EE-483 SPRING 2017

SATELLITE
COMMUNICATIONS
Lecture 1
Introduction to Satellite Communication
 General Course Policy
2

Punctuality is a must!
All class matters will be put up by the class CR
only.
Quizzes will be unannounced.
Assignments will be assigned regularly except
for the week before an exam.
Assignments should be hand written.
Copied assignments will not be accepted and
negative marks may be given.
Assignments will not be accepted after the
final submission date/time.
3 Topics to be Covered
Introduction and Background
Orbital Aspects and Launching
Spacecraft Subsystems
Link Budgets
Modulation
Multiple Access & On-board Processing Coding
Frequency & Propagation Aspects
Earth Station Technology & VSATs
Non-Geosynchronous Orbits (NGSO)
GPS and Future Trends
4
 Overview
5

Arthur C. Clarke first proposed the idea of satellite

technology in 1945 in his article in Wireless World
Today, satellite systems can provide a variety of
services including:
broadband communications,
audio/video distribution networks,
maritime navigation,
worldwide customer service and support,
military command and control etc
Satellite systems are playing an important role in
the emerging 4G global infrastructure providing the
wide area coverage necessary for the realization of
the Optimally Connected Anywhere, Anytime
vision that drives the growth of modern telecom
industry
 Pioneers in Satellite
6 Communication
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 - 1935)
Russian visionary of space flight First described the multi-
stage rocket as means of achieving orbit.
Link: The life of Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky
Hermann Noordung (1892 - 1929)
Postulated the geostationary orbit.
Link: The Problem of Space Travel: The Rocket Motor

Arthur C. Clarke (1917 19 March 2008)

Postulated the entire concept of international satellite
telecommunications from geostationary satellite orbit
including coverage, power, services, solar eclipse.
Link: "Wireless World" (1945)
 Satellite History Calendar
7

1957
October 4, 1957: - First satellite - the Russian Sputnik 01
First living creature in space: Sputnik 02
1958
First American satellite: Explorer 01
First telecommunication satellite: This satellite broadcast a taped message: Score
1959
First meteorology satellite: Explorer 07
1960
First successful passive satellite: Echo 1
First successful active satellite: Courier 1B
First NASA satellite: Explorer 08
April 12, 1961: - First man in space
1962
First telephone communication & TV broadcast via satellite: Echo 1
First telecommunication satellite, first real-time active, AT&T: Telstar 1
First Canadian satellite: Alouette 1
On 7th June 1962 at 7:53p the two-stage rocket; Rehbar-I was successfully launched from Sonmiani Rocket Range. It
carried a payload of 80 pounds of sodium and soared to about 130 km into the atmosphere. With the launching of
Rehbar-I, Pakistan had the honour of becoming the third country in Asia and the tenth in the world to conduct such a
launching after USA, USSR, UK, France, Sweden, Italy, Canada, Japan and Israel.
Rehbar-II followed a successful launch on 9th June 1962
1963
Real-time active: Telstar 2
1964
Creation of Intelsat
First geostationary satellite, second satellite in stationary orbit: Syncom 3
First Italian satellite: San Marco 1
 Satellite History Calendar
8
1965
Intelsat 1 becomes first commercial comsat: Early Bird
First real-time active for USSR: Molniya 1A
1967
First geostationary meteorology payload: ATS 3
1968
First European satellite: ESRO 2B
July 21, 1969: - First man on the moon
1970
First Japanese satellite: Ohsumi
First Chinese satellite: Dong Fang Hong 01
1971
First UK launched satellite: Prospero
ITU-WARC for Space Telecommunications
INTELSAT IV Launched
INTERSPUTNIK - Soviet Union equivalent of INTELSAT formed
1974
First direct broadcasting satellite: ATS 6
1976
MARISAT - First civil maritime communications satellite service started
1977
EUTELSAT - European regional satellite
ITU-WARC for Space Telecommunications in the Satellite Service
1979
Creation of Inmarsat
 Satellite History Calendar
9 1980
INTELSAT V launched - 3 axis stabilized satellite built by Ford Aerospace
1983
ECS (EUTELSAT 1) launched - built by European consortium supervised by ESA
1984
UK's UNISAT TV DBS satellite project abandoned
First satellite repaired in orbit by the shuttle: SMM
1985
First Brazilian satellite: Brazilsat A1
First Mexican satellite: Morelos 1
1988
First Luxemburg satellite: Astra 1A
1989
INTELSAT VI - one of the last big "spinners" built by Hughes
Creation of Panamsat - Begins Service
On 16 July 1990, Pakistan launched its first experimental satellite, BADR-I from China
1990
IRIDIUM, TRITIUM, ODYSSEY and GLOBALSTAR S-PCN projects proposed - CDMA designs more popular
EUTELSAT II
1992
OLYMPUS finally launched - large European development satellite with Ka-band, DBTV and Ku-band
SS/TDMA payloads - fails within 3 years
1993
INMARSAT II - 39 dBW EIRP global beam mobile satellite - built by Hughes/British Aerospace
1994
INTELSAT VIII launched - first INTELSAT satellite built to a contractor's design
Hughes describe SPACEWAY design
DirecTV begins Direct Broadcast to Home
1995
Panamsat - First private company to provide global satellite services.
 Satellite History Calendar
10 1996
INMARSAT III launched - first of the multibeam mobile satellites (built by GE/Marconi)
Echostar begins Diresct Broadcast Service
1997
IRIDIUM launches first test satellites
ITU-WRC'97
1999
AceS launch first of the L-band MSS Super-GSOs - built by Lockheed Martin
Iridium Bankruptcy - the first major failure?
2000
Globalstar begins service
Thuraya launch L-band MSS Super-GSO
2001
XM Satellite Radio begins service
Pakistans 2nd Satellite, BADR-B was launched on 10 Dec 2001 at 9:15a from Baikonour Cosmodrome,
Kazakistan
2002
Sirius Satellite Radio begins service
Paksat-1, was deployed at 38 degrees E orbital slot in December 2002, Paksat-1, was deployed at 38
degrees E orbital slot in December 2002
2004
Teledesic network planned to start operation
2005
Intelsat and Panamsat Merge
VUSat OSCAR-52 (HAMSAT) Launched
2006
CubeSat-OSCAR 56 (Cute-1.7) Launched
K7RR-Sat launched by California Politechnic University
2007
Prism was launched by University of Tokyo
2008
COMPASS-1; a project of Aachen University was launched from Satish Dawan Space Center, India. It
 Evolution of Satellite
11 Communications
 Evolution of Satellite
12 Communications
 Basics: How do Satellites
13 Work
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
 Basic Principles
14
 Communication Satellite
15

A Communication Satellite can be looked

upon as a large microwave repeater
It contains several transponders which
listens to some portion of spectrum,
amplifies the incoming signal and
broadcasts it in another frequency to
avoid interference with incoming signals.
 Basic Xtics of Satellites
16

Satellite in a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO)

revolves around Earth in equatorial plane
once in 24 hrs, maintaining precise
synchronization with the Earths rotation
A system of 3 satellites in GEO each
separated by 120 deg of longitude can cover
almost all globe
Range from user to satellite is min 36,000 km
For a GEO satellite, prop. delay of about one-
quarter of a sec for a single hop b/w a pair of
users
 Basics: How Satellites are
17 used
Service Types
Fixed Service Satellites (FSS)
Example: Point to Point Communication
Broadcast Service Satellites (BSS)
Example: Satellite Television/Radio
Also called Direct Broadcast Service (DBS).
Mobile Service Satellites (MSS)
Example: Satellite Phones
 Motivation to use Satellites
18
 Satellite Missions
19

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists [www.ucsusa.org]

 Satellite System Elements
20
 Space Segment
21

Satellite Launching Phase

Transfer Orbit Phase
Deployment Phase
Operation Phase
TT&C - Tracking Telemetry and Command
Station
SSC - Satellite Control Center, a.k.a.:
OCC - Operations Control Center
SCF - Satellite Control Facility

Retirement Phase
22
 Ground Segment
23

Collection of facilities, Users and Applications

Earth Station = Satellite Communication Station

(Fixed or Mobile)
 Satellite Footprints
24

In GEO satellite, the power directed towards the Earth

covers some geographic area with its max signal
strength near the central area of what is called its
footprint, with decreasing strengths farther out from the
area
Intelsat satellites use
Global beams covers as much of Earth as can be seen
by the satellite
Hemispherical beams
Zone beams
Spot beams

Smaller the beam-size, greater the signal strength on

the Earth, and smaller the receiving antenna can be
25
26 Institute of Space Technology 11-Oct-10
 Types of Satellite Orbits
27

Based on the inclination, i, over the equatorial

plane:
Equatorial Orbits above Earths equator (i=0)
Polar Orbits pass over both poles (i=90)
Other orbits called inclined orbits (0<i<90)

Based on Eccentricity
Circular with centre at the earths centre
Elliptical with one foci at earths centre
 Satellite Orbits
28

Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO):

36,000 km above Earth, includes
commercial and military
communications satellites,
satellites providing early warning
of ballistic missile launch.
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO): from
5000 to 15000 km, they include
navigation satellites (GPS,
Galileo, Glonass).
Low Earth Orbit (LEO): from 500
to 1000 km above Earth, includes
military intelligence satellites,
weather satellites.

Source: Federation of American Scientists [www.fas.org]

 Main Orbits
29
 Satellite Orbits
30

Orbits below 36,000

km altitude are
termed as non-GEO
Advantage of non-
GEO: less radiated
power required and
prop. delay is reduced
Transponder: one
complete microwave
channel of
transmission from a
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists [www.ucsusa.org] satellite
 Geostationary Earth Orbit
31 (GEO)
In equatorial plane
Orbital Period = 23h 56 min. 4.091s
= one sidereal day
Satellite appears to be stationary to an
observer over a point on the equator.
Earth rotates at the same speed as satellite
Radius of orbit, r = 42,164.57 km
NOTE: Radius = orbital height + radius of the
Earth
Average radius of Earth = 6,378.14 km
 NGSO - Non Geostationary
32 Orbits
Orbit should avoid
Van Allen radiation
belts:
Region of charged
particles that can
cause damage to
satellite
Occur at
~2000-4000 km and
~13000-25000 km
 Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
33

Much closer to the earth than GEO satellites,

ranging from 500 to 1,500 km above the surface
Dont stay in fixed position relative to the
surface, and are only visible for 15 to 20
minutes each pass => needs handoffs
A network of LEO satellites is necessary for
continuous communication (66 satellites needed
to cover the Earth
Earth stations must track satellites or have
omnidirectional antennas
 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
34

A MEO satellite
is in orbit somewhere between 5,000 km and

15,000 km above the earths surface

are similar to LEO satellites in functionality

are visible for much longer periods of time than

LEO satellites, usually between 2 to 8 hours
have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites
 Comparison of Orbit Types
35
 Other Orbits
36

Molniya Orbit Satellites

Used by Russia for decades
Molniya Orbit is an elliptical orbit. The satellite remains
in a nearly fixed position relative to earth for eight hours
A series of three Molniya satellites can act like a GEO
satellite
Useful in near polar regions
High Altitude Platform (HAP)
One of the newest ideas in satellite communication
A blimp or plane around 20 km above the earths surface
is used as a satellite
HAPs would have very small coverage area, but would
have a comparatively strong signal
Cheaper to put in position, but would require a lot of
them in a network
37 Orbital Velocities and Periods
 Frequency Spectrum
38 concepts:
 Radio Frequencies (RF)
39
 Space-Earth Frequency
40 Usability
 Microwave Frequencies
41
 Spectrum Regulation
42
 Frequency Bands
43

Different kinds of satellites use different

frequency bands.
LBand: 1 to 2 GHz, used by MSS
S-Band: 2 to 4 GHz, used by MSS, NASA, deep space
research
C-Band: 4 to 8 GHz, used by FSS
X-Band: 8 to 12.5 GHz, used by FSS and in terrestrial
imaging, ex: military and meteorological satellites
Ku-Band: 12.5 to 18 GHz: used by FSS and BSS (DBS)
K-Band: 18 to 26.5 GHz: used by FSS and BSS
Ka-Band: 26.5 to 40 GHz: used by FSS
 Radio Frequency Spectrum
44 Commonly Used Bands
 GEO Satellite Applications
45
 LEO Satellite Applications
46
 Advantages of Satellite
47 Communication
1. Mobile/Wireless Communication, Independent
of Location
2. Wide Area Coverage: Country, Continent or
Globe
3. Wide Bandwidth Available Throughout
4. Independence From Terrestrial Infrastructure
5. Rapid Installations of Ground Networks
6. Low Cost Per Added Site
7. Uniform Service Characteristics
8. Total Service From a Single Provider
 Disadvantages of Satellite
48 Communication
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.
 When to use Satellites
49

When the unique features of satellite communications

make it attractive
When the costs are lower than terrestrial routing
When it is the only solution
Examples:
Communications to ships and aircraft (especially safety
communications)
TV services - contribution links, direct to cable head, direct
to home
Data services - private networks
Overload traffic
Delaying terrestrial investments
1 for N diversity
Special events
 When to use Terrestrial
50

PSTN - satellite is becoming increasingly

uneconomic for most trunk telephony routes
but, there are still good reasons to use
satellites for telephony such as: thin routes,
diversity, very long distance traffic and remote
locations
Land mobile/personal communications - in
urban areas of developed countries new
terrestrial infrastructure is likely to dominate
(e.g. GSM, 3G/4G LTE Systems etc.)
But, satellite can provide fill-in as terrestrial
networks are implemented, also provide similar
services in rural areas and underdeveloped
countries
 Basic Principles:
51 System Block Diagram
 Future of Satellite
52 Communications
53
54
 Direct to User Services
55

One way Service (Broadcasting) Two way Service (Communication)

 Signals (1)
56
57
 Separating Signals (1)
58
59