonos..................................................... 142
Contents ix
This manuscript updates the book which was written 5 years ago and in
addition to adding questions and problems at the end of each chapter to
make it a suitable textbook for classroom environments, it also covers the
new satellites in every area of interest and the new and emerging technolo-
gies since then, which I must admit have been tremendous. Scientists and
engineers are working tirelessly to provide a better quality of satellite ser-
vices, to bring about higher resolution satellite imagery, and to lower the cost
of satellite services so even the remotest areas on earth can benefit from its
services.
Space technology is the technology that aims at conquering new frontiers
in outer space and reaching the furthest skies. In the space within our reach,
which is the focus of this updated book, man-made satellites are entering a
new era of becoming smaller, smarter, cheaper, easier to lunch, yet providing
a better quality of service that is less susceptible to interference by employ-
ing the most sophisticated new technologies.
With the rapid pace of advances in electronics, semiconductors, modu-
lation, access, and multiplexing techniques; better performing amplifiers;
antenna; rocket fuel; launchers; and so many other technologies affecting
the satellite industry, five years is a long time to update new technologies.
During this period, enormous research activities have taken place in the
space technologies and its related fields. The author tries his best to do justice
in covering the most outstanding results of these challenging yet rewarding
scientific and engineering findings.
Commercial space technologies and applications have always fascinated
the author, so much so that most of his time during the last four decades
has involved working on the different aspects of the space technology. How
space was explored by humans, how it has expanded our understanding of
the universe, and how it has impacted our lives in so many different ways so
far and how it will impact the lives of the generations to come, are questions
that volumes of books are required to provide a comprehensive understand-
ing of space technologies and its applications. The author has tried to pro-
vide a good understanding of the history of space and space exploration and
space-related activities worldwide while explaining its various applications
within three major categories: application satellites, scientific satellites, and
communication satellites.
Space has become a new platform for humans to carry out research work
that is not possible to do on earth. Other than discussing the existing appli-
cations of space technology, this revisited book introduces what is on the
horizon that perhaps the next generation will benefit from and are now mere
dreams or part of our imagination. Equally distributing energy worldwide
xi
xii Preface
through the use of satellites, which collect solar energy from the solar-rich
areas on Earth and transmit it to different locations on earth, that are solar-
poor areas by means of microwave beams, or launching spacecraft into space
without rockets, are among such innovative ideas that are introduced to the
readers.
Searching through the existing literature, although there is scattered infor-
mation about the space technologies, there was no evidence of a single book
that covers such a wide spectrum of interrelated concepts and applications.
This gave the author the incentive to write this updated book.
This book is intended for college students, undergraduates as well as
graduate students, professionals in space-related industries, engineers and
technologists in telecommunication organizations worldwide, educators
at various levels of lower and higher educational establishments, and any-
one who is eager and interested in space science and technologies and its
applications.
This book will introduce the space technologies that are benefiting
humans in their everyday lives. As it is explained in detail in this book,
space provides a unique environment to carry out scientific research that
otherwise would be impossible to carry out on earth. The results of such
scientific research are monumental and the effect of which could be seen in
almost every aspect of our lives. Within the research laboratory facilities in
the International Space Station, for example, scientists and engineers have
been carrying out research in a microgravity environment during the last
16 years to improve the quality of life on earth and to prolong the longevity
of human lives. The fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, phys-
ics, engineering, biology, and so many other fields are benefiting from such
unique research activities.
Humans are a curious species and are always seeking new frontiers to
expand their horizon that can someday be conquered. This book will address
such motives for outer space activities which are purely scientific and will
provide a better understanding of the universe we live in and appreciate the
blessings we have here on earth. The planet to which there are yet no oth-
ers that could come even close to its unique environmental conditions that
allows life to go on without extreme conditions.
This book will also make the readers aware of the fact that it is our respon-
sibility to preserve this uniqueness for future generations by searching for
new clean energy and a better use of our resources.
Acknowledgments
All gratitude is due to the Almighty who has given me life and has provided
me with all it took to make it to this level.
I must admit that writing this book and its second edition has been a great
challenge for me during which I had the responsibilities of teaching as well
as Chairing the Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering Technology
(ETET) Department at the New York City College of Technology of the City
University of New York since 2006. The ETET Department offers ABET
accredited associate and bachelor degree programs in electrical engineering
technology and telecommunications engineering technology and is privi-
leged to have very high-caliber and internationally recognized faculty who
tirelessly educate the diverse population of the eager and talented students
who attend the school in Brooklyn, New York, and continue their contribu-
tions to the world of science and technology.
It would have been impossible to write this book without the support of
many people.
My sincere thanks goes to Nora Konopka, Publisher of Engineering
books at Taylor & Francis, and her assistant Kyra Lindhorm, and Alexandra
Andrejevich, the Associate Project Manager who patiently worked with me
during the entire journey of writing this second edition and other members
of the production team.
I would like to dedicate this book to my parents who provided me with
the opportunity to obtain my higher education in a faraway country and
supported me in every possible way and in all aspects of my life during their
fruitful and honorable lives. I would also like to thank my sister and broth-
ers who have always been supportive of me throughout my life. Last but not
least, I would like to dedicate this writing to my wife and my children for
their love, support, and patience.
xiii
Author
xv
Commercial Space Technologies 11
exploration from space which was the cosmic radiation experiment launched
by the United States on a V-2 rocket on May 10, 1946.
These space activities in both the United States and USSR prepared the way
for the launch of an 83 kg (184 pounds) unmanned satellite called Sputnik
that orbited Earth at a height of 250 km (150 miles). Sputnik had two radio
transmitters operating at 20 MHz and 40 MHz that transmitted a “beep”
signal that could be heard by radios worldwide. Sputnik burned up upon
reentry on January 3, 1958. On January 31, 1958, the United States launched
Explorer 1 into orbit on a Juno rocket. Explorer 1 discovered the existence of
the Van Allen Belts around Earth.
The space race continued with the first human flight by Vostok 1 taking
Yuri Gagarin, the 27-year-old Russian cosmonaut, in orbit around the globe
in about 108 min on April 12, 1961. This was the start of a new era in space
exploration which we can call the “human spaceflight era.” The next orbital
flight around the Earth was John Glenn’s Mercury-Atlas 6 which took place
on February 20, 1962. It took 42 years from the Vostok launch for a third coun-
try to enter into the human spaceflight race. China launched Yang Liwei into
space on October 15, 2003, aboard the Shenzhou 5 (Spaceboat 5) spacecraft.
After successful launch of unmanned satellites and human space flights
that orbited the Earth, it was now time for human curiosity to take another
step toward outer space exploration. This was the beginning of planetary
explorations. The first artificial object ever to reach another celestial body
was Luna 2, originally named “Second Cosmic Rocket.”
On September 14, 1959, Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to reach the sur-
face of the Moon. It took another decade to reach a new and higher level
in space exploration. On July 20, 1969, the first manned landing on another
celestial body was performed by Apollo 11 in its lunar landing. This was
followed by interplanetary missions. In 1970, Venera 7 landed on Venus col-
lecting and returning data to Earth for 23 min.
Exploring outer space and its potentials to help humans to survive is
a thought that has been with us since the inception of space exploration.
Stephen Hawking, the renowned British theoretical physicist said, “I don’t
think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread
into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single
planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars.”19 Arthur C. Clarke
(December 16, 1917–March 19, 2008), who is considered the father of satellite
communication and who described geostationary (here used interchange-
ably with geosynchronous) Earth orbit (GEO), presented a summary of
motivations for human exploration of space in his nonfiction semi-technical
monograph Interplanetary Flight.20 Clarke argued that humanity’s choice is
essentially between expansion off the Earth into space, versus cultural (and
eventually biological) stagnation and death.21
Professor Hawking, Lacasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, said
that the method of space exploration and colonization, apparently the stuff
of science fiction, could be one possible escape from the human predicament.
12 Commercial Space Technologies and Applications