AERO9610 – The Space Segment

Week 8-1 Communication Subsystem

 Summary
In this lecture, we will learn
• Communication System Architecture
• Communication Radios
• Communication Antennas
• Communication Link Equation
• Communication Conceptual Design

2
 Satellite Communication
Can you think of a Space Mission for which the space segment did not
need to communicate data to Earth to fulfil its mission objectives?
Almost without exception, spacecraft must receive operating commands
and data from the ground and return (“telemeter”) data to the Earth.
Indeed, communications is usually so mission critical that it is the first
subsystem to be made redundant.

3
 Satellite Communications Overview
Baseband elements: collect, assemble, and store data, and interpret
commands (CDH, W8-2).
Radio Frequency elements: link the satellite with the Earth (Comms).

Figure 9.1, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of

Space Systems Second Edition
4
 Satellite Communication Architecture

Ground station

• Uplinks: the transmission of signals from ground stations to satellites

• Downlinks: the transmission of signals from satellites back to ground stations
• Crosslinks: communication links established between two or more satellites in space
• Relays: the use of intermediary satellites to facilitate communication between two distant locations that
cannot establish a direct link
• Telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C): the collection of telemetry data from the satellite, tracking
its position and trajectory, and sending commands to control its operation
5 https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/16-851-satellite-engineering-fall-2003/818606568cbb5f2e4116783f6eb0573e_l21satelitecomm2_done.pdf
 Satellite Communication Elements

6 Chapter 9.3, State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology, 2024

 Major Components in SmallSat
Communication Systems
• Radio or Modulator/Demodulator: on the transmit side it produces, modulates, codes, and amplifies an
electromagnetic wave to create a signal. A receiver decodes and demodulates received signals.
• Mixers: RF mixers are used in communications systems to change the frequency of the signal.
- An upconverter will convert the signal to a higher frequency for transmit.
- The downconverter will down convert a receive frequency to a lower one for processing.
• Filters: bandpass filters are used to reject undesired frequencies, typically before the lower noise amplifier
(LNA) or downconverter.
• Amplifier: a power or gain amplifier is required for a transmit system. An LNA is required for a receive
system.
- LNAs, amplify the (low power) received signal and minimise the system noise temperature.
• Antenna: increases the strength of a signal in a specific direction, relative to the same signal strength without
directionality
- Low-gain & omni-directional with a broad beam;
- Or high-gain & directional with a narrow beam.
• Encryption: a cryptographic unit is an integrated encryptor/decryptor device that provides secure uplink,
downlink, or crosslink for satellite communication links.
- Not necessary for SmallSats.

Chapter 9.2.3, State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology, 2024

7
 Space Communications Features
• Slant ranges between the spacecraft and the ground are typically large.
- Received signals are often incredibly week
- Time delays due to the finite speed of light must sometimes be considered.
• Doppler shift: received frequency different from the transmitted frequency due to the
high speed of spacecraft (up to )

- is the rate of change of slant range, is the transmitted frequency in , is the speed of light,
- Drawback: complicates receiver design, widens bandwidths, and lowers signal-to-noise ratios.
- Merit: forms the basis for some space-based navigation and tracking scheme.
• Short passes: For low-altitude satellites, passes may last only a few minutes.
- Many ground stations would be needed if continuous real-time coverage were required.
• Disturbances: the signal passes through the ionosphere and troposphere.

8 Chapter 9, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems Second Edition

 Satellite Communications Radio Waves

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/space-operations/space-communications-and-navigation-
9 scan-program/scan-outreach/fun-facts/
 Satellite Communications Frequency Bands
Satellite communications are conducted over a wide range of frequency bands.
• The typical bands considered for small satellites are UHF, S, X, and Ka.
• VHF and UHF are most most mature (amateur frequencies). Band Frequency
• Shifting towards higher-frequency S and X, with Ka-band also being used for VHF 30 to 300 MHz
UHF 300 to 1000 MHz
recent & future small satellite communications. L 1 to 2 GHz
- driven by a need for higher data rates. S 2 to 4 GHz
- generally greater atmospheric and rain attenuation adding to increased free C 4 to 8 GHz
space loss. X 8 to 12 GHz
- compensations: higher power transmission and/or high gain antennas with Ku 12 to 18 GHz
narrower beamwidths. Moving to higher-gain antennas increases the pointing K 18 to 27 GHz
accuracy required for closing the link. Ka 27 to 40 GHz
• Satellite Tracking, Telemetry & Command (TT&C) is typically conducted over S- V 40 to 75 GHz
band.
• NASA Near Space Network (NSN) for NASA spacecraft using the government
bands of S-band, X-band and Ka-band.
• Non-NASA spacecraft: do-it-yourself to pay-per-pass services.

10
 Policies and Licensing
• As well as determining the launching state and correct registration of your small satellite, frequency
coordination is essential.
- The usable sections of the electromagnetic spectrum are limited
- It is essential to avoid interference and disruption of operations when using radio frequencies for
satellite communication
• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) manages the radio frequencies, and even the use of
Earth’s geostationary orbit. It has defined four types of satellite services:
- Commercial services, amateur satellite services, experimental stations, and industrial, scientific, and
medical stations.
• National telecommunication regulatory authority: Australian Communications and Media Authority
• What to do before you launch or communicate with a satellite
- Understand what to achieve and follow the rules for space-based communication systems
- the spectrum you need
- which licence is the most suitable
- which frequency you can operate on
- Apply for the right radiocommunications licence to use or operate a satellite network. The licence
authorises:
- communication between space objects and ground stations in Australia
- space research
- radioastronomy activities
- To avoid interference, you may also need ACMA to coordinate with existing and planned networks.
11 https://swfound.org/media/188605/small_satellite_program_guide_-_chapter_5_-_legal_and_regulatory_considerations_by_chris_johnson.pdf
 Radios
Radio or Modulator/Demodulator for SmallSat downlink are
transceivers (transmitter and receiver in one).
- Transceivers convert digital information into an analog RF signal using a
variety of modulation and coding schemes.
- The ISIS VHF uplink/UHF
Radios for TT&C are designed for low data rates, with high reliability and downlink transceiver is a full
only need to transmit health data and receive commands. duplex communication system for
CubeSat TT&C applications
- Traditional radios may be locked to a single frequency band and
modulation/coding scheme based on their design and build.
• Software defined radios (SDR) are implemented in software by
using the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) or Field Programmable
Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
• Efficient modulation and coding schemes increase the data rate and Example of software defined radio,
tunable in the range 70 MHz to 6
meet bandwidth constraints for CubeSat spacecraft. GHz. Credit: GomSpace.

Chapter 9.2.8, State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology, 2024

12
 Modulation of Radio-Frequency Carriers
• Un unmodulated carrier signal:

• Modulation: Insert data onto a high

frequency RF carrier wave (better suited to
propagate over large distances)
- Amplitude modulation
- Frequency modulation
- Phase modulation
- Polarisation
- Modulation Techniques
- ASK - Amplitude shift keying
- FSK - Frequency shift keying
- PSK/BSK/QPSK - Phase shift keying/Binary phase
shift keying/Quadriphased phase shift keying
Credits: Dr Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Ph.D. KiboCUBE Academy

13
 Modulation Methods
• Modulation: Data conversion of digital to analogue
signals
Term Description
• Demodulation: Data conversion analogue to digital AM Amplitude Modulation
signals FM Frequency Modulation
• Continuous wave (CW): = no modulation (just PM Phase Modulation
ON/OFF carrier RF) → simple, legacy, but robust PQM Phase Quadrature Modulation
• FM + FSK or AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift Keying) is PCM Pulsed-Code Modulation
PPM Pulse Position Modulation
popular for university missions to communicate digital ASK Amplitude Shift Keying
data based on the protocol (AX.25 in amateur) FSK Frequency Shift Keying
- 1200bps is nominal usage PSK Phase Shift Keying
• GMSK 9600bps or more high speed BPSK Bi-Phase Shift Keying
• To achieve higher bitrate communication, advanced QPSK Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
GMS Gaussian Filtered Minimum Shift Keying
modulation methods must be considered. K
Credits: Dr Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Ph.D. KiboCUBE Academy

KiboCUBE Academy Lecture 09, Dr. Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Introduction to CubeSat Communication System
14
 Propagation of Radio Waves
Consider an infinitesimally small transmitter in free space that is radiating an
electromagnetic wave with power watts. The wave front, coming from a point
source, must be spherically symmetric. When the wave front arrives at a distance
from the source, the ideal power flux density is:

A receiving aperture of physical area and “effective area” (aperture efficiency,

typically around 55%) intercepts a fraction of the total radiated power:

This is a simple form of the “one-

way radar range equation” used in
RF link design.

15 https://resources.pcb.cadence.com/blog/2023-understanding-rf-propagation-types-and-properties
 Antennas
An “antenna” is a device that couples
electromagnetic radiation between free space and a
transmitter or receiver and, at the same time,
increases the intensity of radiation in a preferred
direction.
• All current-flowing conductors can emit RF
potentially = micro-dipole model
- Tiny copper line on PCB is always emitting RF
• Antenna performance is affected by
- Length (corresponding to target frequency)
- Material (permittivity)
- Shape (rod, plate, circle, ring, cubic, corn, etc.)
- Combination of multiple antennas (arraying)
- Relationship to ground plane (distance and GND
Credits: Dr Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Ph.D. KiboCUBE Academy
plane area))

16
 Major Characteristics of Antennas
• Antenna Gain: [dB is logarithmic scale] (i stands for Isotropic antenna)
• Antenna Pattern: Wide (broad) or narrow (beam)
• EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power)
• (Antenna gain-to-noise-temperature)
• Polarisation: Linear or circular (RHCP, LHCP)
• Deployable or fixed
HPBW (Half Power Beam Width) [deg]

KiboCUBE Academy Lecture 09, Dr. Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Introduction to CubeSat Communication System
17
 Antennas Types
• Fixed antennas:
- do not require any power or
triggering mechanisms.
- remain stationary in the position.
- includes patch, array, monopole,
(from left to right) CubeSat-compatible S-band patch antenna (IQ Wireless), X-band high-
omni-directional, and horn antennas. gain antenna and pointing mechanism (Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd.), and Ka-band
• Deployable antennas: transmitter with a horn antenna (Astro Digital).
(from left to right) Example of deployable quadrifilar helical antenna (Helical
- require power to deploy and use Communication Technologies), SNaP spacecraft with Haigh-Farr’s deployable UHF
mechanisms to configure. Crossed Dipole antenna (Space Missile and Defense Command), and EnduroSat UHF
- include whip antennas, parabolic antenna with EnduroSat solar panels (EnduroSat).

reflectors, reflectarrays, helical and

turnstile antennas
- major reason of “CubeSat Dead on
Arrival” status might be antenna
deployment failure

18 Chapter 9.0, State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology, 2024

 Turnstile Antenna
• Combination of 4 antenna elements (= a set of 2 dipole
antennas = cross-dipole)
• Single element’s properties are same as dipole case
• Input RF power is fed to 4 antenna elements by
changing the phase every
• Omnidirectional radiation pattern
• Circular polarisation: Electric field rotates in the
direction of propagation
- Much more robust than linear polarisation for space comms
- RHCP: Right Hand Circular Polarisation
- LHCP: Left Hand Circular Polarisation
- GS antenna’s polarisation must match the satellite’s condition

KiboCUBE Academy Lecture 09, Dr. Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Introduction to CubeSat Communication System
19
 CubeSat Kit Examples
• Structure + Solar Panel + Antenna= Standard Kit
• Deployable antenna integrated structure
• Frequency and data rate are standardised for
typical amateur (VHF/UHF) CubeSat missions
• Users do not need to consider detailed design in ISIS CubeSat antenna system for 1U/3U

the case of the combination of recommended

TX/RX and antenna
• Example (right Images)
- ISISPASE: CubeSat Antenna System for 1U/3U
- GomSpace: NanoCom ANT430
• If TX/RX or antenna were to be newly developed, GomSpace NanoCom ANT430
turnstile antenna
users should verify the combined performance of
antennas and TX/RX hardware

KiboCUBE Academy Lecture 09, Dr. Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Introduction to CubeSat Communication System
20
 Directive Gain of Antennas
• Our hypothetical satellite is radiating its RF power uniformly in every direction of
space (“isotropic” radiation) instead of concentrating it in the direction of the receiver.
• A spacecraft transmitting antenna concentrates the radiation in the direction of the
receiver by a factor called the transmitting gain, .
- The one-way radar range equation then becomes

- The product is the “effective” isotropic radiated power, EIRP, , in watts.

• The gain of an antenna is the ratio of the power radiated (or received) per unit solid
angle by the antenna in a given direction to the power radiated (or received) per unit
solid angle by an isotropic antenna fed with the same power.

- wavelength , is the speed of light , and is the frequency of the electromagnetic

wave.

21
 The One-way Radar Range Equation
• Three different forms, depending on whether the antennas at the transmitter and
receiver are fixed in gain at one end and area at the other, both fixed in gain, or both
fixed in area:
- Gain-area:

- Gain-gain:

- Area-area:

• The frequency dependence of the fundamental link design equation depends totally on
the nature of the constraints, i.e., gain or area, on the antennas at each end of the link.

22
 Power Flux Density
• A surface of area situated at a distance from the
transmitting antenna subtends a solid angle at the
transmitting antenna. It receives the power:

• The magnitude is called the power flux density,

in .

23 Section 5.3.2, Gerard Maral, et. al., Satellite Communications Systems 6th Edition
 Received Power in Free Space
A receiving antenna of effective aperture area located at a distance from the
transmitting antenna receives power equal to

• : Transmitter power, units: watts, units :

• : Transmitter antenna gain, units :
• : Range/Free space loss, , units :
• Receiver gain, units :

The power received by a receiving antenna

24 Figure 5.8, Gerard Maral, et. al., Satellite Communications Systems 6th Edition
 Communication Link Equation
Energy/bit to noise density ratio

• : Energy per bit, units: watt-seconds, units :

• : Noise spectral density, , units: watts/hertz , units :
• : Received carrier power, units: watts, units :
• : Data rate, units: Bits/second
• : Transmitter power, units: watts, units :
• : Line loss, units :
• : Modulation attenuation, units :
• : Transmitter antenna gain, units :
• : Space loss, units
• : Polarisation attenuation path loss, units :
• : Atmospheric attenuation, units :
• Receiver gain, units :
• : Boltzmann constant, , units: , units :
• : System noise temperature, units:

25
 The Decibels
• Power in communications varies over many orders of magnitudes
• Typically use the decibel measure

- A ratio of 100 thus becomes 20 .

- Question: how can we do the conversion by using Maltab?
• Or express absolute quantities in notation by using “ with respect to ” or .
- Power can be expressed in W or , i.e., above 1 watt.

- Antenna gain is often expressed in , i.e., above an ideal isotropic radiator

- By combining the terms , path loss between two ideal isotropic (unity gain) antennas at a
distance in and frequency in

26
 Received Power in Units dB
The received power level in , i.e., , is:

• Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power:

• Line loss , units :
• Modulation attenuation , units :
• Path loss due to free space propagation: , units :
• Receiver antenna gain , units :
• Polarisation attenuation path loss , units :
• Atmospheric attenuation
• : Losses due to rain attenuation, ionosphere effects, depointing, etc.

27 Figure 5.11, Geometry of the link, Gerard Maral, et. al., Satellite Communications Systems 6th Edition
 Example - Uplink Received Power
Consider the transmitting antenna of an Earth station equipped with an antenna of diameter . This antenna is fed
with a power , which is , at a frequency . It radiates this power towards a geostationary satellite situated at a
distance of from the station on the axis of the antenna. The beam of the satellite receiving antenna . It is assumed
that the Earth station is at the centre of the region covered by the satellite antenna and consequently benefits from
the maximum gain of this antenna. The efficiency of the satellite antenna is assumed to be and that of the earth
station to be . What is the power received by the satellite antenna?

The radiation pattern indicates the variations of

gain with direction, so it is non-isotropic.
• The angular beamwidth is the angle defined by the
directions corresponding to a given gain fallout with
respect to the maximum value.
• The beamwidth corresponds to the angle between the
directions in which the gain falls to half its maximum
value.

Figure Antenna radiation pattern: (left) polar

representation; (right) Cartesian representation.

28 Example 5.2, Gerard Maral, et. al., Satellite Communications Systems 6th Edition
 Example - Uplink Received Power
The gain of the Earth transmitting antenna is

The EIRP of the earth station (on the axis) is given by:

The power flux density at the earth station situated at the satellite antenna boresight is calculated as

The attenuation of free space

The gain of the satellite receiving antenna

The power received (in ) by the satellite antenna is obtained

29 Example 5.2, Gerard Maral, et. al., Satellite Communications Systems 6th Edition
 Example - Downlink Received Power
Consider the transmitting antenna of a geostationary satellite fed with a power , that is, at a frequency , and
radiating this power in a beam of width equal to . An Earth station equipped with a diameter antenna is located
on the axis of the antenna at a distance of from the satellite. The efficiency of the satellite antenna is assumed to
be and that of the earth station to be . What is the power received by the Earth antenna?

The gain of the satellite antenna is the same in transmission as in reception since the beamwidths are made the
same (notice that this requires two separate antennas on the satellite since the diameters cannot be the same and
are in the ratio ). Hence:

The power flux density at the earth station situated at the satellite antenna boresight is calculated as

The gain of the ground station receiving antenna is obtained

The attenuation of free space

The power (in ) received by the antenna of the earth station is obtained

30 Example 5.2, Gerard Maral, et. al., Satellite Communications Systems 6th Edition
 Bit Error Rate
• Bit Error Rate (BER) is the primary Figure of Merit for digital link
performance
• Energy/bit () must exceed the noise spectral density () to achieve a
required BER
• As an example, assume this transmitted bit sequence:
110001011
and the following received bit sequence:
010101001
The number of bit errors (the underlined bits) is, in this case, 3. The
BER is 3 incorrect bits divided by 9 transferred bits, resulting in a
BER of 0.333 or 33.3%.
31
 Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• An important design parameter is the signal-to-noise ratio, .
• For digital communications, we often use the bandwidth-independent parameter ,
which is the energy per bit divided by the noise spectrum density.
- , of course, is simply signal power divided by the bit rate, so that is equivalent to in a bandwidth
equal to the bit rate.
- Noise and bandwidth combine ultimately to limit the rate and accuracy of information transfer.
• Shannon theory:

- Shannon’s theory states that information rate is a function of bandwidth, and S/N.
- A channel wide (bandwidth) with a signal-to-noise ratio of could transmit no more than
bits/second (Shannon capacity), error free.
- In fact we do much worse than this in real systems.

32
 Major Considerations for Satellite Comms
• Trade data rate, power consumption, and total mass
- e.g., high data rate needs would select a high frequency and a directional high-gain antenna for
downlink.
• Perform link budget analyses to
- determine the minimum power needed for a specific ground station antenna,
- factor in rain and atmospheric attenuation, as well as modulation and coding, and
- vary antenna size, RF output power and data rate.
• Consider the antenna pointing
- CubeSats frequently trade high-gain antennas for low-gain, omni-directional ones to maintain the link.
- CubeSats may also change their attitude to point a body-mounted antenna.

Primary Design Process for Satellite Communication

Step
1. Identify Requirements
2. Select Frequency
3. Select and Design Hardware
4. Select Data Protocol
5. Identify Link Budget
6. Trade-off analysis & Iterate
33
Information Required
Mission type and orbit (LEO or GEO), data amount and update frequency
Type: Amateur or experimental or commercial, bandwidth, modulation
Antenna spec. and TX/RX spec.
Data packet format and error correction method
Link equation and margin
All information above.
Credits: Dr Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Ph.D. KiboCUBE Academy
 Example - Downlink Budget

34
 Nanosatellite Conceptual Design
System level requirements of the nanosatellite at a altitude
• to provide a spacecraft repeater for digital traffic between amateur radio
operators at using the AX25 amateur radio protocol for digital packets.
• to carry aa radiation dosimeter to record and store radiation spectra and
transmit the data to the control station.
• Provide a timer to deploy two monopole antennas.
• Provide a bit error rate of one part in ten million for the uplink and
downlink.

Deployed configuration

35 Figure 16.2, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems Second Edition

 Nanosatellite Conceptual Design

Spacecraft telecommunications system schematic.

36 Figure 16.11, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems Second Edition

 Required Transmitter Power
For binary frequency shift keying (BFSK) signalling, the BER (bit error rate) is given by

so that the required is

The required channel signal power to noise spectral density is given by

where the transmitter power to achieve the BER follows as

where the symbols are defined in the following link budget.

37 Section 16.12, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems Second Edition

 Nanosatellite Link Budget Constants

Identifier Symbol Units Value

Constants
Speed of light 3.000E + 08
Boltzmann's constant l.381E-23 -228.6
Frequency l .45825E + 08
Bit rate 1.200E + 03 +30.8
Maximum range (horizon)
Bit error rate - 1.000E- 07 -70.0
Design bit energy/Noise
- 3.085E + 01 +14.9
energy density

38 Table 16.6, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems Second Edition

 Nanosatellite Link Budget Table
Identifier Symbol Units Value
Transmitter
Modulation attenuation - 0.794E + 00 -1.0
Line attenuation - 0.794E + 00 -1.0
Antenna gain - 0.501E + 00 -3.0
Propagation path
Space attenuation - 3.820E - 1.5 -144.2
Polarisation attenuation - 0.794E + 00 -1.0
Atmospheric attenuation - 0.794E + 00 -1.0
Receiver
Antenna gain - 0.501E + 00 -3
System noise temperature 4.000E + 02 +26.0

Required transmitter power W 0.535E + 00 -3.4

Transmit power margin factor 3.465E + 00 +5.7
Transmitter power per antenna W 2.000E + 00 +4.8
Total transmitter power W 4.000E + 00

The transmitter power required to achieve the of is , and a margin of 3.465 yields a design
transmitter power of .
Table 16.6, Vincent, L. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems Second Edition
39
 Take-aways
In this lecture, we have to
• Understand satellite communication architecture and elements
• Understand the functionality of radios and antennas and list some common
antenna types.
• Understand the reason for frequency registration for satellite communication.
• Understand different frequency bands for different applications, such as the
amateur frequencies and TT&C frequency.
• Understand the power flux density of an antenna.
• Apply and analyse the gain of an antenna.
• Apply and analyse the received power and link equation in units .
• Understand the bit error rate.
• Understand the Shannon theory and capacity.

40