Satellite Communications

Fundamentals

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 Why Satellite Communications ?

Huge Geographical Coverage

No ‘line-of-site’ problems
Extremely reliable (99.9% Up time)
Reliable data broadcast or multicast
Single Vendor
Easy to deploy
Supports multiple applications:
Video
Data
Voice

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 Basic Satellite Fundamentals
Definition of Terms
VSAT – Very Small Aperture Terminal dB – Decibel
Bandwidth Gain
Frequency Attenuation
Bitrate EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power)
C/N (Carrier/Noise)
Space Segment
Eb/N0 - Energy (in bits)/Noise
Uplink
BER – Bit Error Ratio
Downlink
Link Budget/Link Margin
Outbound
Transponder
Inbound Footprint
Spectrum Analyzer

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4
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Satellite Frequencies
C-Band
Extended C-Band
Ku-Band
Ka-Band

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Types of Orbits
There are 4 main types of
Orbits that nearly all
satellites are located in:

 LEO – Low Earth Orbit

 MEO* – Medium Earth Orbit
 GEO – Geosynchronous Orbit
 HEO* – High Elliptical Orbit

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Types of Orbits
Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

200-1400 Km above the Earth

Approximately 90 Minute
Period
A single satellite in LEO orbit is
‘In View’ for approximately 20
minutes from AOS to LOS
Light, small, easy to launch,
inexpensive
Minimal delay
Ideal for Telephony
Short life span as compared
with GEO Satellites
Must work in a Constellation to
be effective

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Types of Orbits
LEO Constellation Satellite Networks - Iridium

Original plan for 77 Satellites

Later redesigned for 66 not including
spares in 6 Orbital planes
Orbital Height: 780 Km
Orbital period: 100 minutes, 28 seconds
Spot Beams: 48 per satellite
Each 48 km in diameter
Satellite Expected Lifetime: 7-9 Years
Filed for Chapter 11 in 1999, restructured in 2001
http://www.iridium.com/ for more details

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Types of Orbits
Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO)

The Clarke Belt

35,680 Km above the Earth

35,680 ~24 Hour Period
Km.
Average 14-17 Year Lifespan
Single Satellite provides up to
42% Earth Coverage
Large, expensive, difficult to
launch
o
Located approximately every 2
above the equator
Several Satellites may operate
at the same azimuth on
different
frequencies/polarization

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Types of Orbits
Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) Fleets - Eutelsat

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 Types of Orbits
Geosynchronous Orbit – Intelsat 707 –
Key Parameters

Hemi Zone Ku-Spot C-Spot

INTELSAT 707 @ 359.0°E

Satellite Coverage Map and Key Parameters

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Satellite Footprints
Three types of Beams:
Hemi
Zone
Spot
“Shaped” using phased array
antennas

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Launch Options
Sea Launch
Floating Launch site sits on the
equator 230 Km from Christmas
Is.
Multinational project involving
Boeing, Norway's Kvaerner
Group, Russia's Energiya
spacecraft builder and
Ukraine's Yuzhnoye rocket
company
Significant savings over
conventional launch
6000 kg lift capability
Launch to all inclinations from
a single site
8 Successful launches since
3/99

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 Launch
Sequence of Events

2
3

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Station Keeping

64 Km

64 Km

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Gravitational Effects on the
Satellite

Sun

Gs
Ps

Gm

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 Drift Pattern

64 Km

Corrections
Applied
6 Weeks
64 Km 6 Weeks
Equator

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Batteries

Autumn
Equinox

Sun

Spring
Equinox

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Antenna Characteristics

Beam width angle becomes wider

as antenna becomes smaller or
the signal is lower in frequency.

Beam width angle becomes narrow

as antenna becomes larger or
the signal is higher in frequency.

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Satellite Components

Transponders
Antennas
Power System & Solar
Panels
Guidance System
Propulsion Jets
RF Equipment
Switching and
Redundancy
Components

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 What is a Transponder ?
Satellite equipment that receives signals on the uplink,
translates them to the downlink frequency, and amplifies them
for retransmission to earth
Usually 12-16 Transponders per satellite (Ku-Band) – 36-72
MHz each
Transponder Components:
Low Noise pre-amplifier
Frequency Converter
Mixer
Internal multiplexer (IMUX)
High Power Traveling wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA)
Output isolator
Output switching
Output multiplexer (OMUX)

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 Transponder Block Diagram

RX Antenna TX Antenna
14.0-14.5 GHz (F1) 11.7- 12.2 GHz

Mixer

Band Pass
IMUX
Filter

Low Noise High Power

Amplifier Amplifier

Output after mixer

Local Oscillator (F2)
F1-F2
F1-F2 and F1
F1+F2
+F2
F1-2F2
F1-2F2 F1+2F2
F1+2F2
F1-3F2
F1-3F2 F1+3F2
F1+3F2 Unwanted Harmonics
F1-4F2
F1-4F2 F1+4F2
F1+4F2
.. ..
.. ..
.. ..
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 Propagation Delay

Ad

Bd
B

Reference Point
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Forward Error Correction
• Convolutional Coding (Viterbi Decoding)
• Reed Solomon
• Concatenated Viterbi

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 Link Budget
The process of correctly sizing uplink and downlink paths for:
Satellite
Hub
Remotes
Takes into account:
Satellite performance
Path Loss
Atmospheric effects
Frequency bands
Uplink antenna and amplifier performance
Download antenna size and receiver noise figure

PR = PT + 20 - 1 + 30 - 2 - 204 + 30 -1 + 60 = P T - 68 dB

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