SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

AND
TRANSPONDANCE
 Presented by :

Shreya Moon - 19
Shruti Moon - 20
Mayuri Patil - 29
OVERVIEW

 INTRODUCTION

 SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

 TRANSPONDANCE
 SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

•• A
A satellite
satellite communication
communication in
in geostationary
geostationary orbit
orbit relies
relies
on
on line
line of
of sight
sight radio
radio propagation
propagation for
for the
the
operation
operation ofof its
its
uplink
uplink from
from anan earth
earth terminal
terminal to
to the
the transponder
transponder
and
and the
the downlink
downlink from
from the
the transponder
transponder
to
to another
another earth
earth terminal.
terminal.

•• Uplink
Uplink -Earth
-Earth station
station sends
sends transmission
transmission to
to the
the satellite.
satellite.

•• Downlink:
Downlink: The
The satellite
satellite transponder
transponder converts
converts the
the signal
signal
and
and send
send it
it to
to another
another second
second earth
earth
station
station

•• The
The popular
popular frequency
frequency band
band for
for satellite
satellite communication
communication
is
is 6
6 GHz(C-band)
GHz(C-band) for
for uplink
uplink and
and 44 GHz
GHz for
for the
the downlink.
downlink.
• A satellite has to with stand the shock of being accelerated during launch upto the
orbital velocity of 28,100km(17,500miles) an hour and a hostile space environment
where it can be subject to radiation and extreme temperatures for its projected
operational life, which can last upto 20 years.
• Satellites have to be light, as the cost of launching a satellite is quite expensive and
based on weight. Satellites must be small and made of light weight and durable
materials.
• They must operate at a very high reliability of more than 99.9 percent in the vacuum
of space with no prospect of maintenance or repair.

 Components of Satellites:
 The main components of a satellite consist of the communications system,
 The antennas and
 Transponders that receive and re-transmit signals,
 The power system which includes the solar panels that provide power,
 The propulsion system which includes the rockets that propel the satellite.
FACTORS AFFECTING SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
ELEVATION
ELEVATION ANGLE:
ANGLE: The
The angle
angle ofof the
the horizontal
horizontal of
of the
the earth
earth surface
surface to to
the
the center
center line
line of
of the
the satellite
satellite transmission
transmission beam.
beam. This
This effects
effects thethe
satellites
satellites coverage
coverage area.
area. Ideally,
Ideally, elevation
elevation angle
angle ofof 0
0 degrees,
degrees, so so the
the
transmission
transmission beam
beam reaches
reaches the
the horizon
horizon visible
visible to
to the
the satellite
satellite in
in all
all
directions.
directions. However,
However, because
because ofof environmental
environmental factors
factors there
there is
is aa
minimum
minimum elevation
elevation angle
angle of
of earth
earth stations.
stations.
COVERAGE
COVERAGE ANGLE:
ANGLE: A A measure
measure of
of the
the portion
portion of
of the
the earth
earth surface
surface visible
visible
to
to aa satellite
satellite taking
taking the
the minimum
minimum elevation
elevation angle
angle into
into account.
account.
R/(R+h)
R/(R+h) =
= sin(π/2
sin(π/2 -- β
β -- θ)/sin(θ
θ)/sin(θ +
+ π/2)=
π/2)= cos(β
cos(β +
+ θ)/cos(θ)
θ)/cos(θ)
R
R== 6370
6370 km
km (earth’s
(earth’s radius),
radius),
h
h== satellite
satellite orbit
orbit height,
height,
β
β== coverage
coverage angle,
angle,
θ
θ== minimum
minimum elevation
elevation angle
angle
A satellite has thrusters that are fired occasionally to make adjustments in its position.
The maintenance of a satellite’s orbital position is called “station keeping,” and the
corrections made by using the satellite’s thrusters are called “attitude control”.
The main source of power is sunlight, which is harnessed by the satellite’s solar panels. A
satellite also has batteries on board to provide power when the Sun is blocked by Earth.
Satellites operate in extreme temperatures from −150 °C (−238 °F) to 150 °C (300 °F) .
Satellite communications use the very high-frequency range of 1–50GHz.

STRUCTURE:
Communications Satellites are usually composed of the following subsystems:
i) Communication Payload - Composed of transponders, antennas, and switching systems.
ii) A station keeping tracking and stabilization subsystem used to keep the satellite in the
right orbit, with its antennas pointed in the right direction, and its power system pointed
towards the sun.
iii) Power subsystem - Composed of solar cells, and batteries that maintain power during 
solar eclipse.
iv)Command and Control subsystem - Which maintains communications with ground
control stations.
v)Attitude & orbit control system: This subsystem comprises of rocket motors that keeps
the correct orientation of the satellite in space by moving it back to the correct orbit. The
earth’s magnetic field generates eddy currents in the metallic structure of the satellite as
the satellite moves through the magnetic field. Thus the body of the satellite gets rotated
called as wobble of the satellite.
vi) TTC and M SUBSYSTEMS: These subsystems are found partly on the satellite and partly
•• TELEMETRY:
TELEMETRY: ItIt collects
collects data
data from
from all
all sensors
sensors on
on the
the satellite
satellite and
and send
send to
to the
the controlling
controlling
earth
earth station.
station.
•• PROPULSION
PROPULSION SUBSYSTEM:
SUBSYSTEM: ThisThis subsystem
subsystem cancan also
also be
be called
called as
as a
a reaction
reaction control
control
subsystem.
subsystem. It
It is
is carried
carried by
by the
the satellite
satellite in
in the
the GEO
GEO orbit.
orbit. The
The main
main components
components of
of
propulsion
propulsion subsystem
subsystem are:
are: Low
Low thrust
thrust actuators,
actuators, High
High thrust
thrust motors.
motors.
•• SPACECRAFT
SPACECRAFT ANTENNA:
ANTENNA: Antenna
Antenna subsystem
subsystem is
is also
also an
an essential
essential component
component of
of satellite
satellite
system.
system.
•• Basically
Basically four
four main
main type
type of
of antennas
antennas are
are used
used these
these are
are Monopoles
Monopoles and
and dipoles
dipoles (wire
(wire
antennas)
antennas) which
which are
are mainly
mainly used
used in
in VERY
VERY HIGH
HIGH FREQUENCY
FREQUENCY AND
AND ULTRA
ULTRA HIGH
HIGH
FREQUENCY
FREQUENCY
•• BLOCK
BLOCK DIAGRAM
DIAGRAM OF
OF SATELLITE
SATELLITE COMMUNICATION:
COMMUNICATION:
• Input filter: This is the first part of satellite communication which receives uplink
frequencies(5.9GHz to 6.4GHz) from the earth station. It filters the unwanted distortion from the
information signal and drives only 6GHz frequencies to the amplifier.

• 6GHz amplifier: This amplifier receives 6GHz uplink weak frequencies from the input filter. It
amplifies these frequencies and transmits it to the mixer.

• 2.2GHz local oscillator: Local oscillator generates 2.2GHz frequencies so that the 6GHz
amplifier providing frequencies are converted to 4Ghz in the mixer.

• Mixer: This part of the satellite receives 6GHz uplink frequencies from the amplifier and 4GHz
frequencies from the local oscillator. The mixer mixes it up the frequencies of an amplifier and
local oscillator converted into 4GHz intermediate frequency(IF).

• Transponder :This part of the satellite communication through which 4GHz information signals
are passing through different processes converted into downlink frequency(3.7to 4GHz)and then
transmit it towards the earth station. Uplink frequency is the frequency at which, the first earth
station is communicating with satellite. The satellite transponder converts this signal into another
frequency and send it down to these earth station. This frequency is called as downlink frequency.
 Elements of Earth Station:
There are four major subsystems that are
present in any earth station. Those are
transmitter, receiver, antenna and tracking
subsystem.

 Transmitter :
The binary (digital) information enters at
base band equipment of earth station from
terrestrial network. Encoder includes error
correction bits in order to minimize the bit
error rate.

 Receiver :
During reception, the earth station antenna
receives downlink signal. This is a low-level
modulated RF signal. In general, the
received signal will be having less signal
strength. RF signal can be down
converted to the Intermediate Frequency Block Diagram of Earth Station
(IF) value, which is either 70MHz or 140
MHz.
 Antenna :
• The major parts of  Earth station Antenna  are feed system and Antenna reflector. These
two parts combined together radiates or receives electromagnetic waves.
• Parabolic reflectors are used as the main antenna in earth stations. The gain of these
reflectors is high. They have the ability of focusing a parallel beam into a point at the
focus, where the feed system is located.

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

 Advantages of 6/4GHz:
i) In this band there is no absorption by the rain. It has fewest propagation problems.
ii) Attenuation is low below 10GHz at an elevation angle of 5 degree or more than this.

 Disadvantages of 6/4GHz:
i) Bandwidth is limited to 500MHz which can be extended upto1000MHz at the most by
the use of orthogonal polarization scheme. This band acquire interference from the other
 TRANSPONDER
 Transponder is a equipment that receives the information signal, process it and
retransmit it on the different frequency.
 Transponder is the series of interconnected units that form a 
communications channel between the receiving and the transmitting antennas. 
 It is mainly used in satellite communication to transfer the received signals.
 It provides the connecting link between transmitting and receiving antennas of a
satellite. It is one of the most important subsystems of space segment
subsystems.
 It is composed of :-
1.)Band pass filter
2)An input low noise amplifier
3)A frequency translator
4)Output bandpass filter
5)Power amplifier
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF TRANSPONDER
• Transponder performs mainly two
functions. Those are amplifying the
received input signal and translates
the frequency of it.
• Duplexer is a two-way microwave
gate. It receives uplink signal from the
satellite antenna and transmits
downlink signal to the satellite
antenna.
2. Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) amplifies the weak received signal.
 
3. Carrier Processor performs the frequency down conversion of received signal (uplink). This
block determines the type of transponder.
 
4. Power Amplifier amplifies the power of frequency down converted signal (down link) to the
required level.

 Types of Transponders
 Bent Pipe Transponders
• Bent pipe transponder receives microwave frequency signal. It converts the frequency of input
signal to RF frequency and then amplifies it.
• Bent pipe transponder is also called as repeater and conventional transponder. It is suitable for
both analog and digital signals.
 
 Regenerative Transponders
• Regenerative transponder performs the functions of Bent pipe transponder. i.e., frequency
translation and amplification. In addition to these two functions, Regenerative transponder also
performs the demodulation of RF carrier to baseband, regeneration of signals and modulation.
• Regenerative transponder is also called as processing transponder. It is suitable only for digital
signals. The main advantages of Regenerative transponders are improvement in Signal to Noise
Ratio (SNR) and have more flexibility in implementation.
 • Types of multi channel transponder systems: 

• Broadband system

• Dual channelized system

• The various frequency translation schemes in use:

For Conventional Transponder:

•RF-RF Translation: This is a single mixer system. The diagrams of

it is shown below:

Figure (13): – RF-RF Translation

 
RF-IF-RF translation schemes: This is a double conversion scheme using a single stable
oscillator. This kind of translation scheme provides two advantages over RF-RF conversion
scheme: 1. The process of carrier filtering is done at the IF band. 2. Before the return
transmitted signal the uplink carriers can be easily removed. The diagram of it is shown below:

 
For Regenerative Transponder:
The two common schemes are:

IF Remodulation scheme: In this technique the

uplink RF spectrum is first translated down to low IF
band , which is then modulated on to return RF.

Demodulation- Remodulation scheme: The

Figure (14): – RF-IF-RF Translation remodulation removes the uplink noise and
interference from return modulation.
THANK YOU