Introduction to Satellite

Communications

Joe Montana
IT 488 - Fall 2003

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The class notes used in this course are based on two different sets of class notes provided by Dr. Jeremy Allnutt and Dr.
James W. LaPean when teaching “Satellite Communications” courses. Material from Leila Ribeiro is also used. All
material is used with the permission of the author.

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 Agenda

• History
• Overview and Basic concepts of Satellite
Communications
• Spectrum Allocation
• Satellite Systems Applications
• System Elements
• System Design Considerations
• Current Developments and Future Trends 3
Important Milestones (before 1950)
Putting the concepts together

1600 Tycho Brache’s experimental observations on planetary motion.

1609-1619 Kepler’s laws on planetary motion
1926 First liquid propellant rocket lauched by R.H. Goddard in the US.
1927 First transatlantic radio link communication
1942 First successful launch of a V-2 rocket in Germany.
1945 Arthur Clarke publishes his ideas on geostationary satellites for
worldwide communications (GEO concept).

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 Propulsion
Rocket motors produce thrust in a process which can be explained by Newton's third law (for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction). In the case of rocket engines,
the reactionary force is produced by the combustion of fuel in a combustion chamber. This force then acts upon the rocket nozzle, causing the reaction which propels the vehicle.
Since rocket motors are designed to operate in space, they require an oxidizer in order for combustion to take place. This oxidizer is, in many cases, liquid oxygen. There are three
different types of rocket engines:
 1. Solid propelled rockets
 2. Liquid propelled rockets
 3. Nuclear rockets

The advantages and disadvantages of each type are shown below.

Solid Fueled Rockets

In solid fueled rockets, the fuel and oxidizer both in solid form and thoroughly mixed during manufacture. The section where the fuel is stored is also the combustion chamber.
One end of the chamber is closed (the payload of the rocket would be attached to this end) and the other end of the chamber is a rocket nozzle. Advantages of solid fuel rockets
include simplicity and reliability, since there are no moving parts and high propellant density, which results in a smaller sized rocket. Among the disadvantages are these: once you
turn on a solid rocket motor, you can't shut it off. You have to wait for the fuel to run out. Also, the thrust of a solid fuel rocket decreases greatly during its burn time.

Liquid Fueled Rockets

In liquid fueled rockets the fuel and oxidizer are stored in liquid form and pumped into the combustion chamber. There are two types of liquid propellent rockets; bi-propellant
rockets, which have separate fuel and oxidizer, and mono-propellant rockets, which have their fuel and oxidizer combined into a single liquid. Liquid fueled rockets are superior to
solid fuel rockets in many respects; they can be shut off and subsequently restarted, they generally have a higher exhaust velocity, which means lower burn times are required, and
they can be throttled to produce more or less thrust, as needed. However, liquid fuel rockets are highly complex, and therefore have a lower rate of reliability.
Nuclear Rockets

Nuclear rockets work by routing hydrogen through a nuclear reactor. The reactor is at a high temperature, which causes the hydrogen fuel to expand as it leaves the nozzle,
producing a high amount of thrust. Nuclear rockets do not need an oxidizer, and they require much less fuel per pound of payload than liquid or solid fuel rockets. This allows a
vehicle using a nuclear rocket to be more versatile than one which uses chemical rockets. Disadvantages of nuclear rockets include radiation effects caused by the nuclear reactor,
and the high weight of the engine assembly.

Odysseus
Recent studies have shown nuclear propulsion for Mars missions offers several major advantages over all-chemical propulsion systems. Therefore, a nuclear engine was selected
for the Odysseus program. The Oddyseus II engine will produce 1,112,500 Newtons of thrust at a weight of 9100 kg. The engine will be approximately 3m in diameter and 6
meters long.
 

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V2 Rocket

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 Important Milestones (1950’s)
Putting the pieces together
1956 - Trans-Atlantic cable opened (about 12 telephone channels – operator).
1957 First man-made satellite launched by former USSR (Sputnik, LEO).
1958 First US satellite launched (SCORE). First voice communication established
via satellite (LEO, lasted 35 days in orbit after batteries failed).

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Sputnik - I

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Explorer - I

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 Important Milestones (1960’s)
First satellite communications

1960 First passive communication satellite launched into space (Large

balloons, Echo I and II).
1962: First non-government active communication satellite launched
Telstar I (MEO).
1963: First satellite launched into geostationary orbit Syncom 1 (comms.
failed).
1964: International Telecomm. Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) created.
1965 First communications satellite launched into geostationary orbit for
commercial use Early Bird (re-named INTELSAT 1).

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ECHO I

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Telstar I

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Intelsat I

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 Important Milestones (1970’s)
GEO applications development

1972 First domestic satellite system operational (Canada).

INTERSPUTNIK founded.
1975 First successful direct broadcast experiment (one year duration;
USA-India).
1977 A plan for direct-to-home satellite broadcasting assigned by the
ITU in regions 1 and 3 (most of the world except the Americas).
1979 International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) established.

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 Important Milestones (1980’s)
GEO applications expanded

1981 First reusable launch vehicle flight.

1982 International maritime communications made operational.
1983 ITU direct broadcast plan extended to region 2.
1984 First direct-to-home broadcast system operational (Japan).
1987 Successful trials of land-mobile communications (Inmarsat).
1989-90 Global mobile communication service extended to land mobile
and aeronautical use (Inmarsat)

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 Important Milestones (1990’s)

1990-95:
- Several organizations propose the use of non-geostationary (NGSO)
satellite systems for mobile communications.
- Continuing growth of VSATs around the world.
- Spectrum allocation for non-GEO systems.
- Continuing growth of direct broadcast systems. DirectTV created.
1997:
- Launch of first batch of LEO for hand-held terminals (Iridium).
- Voice service telephone-sized desktop and paging service pocket size
mobile terminals launched (Inmarsat).
1998: Iridium initiates services.
1999: Globalstar Initiates Service.
2000: ICO initiates Service. Iridium fails and system is sold to Boeing.

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Iridium

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Overview and Basic concepts of
Satellite Communications

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Main orbit types: GEO 36,000 km

MEO 5,000 – 15,000 km

LEO 500 -1000 km

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USEFUL ORBITS 1:
GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT
In the equatorial plane
Orbital Period = 23 h 56 min. 4.091 s
= one Sidereal Day (defined as one
complete rotation relative to the fixed stars)
Satellite appears to be stationary over a point
on the equator to an observer
Radius of orbit, r, = 42,164.57 km

NOTE: Radius = orbital height + radius of the earth

Average radius of earth = 6,378.14 km
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USEFUL ORBITS 2:
Low Earth Orbit (>250 km); T  92 minutes
Polar (Low Earth) Orbit; earth rotates about
23o each orbit; useful for surveillance
Sun Synchronous Orbit(example,
Tiros-N/NOAA satellites used for search and
rescue operations)
8-hour and 12-hour orbits
Molniya orbit (Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO); T
 11h 38 min; highly eccentric orbit;
inclination 63.4 degrees

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MOLNIYA VIEW OF THE EARTH
(Apogee remains over the northern hemisphere)

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Molniya Variants (HEO’s)
Tundra Orbit – Lies entirely above the Van Allen
belts.
The Russian Tundra system, which employs
two satellites in two 24-hour orbits separated
by 180 deg around the Earth, with an apogee
of 53,622 km and a perigee of 17,951 km.
The Molniya orbit crosses the Van Allen belts twice
for each revolution, resulting in a reduction of
satellite life due to impact on electronics
the Russian Molniya system employs three
satellites in three 12-hour orbits separated by
120 deg around the Earth, with an apogee of
39,354 km and a perigee of 1000 km.

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 Molniya Variants (HEO’s)
The LOOPUS orbit.The LOOPUS
system employs three satellites in
three eight-hour orbits separated
by 120 deg around the Earth, with
an apogee of 39,117 km and a
perigee of 1238 km.
The ELLIPSO orbit

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A Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO)

A satellite in HEO typically has a perigee at about 500 km above the surface
of the Earth and an apogee as high as 50,000 km. The orbit is usually
inclined at 63.4 deg to provide communications services to locations at high
northern latitudes. This inclination value is selected to avoid rotation of the
apses; thus, a line from the Earth's center to the apogee always intersects
the Earth's surface at a latitude of 63.4 deg North. Orbit period varies from
eight to 24 hours. Owing to the high eccentricity of the orbit, a satellite
spends about two-thirds of the orbital period near apogee, during which time
it appears to be almost stationary to an observer on the Earth (a
phenomenon known as `apogee dwell'). During the brief time the satellite is
below the local horizon, a hand-off to another satellite in the same orbit is
required in order to avoid loss of communications. Free space loss and
propagation delay for this type of orbit are comparable to that of
geosynchronous satellites. However, due to the comparatively great
movement of a satellite in HEO relative to an observer on the Earth, satellite
systems using this type of orbit must cope with large Doppler shifts.

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A Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO)
By setting the altitude parameters at 10,000 km, you generated a medium-Earth orbit (MEO). This one happens to
be an Intermediate Circular Orbit (ICO), since the apogee and perigee are equal. Its orbit period measures about
seven hours. The maximum time during which a satellite in MEO orbit is above the local horizon for an observer on
the Earth is a few hours. A global communications system using this type of orbit requires relatively few satellites in
two to three orbital planes to achieve global coverage. MEO systems operate similarly to LEO systems. In MEO
systems, however, hand-over is less frequent, and propagation delay and free space loss are greater. Examples of
MEO (specifically ICO) systems are Inmarsat-P (10 satellites in 2 inclined planes at 10,355 km), and Odyssey (12
satellites in 3 inclined planes, also at 10,355 km).

A Low-Earth Orbit (LEO)

By selecting a relatively short period (90 minutes), we have generated a satellite in low-Earth orbit
(LEO). A typical LEO is elliptical or, more often, circular, with a height of less than 2000 km above
the surface of the Earth. The orbit period at those altitudes ranges between 90 minutes and two
hours. The radius of the footprint of a communications satellite in LEO ranges between 3000 and
4000 km. The maximum time during which a satellite in LEO is above the local horizon for an
observer on the Earth is 20 minutes. A global communications system using this type of orbit
requires a large number of satellites, in a number of different orbital planes. When a satellite
serving a particular user moves below the local horizon, it must hand over its duties to a
succeeding one in the same orbit or in an adjacent one. Due to the comparatively great movement
of a satellite in LEO relative to an observer on the Earth, satellite systems using this type of orbit
must cope with large Doppler shifts. Satellites in LEO are also affected by atmospheric drag that
causes the orbit to gradually deteriorate.
Examples of major LEO systems are GlobalstarTM (48+8 satellites in 8 orbital planes at 1400 km)
and Iridium® (66+6 satellites in 6 orbital planes at 780 km). There are also a number of small LEO
systems, such as PoSat, built by SSTL in 1993 and launched into an 822 by 800 km orbit, inclined
at 98.6 deg. 26
Geosynchronous & Geostationary Orbits
A geosynchronous orbit is defined as an orbit with a period of one sidereal day (1436.1 minutes). A geostationary orbit is a special case of a
geosynchronous orbit with zero inclination and zero eccentricity, i.e., an equatorial, circular orbit. A satellite in a geostationary orbit
appears fixed above a location on the surface of the Earth. In practice, a geosynchronous orbit typically has small non-zero values for
inclination and eccentricity, causing the satellite to trace out a small figure eight in the sky. The footprint or service area of a
geosynchronous satellite covers almost one-third of the Earth's surface (from about 75 deg South to about 75 deg North latitude), so that
near-global coverage can be achieved with as few as three satellites in orbit. A disadvantage of a geosynchronous satellite in a voice
communication system is the round-trip delay of approximately 250 milliseconds.

A Polar Orbit
The plane of a polar orbit is inclined at about 90 deg to the equatorial plane, intersecting the North and South poles. The orbit is fixed in
space, and the Earth rotates underneath. Thus, in principle, the coverage of a single satellite in a polar orbit encompasses the entire globe,
although there are long periods during which the satellite is out of view of a particular ground station. This gap in coverage may be
acceptable for a store-and-forward communications system. Accessibility can, of course, be improved through the deployment of two or
more satellites in different polar orbits.
Most small LEO systems employ polar or near-polar orbits. An example is the COSPAS-SARSAT Maritime Search and Rescue system, which
uses eight satellites in near polar orbits: four SARSAT satellites moving in 860 km orbits inclined at 99 deg (which makes them Sun-
synchronous) and four COSPAS satellites moving in 1000 km orbits inclined at 82 deg.

A Sun-Synchronous Orbit
In a Sun-synchronous or helio-synchronous orbit, the angle between the orbital plane and Sun remains constant, resulting in consistent
light conditions for the satellite. This can be achieved by careful selection of orbital altitude, eccentricity and inclination, producing a
precession of the orbit (node rotation) of approximately 1 deg eastward each day, equal to the apparent motion of the Sun. This condition
can be achieved only for a satellite in a retrograde orbit. A satellite in Sun-synchronous orbit crosses the equator and each latitude at the
same time each day. This type of orbit is therefore advantageous for an Earth observation satellite, since it provides constant lighting
conditions.

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 Parameters Determining Orbit Size and
Shape
Parameter Definition

Semimajor Axis Half the distance between the two points in the orbit that are farthest apart

Apogee/Perigee Measured from the center of the Earth to the points of maximum and minimum radius in the orbit
Radius

Apogee/Perigee Measured from the "surface" of the Earth (a theoretical sphere with a radius equal to the equatorial radius of
Altitude the Earth) to the points of maximum and minimum radius in the orbit

Period The duration of one orbit, based on assumed two-body motion

Mean Motion The number of orbits per solar day (86,400 sec/24 hour), based on assumed two-body motion

Eccentricity The shape of the ellipse comprising the orbit, ranging between a perfect circle (eccentricity = 0) and a
parabola (eccentricity = 1)

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 Orientation of Orbital Plane in Space
Parameter Definition

Inclination The angle between the orbital plane and the Earth's equatorial plane (commonly used as a
reference plane for Earth satellites)

Right Ascension of the The angle in the Earth's equatorial plane measured eastward from the vernal equinox to the
Ascending Node ascending node of the orbit

Argument of Perigee The angle, in the plane of the satellite's orbit, between the ascending node and the perigee of the
orbit, measured in the direction of the satellite's motion

Longitude of the Ascending The Earth-fixed longitude of the ascending node

Node

The ascending node (referenced in three of the above definitions) is the point in the satellite's orbit where it crosses the Earth's equatorial
plane going from south to north.
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Parameters determining orbit orientation

 
         
                                                                           

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 Satellite Location parameters
To specify the satellite's location within its orbit at epoch.

Parameter Definition

True Anomaly The angle from the eccentricity vector (points toward perigee) to the satellite position vector, measured in
the direction of satellite motion and in the orbit plane.

Mean Anomaly The angle from the eccentricity vector to a position vector where the satellite would be if it were always
moving at its angular rate.

Eccentric Anomaly An angle measured with an origin at the center of an ellipse from the direction of perigee to a point on a
circumscribing circle from which a line perpendicular to the semimajor axis intersects the position of the
satellite on the ellipse.

Argument of The sum of the True Anomaly and the Argument of Perigee.
Latitude

Time Past The elapsed time since the last ascending node crossing.
Ascending Node

Time Past Perigee The elapsed time since last perigee passage.

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Parameters determining satellite position

                                                              

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 Orbital Velocities and Periods

Satellite Orbital Orbital Orbital

System Height (km) Velocity (km/s) Period
h min s
INTELSAT 35,786.43 3.0747 23 56 4.091
ICO-Global 10,255 4.8954 5 55 48.4
Skybridge 1,469 7.1272 1 55 17.8
Iridium 780 7.4624 1 40 27.0

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GSO AND NGSO FACTORS
NGSO OPTIONS:
LEO
MEO
HEO

AVOID
RADIATION
BELTS IF
POSSIBLE
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Coverage vs. Altitude

Satellite Altitude (km)

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 LEO, MEO and GEO Orbit Periods
30.0

25.0

20.0
Hours

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000
Altitude [km]

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 Minimum Delay for two hops
300.0

250.0

200.0
Delay [ms]

150.0

100.0

50.0

0.0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000
Altitude [km]

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Why do satellites stay moving
and in orbit?

v (velocity)

F2
(Inertial-Centrifugal
F1
Force)
(Gravitational
Force)

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Spectrum Allocation

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Frequency Spectrum concepts:

• Frequency: Rate at which an electromagnetic wave reverts its

polarity (oscillates) in cycles per second or Hertz (Hz).
• Wavelength: distance between wavefronts in space. Given in
meters as: = c/f
Where: c = speed of light (3x108 m/s in vacuum)
f = frequency in Hertz
• Frequency band: range of frequencies.
• Bandwidth: Size or “width” (in Hertz) or a frequency band.
• Electromagnetic Spectrum: full extent of all frequencies from
zero to infinity.
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Radio Frequencies (RF)
RF Frequencies: Part of the electromagnetic
spectrum ranging between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.
Interesting properties:
Efficient generation of signal power
Radiates into free space
Efficient reception at a different point.
Differences depending on the RF frequency used:
- Signal Bandwidth
- Propagation effects (diffraction, noise, fading)
- Antenna Sizes
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Microwave Frequencies
• Sub-range of the RF frequencies approximately from
1GHz to 30GHz. Main properties:
- Line of sight propagation (space and atmosphere).
- Blockage by dense media (hills, buildings, rain)
- Wide bandwidths compared to lower frequency bands.
- Compact antennas, directionality possible.
- Reduced efficiency of power amplification as frequency grows:
Radio Frequency Power OUT
Direct Current Power IN

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 Spectrum Regulation
International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Members from
practically all countries around the world.
• Allocates frequency bands for different purposes and
distribute them around the planet.
• Creates rules to limit RF Interference (RFI) between countries
that reuse same RF bands.
• Mediates disputes and creates rules to deal with harmful
interference when it occurs.
• Meets bi-annually with its members, to review rules and
allocations: World Radio Communication Conference (WRC).
• There are also the Regional Radio Communication
Conferences (RCC), which happen less often.
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 Radio Frequency Spectrum
Commonly Used Bands

SHF
AM HF VHF UHF L S C X Ku Ka V Q
0.1 1 10 100 1 10 100

MHz GHz

Terrestrial Bands

Space Bands

Shared (Terrestrial and Space)

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 Space-Earth Frequency Usability

Resonance frequencies
below 100GHz:
• 22.2GHz (H20)
• 53.5-65.2 GHz (Oxygen)

Atmospheric attenuation effects for Space-to-Earth as a function of frequency (clear air conditions).
(a) Oxygen; (b) Water vapor. [Source: ITU © 1988]

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 Insights on Frequency Selection:
(Part 1: Lower frequencies, stronger links)

LEO satellites need lower RF frequencies:

Omni-directional antennas on handsets have low gain -
typically G = 0 db = 1
Flux density F in W/m2 at the earth’s surface in any beam is
independent of frequency
Received power is F x A watts , where A is effective area of
antenna in square meters
For an omni-directional antenna A = G 2/ 4  = 2/ 4 
At 450 MHz, A = 353 cm2, at 20 GHz, A = 0.18
cm2
Difference is 33 dB - so don’t use 20 GHz with an omni!
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Insights on Frequency Selection:
(Part 2: Higher frequencies, higher capacity)
GEO satellites need more RF frequencies
High speed data links on GEO satellites need about 0.8 Hz
of RF bandwidth per bit/sec.

A 155 Mbps data link requires 125 MHz bandwidth

Available RF bandwidth: C band 500 MHz (All
GEO slots occupied) Ku band 750 MHz (Most GEO
slots occupied) Ka band 2000 MHz
(proliferating)
Q/V band ?

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Satellite Systems Applications

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Initial application of GEO Satellites:
Telephony
1965Early Bird 34 kg 240 telephone
circuits
1968Intelsat III 152 kg 1500 circuits

1986Intelsat VI 1,800 kg 33,000 circuits

2000Large GEO 3000 kg 8 - 15 kW power

1,200 kg payload

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Current GEO Satellite Applications:

Broadcasting - mainly TV at present

DirecTV, PrimeStar, etc.

Point to Multi-point communications

VSAT, Video distribution for Cable TV
Mobile Services
Motient (former American Mobile Satellite),
INMARSAT, etc.

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 Satellite Navigation:
GPS and GLONASS

GPS is a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite system

GPS satellites broadcast pulse trains with very
accurate time signals
A receiver able to “see” four GPS satellites can
calculate its position within 30 m anywhere in world
24 satellites in clusters of four, 12 hour orbital
period
“You never need be lost again”
Every automobile and cellular phone will eventually
have a GPS location read-out
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 LEO Satellites in year 2000
Several new systems are just starting service

Circular or inclined orbit with < 1400 km altitude

Satellite travels across sky from horizon to horizon in
5 - 15 minutes
Earth stations must track satellite or have omni-
directional antennas
Constellation of satellites is needed for continuous
communication.
Handoff needed.
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System Elements

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Satellite System Elements
Space Segment

Satellite Coverage Region

Earth SCC
Stations
TT&C Ground Station

Ground Segment
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Space Segment
– Satellite Launching Phase
– Transfer Orbit Phase
– Deployment
– Operation
TT&C - Tracking Telemetry and Command Station:
Establishes a control and monitoring link with satellite. Tracks orbit
distortions and allows correction planning. Distortions caused by
irregular gravitational forces from non-spherical Earth and due to
the influence of Sun and Moon forces.
SSC - Satellite Control Center, a.k.a.:
– OCC - Operations Control Center
– SCF - Satellite Control Facility
Provides link signal monitoring for Link Maintenance and
Interference monitoring.
– Retirement Phase

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Types of Satellite Stabilization
Spin Stabilization
Satellite is spun about the axis on which
the moment of inertia is maximum (ex., HS
376, most purchased commercial
communications satellite; first satellite
placed in orbit by the Space Shuttle.)
Three-Axis Stabilization
Bias momentum type (ex., INTELSAT V)
Zero momentum type (ex., Yuri)
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Satellite Subsystems
Communications
Antennas
Transponders
Common Subsystem (Bus Subsystem)
Telemetry/Command (TT&C)
Satellite Control (antenna pointing,attitude)
Propulsion
Electrical Power
Structure
Thermal Control
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Ground Segment
Collection of facilities, users and applications.

FSS – Fixed Satellite Service MSS – Mobile Satellite Service

Earth Station = Satellite Communication Station (air, ground or sea, fixed or mobile).
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System Design Considerations

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Basic Principles
Satellite

Uplink Downlink
Earth
Station Earth
Station

Source Output
Tx Information Rx
Information

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Signals
Signals:
Carried by wires as voltage or current
Transmitted through space as electromagnetic waves.
Analog:
• Voltage or Current proportional to signal; e.g., Telephone.
Digital: Generated by computers.
Ex. Binary = 1 or 0 corresponding to +1V or –1V.

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Separating Signals
Up and Down:
FDD: Frequency Division Duplexing.
f1 = Uplink
f2 = Downlink
TDD: Time Division Duplexing.
t1=Up, t2=Down, t3=Up, t4=Down,….
Polarization
V & H linear polarization
RH & LH circular polarizations

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Separating Signals
(so that many transmitters can use the same transponder simultaneously)

Between Users or “Channels” (Multiple Access):

FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access; assigns each
transmitter its own carrier frequency
f1 = User 1; f2 = User 2; f3 = User 3, …

TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access; each transmitter is given

its own time slot
t1=User_1, t2=User_2, t3=User_3, t4 = User_1, ...

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access; each transmitter transmits

simultaneously and at the same frequency and each transmission
is modulated by its own pseudo randomly coded bit stream
Code 1 = User 1; Code 2 = User 2; Code 3 = User 3

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Digital Communication System

TRANSMITTER

Source Source Channel Modulator

Data Coding Coding

RF
Channel

Output Source Channel Demodulator

Data Decoding Decoder

RECEIVER

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Current Developments and
Future Trends

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 Current Trends in Satellite
Communications

Bigger, heavier, GEO satellites with multiple roles

More direct broadcast TV and Radio satellites
Expansion into Ka, Q, V bands (20/30, 40/50 GHz)
Massive growth in data services fueled by Internet
Mobile services:
May be broadcast services rather than point to point
Make mobile services a successful business?

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 The Future for Satellite
Communications – 1
Growth requires new frequency bands
Propagation through rain and clouds becomes a problem
as RF frequency is increased
C-band (6/4 GHz) Rain has little impact
99.99% availability is possible
Ku-band (10-12 GHz) Link margin of  3 dB needed
for 99.8% availability
Ka-band (20 - 30 GHz) Link margin of  6 dB needed
for 99.6% availability

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 The Future for Satellite
Communications - 2

Low cost phased array antennas for mobiles are

needed
Mobile systems are limited by use of omni-directional
antennas
A self-phasing, self-steering phased array antenna with
6 dB gain can quadruple the capacity of a system
Directional antennas allow frequency re-use

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Homework #1
 
Answer the questions below for Dish Network’s direct-to-home digital television broadcasting.
 
Reference the text pages 7, 443, 445 and Dish Network’s Web site, and section 11.2 page 441.
 
1) How many satellites does Dish Network have in the sky? Name them?
2) How many transponders are on each of these satellites? What frequency band is used?
3) What orbit are these satellites in (LEO, MEO, GEO)?
4) Why are two heads used on the Dish Network antenna (text page 445)?
5) On what date was Echostar I launched? Echostar V?
6) Are these satellites spin or three axis stabilized? See page 443
7) Go to the Website and download the azimuth and elevation application( products – installation)
and follow the directions to aim the dish antenna to receive a signal for the zip code where you
live. State the azimuth, elevation and skew angles and longitude for each satellite.
8) See page 443. If the frequency band were C rather than Ku, how would this affect the size of the
receive antenna you would need on your rooftop?
9) What is a transponder? Why does a satellite have multiple transponders and not just one?
10) Extra credit – Go to the Air & Space Museum and view Explorer I, Sputnik I, the V2 rocket,
TIROS II, TIROS-N and ITOS. Briefly describe the purpose of each.
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