SATELLITE NETWORKS

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CONTENTS

Introduction
Artificial Satellites over Natural Satellites
Orbits
Types Of Satellite Orbits
Footprint
Categories of Satellite
i. GEO
ii. MEO
iii. LEO
. Advantages of Satellites
. Disadvantages of Satellites
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INTRODUCTION

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ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES OVER NATURAL

ONES
We can install electronic equipment
on the satellite to regenerate the
signal that has lost its energy during
travel.
The distance of natural satellites,
such as the Moon, from the Earth is
huge, which create a long delay in
communication.
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SATELLITE ORBITS
An artificial satellite needs to have an orbit, the path in which it
travels around the Earth.

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Note:
Keplers Law: It determines the period
of satellite.
Period = C x distance1.5 sec.

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Example 1
WhatistheperiodofthemoonaccordingtoKeplerslaw?

Solution
The moon is located approximately
384,000 km above the earth. The radius
of the earth is 6378 km. Applying the
formula, we get
Period = (1/100) (384,000 + 6378)1.5 =
2,439,090s
= approx.(1 month)

Distance: 384000 km
Period: approx. 1month

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Example 2
According to Keplers law, what is the
period of a satellite that is located at an
orbit approximately 35,786 km above
the earth?

Solution

Applying the formula, we get

Period = (1/100) (35,786 + 6378)1.5 =
86,579 s
= 24 h
A satellite like this is said to be stationary to
the earth. The orbit, as we will see, is called a

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FOOTPRINT
The area of the Earths surface from which an Earth
Station can transmit to or receive from a particular
satellite.

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SATELLITE CATEGORIES

Satellite

Based on the location of the orbits satellites are

divided into three categories:

GEO
MEO
LEO
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SATELLITE ORBIT ALTITUDES

GEO (35786 km)

GEO: Geostationary Earth Orbit

Outer Van Allen Belt (15000-20000 km)

MEO: Medium Earth Orbit

LEO: Low Earth Orbit

MEO (5 - 15K km)

Inner Van Allen Belt (1500-5000 km)

LEO ( < 2K km)

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HOW SATELLITE WORKS?

Two Stations on Earth want to communicate through radio

broadcast but are too far away to use conventional means.
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.
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SATELLITE FREQUENCY BAND

Band

Downlink,
GHz

Uplink, GHz

Bandwidth,
MHz

Problems

1.5

1.6

15

Low bandwidth;
crowded

1.9

2.2

70

Low bandwidth;
crowded

4.0

6.0

500

Terrestrial Interference

Ku

11.0

14.0

500

Rain

Ka

20.0

30.0

3500

Rain, equipment cost

L-band and S-band: is used for Mobile Satellite Services and offers good
penetration through adverse weather conditions and foliage.
C-band: Public switched networks.
Ku-band and Ka-band: Rural telephony, satellite news gathering, high
speed internet, video conferencing, and multimedia.
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GEOSTATIONARY EARTH ORBIT (GEO)

These satellites are in orbit 35,786 km above the earths
surface along the equator.
Objects in Geostationary orbit revolve around the earth
at the same speed as the earth rotates. This means GEO
satellites remain in the same position relative to the
surface of earth.
One GEO satellite cannot cover the whole earth. It takes
minimum of three satellites equidistant from each other.
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SATELLITES IN GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT

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GEO (CONT.)
Advantages
A GEO satellites distance from earth gives it a large
coverage area, almost a fourth of the earths surface.
GEO satellites have a 24 hour view of a particular area.
These factors make it ideal for satellite broadcast and
other multipoint applications.
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GEO (CONT.)
Disadvantages
A GEO satellites distance also cause it to have both a
comparatively weak signal and a time delay in the
signal, which is bad for point to point communication.
GEO satellites, centered above the equator, have
difficulty broadcasting signals to near polar regions

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MIDDLE EARTH ORBIT (MEO)

A MEO satellite is in orbit somewhere between 5,000 km and
15,000 km above the earths surface.
MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of time
than LEO satellites, usually between 2 to 8 hours.
MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO
satellites.

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MEO (CONT.)
Advantages
A MEO satellites longer duration of visibility and wider
footprint means fewer satellites are needed in a MEO
network than a LEO network.
Shorter time delay and stronger signal than a GEO
satellite

Disadvantages
A MEO satellites distance gives it a longer time delay and
weaker signal than a LEO satellite, though not as bad as a
GEO satellite.
EXAMPLE: Global Positioning System (GPS).
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GPS: EXAMPLE OF MEO

Constructed and operated by US Department of
Defense.
There are 24 satellites in six orbits.
Used for land, sea and air navigation to provide
time and locations for vehicles and ships.
The satellites in each orbits are designed in such a
way, at a time minimum four satellites are visible
from any point on the Earth.

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ORBITS FOR GPS SATELLITE

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TRILATERATION

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GPS: HOW IT WORKS ( CONT.)

Measuring the distance: The trilateration principle can
find our location on the earth if we know our distance from
three satellites and know the position of each satellite. The
position of each satellite can be calculated by a GPS receiver.
The GPS receiver, then, needs to find its distance from at least
three GPS satellites. Suppose all GPS satellites and the receiver
on the earth are synchronized. Each of 24 satellites transmits a
complex signal each having a unique pattern. The receiver
measures the delay between the signals from the satellites and
its copy of signals to determine the distances to the satellites.

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LOW EARTH ORBIT (LEO)

LEO satellites are much closer to the earth than GEO
satellites, ranging from 500 to 2000 km above the
surface.
Rotation period of 90 to 120 minutes, with speed 20,000
to 25,000 km/h.
LEO satellites dont stay in fixed position relative to the
surface, and are only visible for 15 to 20 minutes each
pass.
A network of LEO satellites is necessary for LEO satellites
to be useful.

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LEO SATELLITE SYSTEM

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LEO (CONT.)
Advantages
A LEO satellite is proximity to earth compared to a GEO
satellite gives it a better signal strength and less of a time
delay, which makes it better for point to point
communication.
A LEO satellites smaller area of coverage is less of a
waste of bandwidth.

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LEO (CONT.)

Disadvantages
A network of LEO satellites is needed, which can be
costly
Atmospheric drag effects LEO satellites, causing
gradual orbital deterioration.

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IRIDIUM SYSTEM: EXAMPLE OF LEO

It has 66 satellites in 6 LEO orbits.
Each have altitude of 750 km.
Use to provide direct worldwide communication.
i.e. voice, data paging, fax, even navigation.

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Fact:
The original name, Iridium, came from the name
of the 77th chemical element; a more appropriate
name is Dysprosium (66th element)

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GLOBALSTAR: EXAMPLE OF LEO

It has 48 satellites in 6 LEO orbits.
Each have altitude of 1400 km.
The ground station can create more powerful
signals.

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TELEDESIC: EXAMPLE OF LEO

It provides fiber-optic like (broadband channels, low error rate, and
low delay) communication
It has 288 satellites in 12 LEO polar orbits.
Each have altitude of 1350 km.

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About:
The project was started in 1990 by mobile phone pioneer
Craig McCaw and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Goal:
The goal of Teledesic system is to provide broadband
Internet access for users all over the world
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ADVANTAGES OF SATELLITES
The coverage area of a satellite greatly exceeds that
of a terrestrial system.
Transmission cost of a satellite is independent of the
distance from the center of the coverage area.
Satellite to Satellite communication is very precise.
Higher Bandwidths are available for use.

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DISADVANTAGES OF SATELLITES
Launching satellites into orbit is costly.
Satellite bandwidth is gradually becoming used up.
There is a larger propagation delay in satellite
communication than in terrestrial communication.

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