SATTELITESYSTEM

CHAPTER1

1.1Introduction:
Satellitesofferanumberoffeaturesnotreadilyavailablewithothermeansofcommunications.
Becauseverylargeareasoftheeartharevisiblefromasatellite,thesatellitecanformthestar
pointofacommunicationsnet,simultaneouslylinkingmanyuserswhomaybewidelyseparated
geographically.Thesamefeatureenablessatellitestoprovidecommunicationslinkstoremote
communitiesinsparselypopulatedareasthataredifficulttoaccessbyothermeans.Ofcourse,
satellitesignalsignorepoliticalboundariesaswellasgeographicones,whichmayormaynotbe
adesirablefeature.
Satellitesarealsousedforremotesensing,examplesbeingthedetectionofwaterpollutionand
themonitoringandreportingof2ChapterOneweatherconditions.Someoftheseremotesensing
satellitesalsoformavitallinkinsearchandrescueoperationsfordownedaircraftandthelike.
Satellitesarespecificallymadefortelecommunicationpurpose.Theyareusedformobile
applicationssuchascommunicationtoships,vehicles,planes,handheldterminalsandforTV
andradiobroadcasting.Theyareresponsibleforprovidingtheseservicestoanassignedregion
(area)ontheearth.Thepowerandbandwidthofthesesatellitesdependuponthepreferredsize
ofthefootprint,complexityofthetrafficcontrolprotocolschemesandthecostofground
stations.Asatelliteworksmostefficientlywhenthetransmissionsarefocusedwithadesired
area.Whentheareaisfocused,thentheemissionsdonotgooutsidethatdesignatedareaand
thusminimizingtheinterferencetotheothersystems.Thisleadsmoreefficientspectrumusage.
Satellitesantennapatternsplayanimportantroleandmustbedesignedtobestcoverthe
designatedgeographicalarea(whichisgenerallyirregularinshape).Satellitesshouldbe
designedbykeepinginminditsusabilityforshortandlongtermeffectsthroughoutitslifetime.
Theearthstationshouldbeinapositiontocontrolthesatelliteifitdriftsfromitsorbititis
subjectedtoanykindofdragfromtheexternalforces.

1.2HistoryofSatelliteCommunications
Thefirstartificialsatelliteusedsolelytofurtheradvancesinglobalcommunicationswasa
balloonnamedEcho1.Echo1wastheworld'sfirstartificialcommunicationssatellitecapableof
relayingsignalstootherpointsonEarth.ThefirstAmericansatellitetorelaycommunications
wasProjectSCOREin1958,whichusedataperecordertostoreandforwardvoicemessages.It
wasusedtosendaChristmasgreetingtotheworldfromU.S.PresidentDwightD.Eisenhower.
NASAlaunchedtheEchosatellitein1960;the100foot(30m)aluminisedPETfilmballoon
servedasapassivereflectorforradiocommunications.Courier1B,builtbyPhilco,also
launched

in1960,wastheworld'sfirstactiverepeatersatellite.Thefirst

communicationssatellitewasSputnik1.PutintoorbitbytheSovietUniononOctober4,1957,it
wasequippedwithanonboardradiotransmitterthatworkedontwofrequencies:20.005and
40.002MHz.Sputnik1waslaunchedasastepintheexplorationofspaceandrocket
development.Whileincrediblyimportantitwasnotplacedinorbitforthepurposeofsending
datafromonepointonearthtoanother.Anditwasthefirstartificialsatelliteinthestepsleading
totoday'ssatellitecommunications.Telstarwasthesecondactive,directrelaycommunications
satellite.BelongingtoAT&TaspartofamultinationalagreementbetweenAT&T,Bell
TelephoneLaboratories,NASA,theBritishGeneralPostOffice,andtheFrenchNational
PTT(PostOffice)todevelopsatellitecommunications,itwaslaunchedbyNASAfromCape
CanaveralonJuly10,1962,thefirstprivatelysponsoredspacelaunch.Relay1waslaunchedon
December13,1962,andbecamethefirstsatellitetobroadcastacrossthePacificonNovember
22,1963.

CHAPTER2:ORBITALMECHANICS
Satellites(spacecraft)orbitingtheearthfollowthesamelawsthatgovernthemotionofthe
planetsaroundthesun.Fromearlytimesmuchhasbeenlearnedaboutplanetarymotionthrough
carefulobservations.JohannesKepler(15711630)wasabletoderiveempiricallythreelaws
describingplanetarymotion.Later,in1665,SirIsaacNewton(16421727) derived Keplers
lawsfromhisownlawsofmechanicsanddevelopedthetheoryofgravitation.

2.1Kepler'sLawsofPlanetaryMotion
Kepler'sFirstLaw:Keplers first lawstatesthatthepathfollowedbyasatellitearoundthe
primarywillbeanellipse.AnellipsehastwofocalpointsshownasF1andF2inFig.1.

Fig.2.1ThefociF1andF2,thesemimajoraxisa,andthesemiminoraxisbofanellips
ThefociFTheeccentricityandthesemimajoraxisaretwooftheorbitalparametersspecifiedfor
satellites(spacecraft)orbitingtheearth.Foranellipticalorbit,0<e<1.Whene=0,theorbit
becomescircular.
Keplers Second Law: Keplers second law statesthat,forequaltimeintervals,asatellitewill
sweepoutequalareasinitsorbitalplane,focusedatthebarycenter.Thecenterofmassofthe
twobodysystem,termedthebarycenter,isalwayscenteredononeofthefoci.

Figure2.2.Keplers second law. The areasA1andA2sweptoutinunittimeareequal.

Keplers Third Law: Keplers third law statesthatthesquareoftheperiodictimeoforbitis
proportionaltothecubeofthemeandistancebetweenthetwobodies.Themeandistanceis
equaltothesemimajoraxisa.Forthe
artificial satellites orbiting the earth, Keplers third law can be writtenasfollows
a3

(1)
n2

wherenisthemeanmotionofthesatelliteinradianspersecondandis the earths geocentric

gravitationalconstant.

3.9860051014m3/s3 (2)
The importance of Keplers third lawisthatitshowsthereisafixedrelationshipbetweenperiod
andsemimajoraxis.

2.2SatelliteOrbits
Therearemanydifferentsatelliteorbitsthatcanbeused.Theonesthatreceivethemostattention
arethegeostationaryorbitusedastheyarestationaryaboveaparticularpointontheEarth.The
orbitthatischosenforasatellitedependsuponitsapplication.Theseorbitsaregivenintable1.

Geostationaryorgeosynchronousearthorbit(GEO)
Asatelliteinageostationaryorbitappearstobestationarywithrespecttotheearth,hencethe
namegeostationary.GEOsatellitesaresynchronouswithrespecttoearth.Lookingfromafixed
pointfromEarth,thesesatellitesappeartobestationary.Thesesatellitesareplacedinthespace
insuchawaythatonlythreesatellitesaresufficienttoprovideconnectionthroughoutthesurface
oftheEarth.GEOsatellitetravelseastwardatthesamerotationalspeedastheearthincircular
orbitwithzeroinclination.
Ageostationaryorbitisusefulforcommunicationsbecausegroundantennascanbeaimedatthe
satellitewithouttheirhavingtotrackthesatellite'smotion.Thisisrelativelyinexpensive.In
applicationsthatrequirealargenumberofgroundantennas,suchasDirectTVdistribution,the
savingsingroundequipmentcanmorethanoutweighthecostandcomplexityofplacinga
satelliteintoorbit.
Table:1

STELLITE

ORBIT

SATELLITEORBIT

APPLICATION

ORBITNAME

ALTITUDE(KM

ABOVEEARTH'S

SURFACE)

LowEarthOrbit

LEO

200
1200

Satellitephones,Navstaror

GlobalPositioning(GPS)system

MediumEarth

MEO

1200
35790

Highspeedtelephonesignals

Orbit

Geosynchronous

GSO

SatelliteTelevision

35790

Orbit

Geostationary

GEO

35790

Directbroadcasttelevision

Orbit

LowEarthOrbit(LEO)satellites
AlowEarthorbit(LEO)typicallyisacircularorbitabout200kilometres(120mi)abovethe
earth'ssurfaceand,correspondingly,aperiod(timetorevolvearoundtheearth)ofabout90
minutes.Becauseoftheirlowaltitude,thesesatellitesareonlyvisiblefromwithinaradiusof
roughly1000kilometersfromthesubsatellitepoint.Inaddition,satellitesinlowearthorbit
changetheirpositionrelativetothegroundpositionquickly.Soevenforlocalapplications,a
largenumberofsatellitesareneededifthemissionrequiresuninterruptedconnectivity.s.LEO
systemstrytoensureahighelevationforeveryspotonearthtoprovideahighquality
7

communicationlink.EachLEOsatellitewillonlybevisiblefromtheearthforaroundten
minutes.
LowEarthorbitingsatellitesarelessexpensivetolaunchintoorbitthangeostationarysatellites
and,duetoproximitytotheground,donotrequireashighsignalstrength(Recallthatsignal
strengthfallsoffasthesquareofthedistancefromthesource,sotheeffectisdramatic).Thus
thereisatradeoffbetweenthenumberofsatellitesandtheircost.Inaddition,thereare
importantdifferencesintheonboardandgroundequipmentneededtosupportthetwotypesof
missions.OnegeneralproblemofLEOsistheshortlifetimeofaboutfivetoeightyearsdueto
atmosphericdragandradiationfromtheinnerVanAllenbelt1.
MediumEarthOrbit(MEO)satellites
AMEOsatelliteisinorbitsomewherebetween8,000kmand18,000km above the earths
surface.MEOsatellitesaresimilartoLEOsatellitesinfunctionality.MEOsatellitesarevisible
formuchlongerperiodsoftimethanLEOsatellites,usuallybetween2to8hours.MEO
satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites. A MEO satellites longer duration of
visibilityandwiderfootprintmeansfewersatellitesareneededinaMEOnetworkthanaLEO
network.OnedisadvantageisthataMEOsatellites distance gives it a longer time delay and
weakersignalthanaLEOsatellite,thoughnotasbadasaGEOsatellite.Duetothelarger
distancetotheearth,delayincreasestoabout7080ms.sothesesatellitesneedhighertransmit
powerandspecialantennasforsmallerfootprints.

Fig.2.3SatelliteOrbits

2.3SpacingandFrequencyAllocation
Allocatingfrequenciestosatelliteservicesisacomplicatedprocesswhichrequiresinternational
coordinationandplanning.ThisiscarriedoutunderthesupervisionoftheInternational
TelecommunicationUnion(ITU).Thisfrequencyallocationisdonebasedondifferentareas.So
thisworldisdividedintothreeareas.
Area1::Europe,Africa,SovietUnion,andMongoliaArea2:NorthandSouthAmericaand
Greenland
Area3:Asia(excludingarea1areas),Australia,andthesouthwestPacific
Withintheseregions,frequencybandsareallocatedtovarioussatelliteservices,althoughagiven
servicemaybeallocateddifferentfrequencybandsindifferentregions.Someoftheservices
providedbysatellitesare:
Fixedsatelliteservice(FSS)
TheFSSprovideslinksforexistingtelephonenetworksaswellasfortransmittingtelevision
signalstocablecompaniesfordistributionovercablesystems.Broadcastingsatelliteservicesare
intendedmainlyfordirectbroadcasttothehome,sometimesreferredtoasdirectbroadcast
satellite(DBS)service[inEuropeitmaybeknownasdirecttohome(DTH)service].Mobile
satelliteserviceswouldincludelandmobile,maritimemobile,andaeronauticalmobile.
Navigationalsatelliteservicesincludeglobalpositioningsystems(GPS),andsatellitesintended
forthemeteorologicalservicesoftenprovideasearchandrescueservice.

TABLE2:ITUFrequencyBandDesignations

TABLE3:FrequencyBandDesignations

10

Broadcastingsatelliteservice(BSS)
ProvidesDirectBroadcasttohomes.E.g.LiveCricketmatchesetc.
Mobilesatelliteserviceso LandMobile
o MaritimeMobile

Aeronauticalmobile

Navigationalsatelliteservices
IncludeGlobalPositioningsystems
Meteorologicalsatelliteservices
TheyareoftenusedtoperformSearchandRescueservice.

LookAngleDetermination
Thesatellitelookanglereferstotheanglethatonewouldlookforasatelliteatagiventimefrom
aspecifiedpositionontheEarth.ThelookanglesforthegroundstationantennaareAzimuthand
Elevationangles.Theyarerequiredattheantennasothatitpointsdirectlyatthesatellite.Look
anglesarecalculatedbyconsideringtheellipticalorbit.Theseangleschangeinordertotrackthe
satellite.
Azimuthangle:TheazimuthangleisananglemeasuredfromNorthdirectioninthelocal
horizontalplane.
Elevationangle:Theelevationangleistheanglemeasuredperpendiculartothehorizontal
plane(intheverticalplane)tothelineofsighttothesatellite.
Thethreepiecesofinformationthatareneededtodeterminethelookanglesforthe
geostationaryorbitare
Theearthstationlatitude,denotedherebyE
Theearthstationlongitude,denotedherebyE
Thelongitudeofthesubsatellitepoint,denotedherebySS(thisisjustreferredtoasthesatellite
longitude)

11

ES:PositionofEarthStation
SS:SubSatellitePoint
S:Satellite
d:RangefromEStoS
: angle to be determined

Fig.2.4:Thegeometryusedindeterminingthelookanglesforageostationarysatellite.

12

Figure4.5(a)ThesphericalgeometryrelatedtoFig.4.4.(b)Theplanetriangleobtainedfrom
Fig.4.4.
Therearesixanglesinalldefiningthesphericaltriangle.ThethreeanglesA,B,andCarethe
anglesbetweentheplanes.AngleAistheanglebetweentheplanecontainingcandtheplane

containingb.AngleBistheanglebetweentheplanecontainingcandtheplanecontaininga.
Considering figure 5 (b), its a spherical triangle. Allsidesarethearcsofagreatcircle.Three
sidesofthistrianglearedefinedbytheanglessubtendedbythecentreoftheearth.
Sidea:anglebetweenNorthPoleandradiusofthesubsatellitepoint.
13

Sideb:anglebetweenradiusofEarthandradiusofthesubsatellitepoint.
Sidec:anglebetweenradiusofEarthandtheNorthPole.
a=90andsuchasphericaltriangleiscalledquadrantaltriangle.c=90
AngleBistheanglebetweentheplanecontainingcandtheplanecontaininga.Thus,BESS
AngleAistheanglebetweentheplanecontainingbandtheplanecontainingc.AngleCistheangle
betweentheplanecontainingaandtheplanecontainingb.
Thus,

a=900
c=900EB=fEfSS

Thus,b=arcos(cosBcosE
A=arcsin(sin|B|/sinb)

2.5OrbitalPerturbation
Thekeplerianorbitdescribedsofarisidealinthesensethatitassumesthattheearthisa
uniformsphericalmassandthattheonlyforceactingisthecentrifugalforceresultingfrom
satellitemotionbalancingthegravitationalpulloftheearth.Inpractice,otherforceswhichcan
besignificantarethegravitationalforcesofthesunandthemoonandatmosphericdrag.The
gravitationalpullsofsunandmoonhavenegligibleeffectonloworbitingsatellites,buttheydo
affectsatellitesinthegeostationaryorbit.
Therearetwotypesofperturbation:
1-

Gravitational:whenconsideringthirdbodyinteractionandthenonspherical

shapeoftheearth.
Theearthisveryfarawayfromperfectlyspherical.Thisdependsontheearthrotation,
earthgravitationalpotential.
14

2-

Nongravitational:likeAtmosphericdrag,solarradiationpressureandtidal

friction.
Fornearearthsatellites,belowabout1000km,theeffectsofatmosphericdragare
significant.Becausethedragisgreatestattheperigee,thedragactstoreducethevelocityat
thispoint,withtheresultthatthesatellitedoesnotreachthesameapogeeheighton
successiverevolutions.

15

CHAPTER:3SATELLITES
3.1SatelliteLaunching
Asatelliteissentintospaceontopofarocket.Whenasatelliteisputintospace,wesaythatitis
launched. The rocket that is used to launch a satellite is called a launch vehicle. Thissatellite
launchingneedstheearthstationsinordertooperatethesatelliteoperation.Thesatellite
launchingcanbedividedintofourstages.
1FirstStage:Thefirststageofthelaunchvehiclecontainstherocketsandfuelthatareneeded
toliftthesatelliteandlaunchvehicleoffthegroundandintothesky.
2SecondStage:Thesecondstagecontainssmallerrocketsthatigniteafterthefirststageis
finished.Therocketsofthesecondstagehavetheirownfueltanks.Thesecondstageisusedto
sendthesatelliteintospace.
3ThirdStage(UpperStage):Theupperstageofthelaunchvehicleisconnectedtothe
satellite itself, which is enclosed in a metal shield, called a fairing. The fairing protects
thesatellitewhileitisbeinglaunchedandmakesiteasierforthelaunchvehicletotravelthrough
theresistanceoftheEarth'satmosphere.
4FourthStage(Firing):OncethelaunchvehicleisoutoftheEarth'satmosphere,the
satellite separates from the upper stage. The satellite is then sent into a transfer orbit
thatsendsthesatellitehigherintospace.Oncethesatellitereachesitsdesiredorbitalheight,it
unfurlsitssolarpanelsandcommunicationantennas,whichhadbeenstoredawayduringthe
flight.Thesatellitethentakesitsplaceinorbitwithothersatellitesandisreadytoprovide
communicationstothepublic.

16

Figure3.1StepsofSatelliteLaunching
Thelaunchprocesscanbedividedintotwophases:thelaunchphaseandtheorbitinjection
phase.
1TheLaunchPhase
Thelaunchvehicleplacesthesatelliteintothetransferorbit.Anelipticalorbitthathasatits
farthestpointfromearth(apogee)thegeosynchronouselevationof22,238milesandatits
nearestpoint(perigee)anelevationofusuallynotlessthan100miles.
2TheOrbitInjectionPhase
Theenergyrequiredtomovethesatellitefromtheellipticaltransferorbitintothe
geosynchronous orbit is supplied by the satellites apogee kick motor (AKM). This is
knownastheorbitinjectionphase.

3.2EarthStation
Theearthsegmentofasatellitecommunicationssystemconsistsofthetransmitandreceiveearth
stations.Thestations antenna functions in both, the transmit and receive modes, but at different
frequencies.
Anearthstationisgenerallymadeupofamultiplexor,amodem,upanddownconverters,ahigh
poweramplifier(HPA)andalownoiseamplifier(LNA).Almostalltransmissiontosatellitesisd
igital,andthedigitaldatastreamsarecombinedinamultiplexorandfedtoamodemthatmodula
tesacarrierfrequencyinthe50to180MHzrange.Anupconverterbumpsthecarrierintothegi
gahertzrange,whichgoestotheHPAandantenna.

Forreceiving,theLNAbooststhesignalstothedownconverter,whichlowersthefrequencyand
sendsittothemodem.Themodemdemodulatesthecarrier,andthedigitaloutputgoesto
17

thedemultiplexingdeviceandthentoitsdestinations.Seeearthstationonboardvesselandbase
station.Adetailedblockdiagramisshowninfig.3.2.

anddish.

Figure3.2:Blockdiagramofatransmitreceiveearthstation

3.3SatelliteSubsystems
Asatellitecommunicationssystemcanbebroadlydividedintotwosegmentsagroundsegment
andaspacesegment.Thespacesegmentwillobviouslyincludethesatellites,butitalsoincludes
thegroundfacilitiesneededtokeepthesatellitesoperational,thesebeingreferredtoasthe

tracking,telemetry,andcommand(TT&C)facilities.Inmanynetworksitiscommonpracticeto
employagroundstationsolelyforthepurposeofTT&C.
Inacommunicationssatellite,theequipmentwhichprovidestheconnectinglinkbetweenthe
satellites transmit and receive antennas is referred to as the transponder.Thetransponder forms
oneofthemainsectionsofthepayload,theotherbeingtheantennasubsystems.
18

PAYLOAD:ThepayloadcomprisesofaRepeaterandAntennasubsystemandperformsthe
primaryfunctionofcommunication.
1REPEATER:Itisadevicethatreceivesasignalandretransmitsittoahigherleveland/or
higherpowerontotheothersideoftheobstructionsothatthesignalcancoverlongerdistance.
2TransparentRepeater:Itonlytranslatestheuplinkfrequencytoanappropriatedownlink
frequency.Itdoessowithoutprocessingthebaseband
signal.Themainelementofatypicaltransparentrepeaterisasinglebeamsatellite.Signalsfrom
antennaandthefeedsystemarefedintothelownoiseamplifierthroughabandpassfilter.
3RegenerativeRepeater:Arepeater,designedfordigitaltransmission,inwhichdigital
signalsareamplified,reshaped,retimed,andretransmitted.
RegenerativeRepeatercanalsobecalledasadevicewhichregeneratesincomingdigitalsignals
andthenretransmitsthesesignalsonanoutgoingcircuit.
4Antennas:Thefunctionofanantennaofaspacecraftistoreceivesignals
andtransmitsignalstothegroundstationslocatedwithinthecoverageareaofthesatellite.The
choiceoftheantennasystemisthereforegovernedbythesizeandshapeofthecoveragearea.
Consequently,thereisalsoalimittotheminimumsizeoftheantennafootprint.

3.4SatelliteSystemLinkModels
SystemLinkBudgetcalculationsbasicallyrelatetwoquantities,thetransmitpowerandthe
receivepower,andshowindetailhowthedifferencebetweenthesetwopowersisaccountedfor.
Linkpowerbudgetcalculationsalsoneedtheadditionallossesandnoisefactorwhichis
incorporatedwiththetransmittedandthereceivedsignals.Alongwithlosses,thisunitalso
discussesthesystemnoiseparameters.Variouscomponentsofthesystemaddtothenoiseinthe
signalthathastobetransmitted.

19

3.4.1 EQUIVALENT ISOTROPIC RADIATED POWER

Thekeyparameterinlinkpowerbudgetcalculationsistheequivalentisotropicradiated
powerfactor,commonlydenotedasEIRP.Istheamountofpowerthatatheoreticalisotropic
antenna(whichevenlydistributespowerinalldirections)wouldemittoproducethepeakpower
densityobservedinthedirectionofmaximumantennagain.EIRPcanbedefinedasthepower
inputtooneendofthetransmissionlinkandtheproblemtofindthepowerreceivedattheother
end.
EIRP=GPs
Where,
GGainoftheTransmittingantennaandGisindecibels.
PsPowerofthesender(transmitter)andiscalculatedinwatts.
[EIRP]=[G]+[Ps]dBW

3.4.2TRANSMISSIONLOSSES:
AsEIRPisthoughtofaspowerinputofoneendtothepowerreceivedattheother,theproblem
hereistofindthepowerwhichisreceivedattheotherend.Somelossesthatoccurinthe
transmittingreceivingprocessareconstantandtheirvaluescanbepredetermined.
FreeSpaceTransmissionLosses(FSL)
Thislossisduetothespreadingofthesignalinspace.Goingbacktothepowerflux
densityequation

mPs/4r2
Thepowerthatisdeliveredtoamatchedreceiveristhepowerfluxdensity.Itismultipliedby
theeffectiveapertureofthereceivingantenna.Hence,thereceivedpoweris:

P A
R

eff

2
EIRP GR

4r2

Where

rdistancebetweentransmitterandreceiver,GRpowergainatthereceiver
Indecibels,theaboveequationbecomes:

PREIRPGR

4r

10log

4r

[FSL]10log

PREIRPGR[FSL]
20

3.4.2.2FeederLosses(RFL):Thislossisduetotheconnectionbetweenthesatellitereceiver
deviceandthereceiverantennaisimproper.Losseshereoccurisconnectingwaveguides,filers
andcouplers.Thereceiverfeederlossvaluesareaddedtofreespaceloss.
3.4.2.1AntennaMisalignmentLosses(AML):Toattainagoodcommunicationlink,theearth
stations antenna and the communicating satellite s antenna must face each other in such a w ay
thatthemaximumgainisattained.

3.4.2.1FixedAtmospheric(AA)andIonosphericlosses(PL):Thegasespresentinthe
atmosphereabsorbthesignals.Thiskindoflossisusuallyofafractionofdecibelinquantity.
Alongwiththeabsorptionlosses,theionosphereintroducesagoodamountof
depolarizationofsignalwhichresultsinlossofsignal.

3.5LinkEquations
TheEIRPcanbeconsideredastheinputpowertoatransmissionlink.Duetotheabove
discussedlosses,thepoweratthereceiverthatistheoutputcanbeconsideredasasimple
calculationofEIRPlosses.
Losses=[FSL]+[RFL]+[AML]+[AA]+[PL]
ThereceivedpowerthatisP

PREIRPGR[Losses]
Where;

PR-ReceivedpowerindB,[EIRP]equivalentisotropicradiatedpowerindBW.
[GR ]- IsotropicpowergainatthereceiveranditsvalueisindB.

[FSL]FreespacetransmissionlossindB.[RFL]ReceiverfeederlossindB.
[AA]AtmosphericabsorptionlossindB.[AML]AntennamisalignmentlossindB.[PL]
DepolarizationlossindB.

21

CHAPTER4:MODULATIONANDMULTIPLEXINGTECHNIQUES
4.1MultipleAccess
Multipleaccessesisdefinedasthetechniquewhereinmorethanonepairofearthstationscan
simultaneouslyuseasatellitetransponder.Amultipleaccessschemeisamethodusedto
distinguishamongdifferentsimultaneoustransmissionsinacell.Aradioresourcecanbea
differenttimeinterval,afrequencyintervaloracodewithasuitablepowerlevel.
Ifthedifferenttransmissionsaredifferentiatedforthefrequencyband,itwillbedefinedasthe
FrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess(FDMA).Whereas,iftransmissionsaredistinguishedon
thebasisoftime,thenitisconsideredasTimeDivisionMultipleAccess(TDMA).Ifadifferent
codeisadoptedtoseparatesimultaneoustransmissions,itwillbeCodeDivisionMultipleAccess
(CDMA).
4.1.1FrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess(FDMA)
FrequencyDivisionMultipleAccessorFDMAisachannelaccessmethodusedinmultiple
accessprotocolsasachannelizationprotocol.FDMAgivesusersanindividualallocationofone
orseveralfrequencybands,orchannels.Itisparticularlycommonplaceinsatellite
communication.
InFDMAalluserssharethesatellitetransponderorfrequencychannelsimultaneouslybuteach
usertransmitsatsinglefrequency.
FDMAcanbeusedwithbothanaloganddigitalsignal.
FDMArequireshighperformingfiltersintheradiohardware.
FDMAisnotvulnerabletothetimingproblemsthatTDMAhas.Sinceapredetermined
frequencybandisavailablefortheentireperiodofcommunication,streamdata(acontinuous
flowofdatathatmaynotbepacketized)caneasilybeusedwithFDMA.
Eachusertransmitsandreceivesatdifferentfrequenciesaseachusergetsauniquefrequency
slots.

22

4.1.2TimeDivisionMultipleAccess(TDMA)
Timedivisionmultipleaccess(TDMA)isachannelaccessmethodforsharedmedium
networks.Itallowsseveraluserstosharethesamefrequencychannelbydividingthesignalinto
differenttimeslots.Thisallowsmultiplestationstosharethesametransmissionmedium(e.g.
radiofrequencychannel)whileusingonlyapartofitschannelcapacity.
Sharessinglecarrierfrequencywithmultipleusers.
SlotscanbeassignedondemandindynamicTDMA.
LessstringentpowercontrolthanCDMAduetoreducedintracellinterference
HighersynchronizationoverheadthanCDMA
Cellbreathing(borrowingresourcesfromadjacentcells)ismorecomplicatedthaninCDMA.
Frequency/slotallocationcomplexity.
4.1.3CodeDivisionMultipleAccess(CDMA)
Code divisionmultipleaccess(CDMA)isachannelaccessmethodusedby
variousradiocommunicationtechnologies.CDMAisanexampleofmultipleaccess,whichis
whereseveraltransmitterscansendinformationsimultaneouslyoverasinglecommunication
channel.Thisallowsseveraluserstoshareabandoffrequencies(seebandwidth).CDMAis
used

as

the

access method

in

manymobile phone standardssuch

ascdmaOne,CDMA2000(the3GevolutionofcdmaOne),andWCDMA(the3Gstandardused
byGSMcarriers),whichareoftenreferredtoassimplyCDMA.
OneoftheearlyapplicationsforcodedivisionmultiplexingisintheGlobalPositioningSystem
(GPS).Thispredatesandisdistinctfromitsuseinmobilephones.
TheQualcommstandardIS95,marketedascdmaOne.
TheQualcommstandardIS2000,knownasCDMA2000,isusedbyseveralmobilephone
companies,includingtheGlobalstarsatellitephonenetwork.
TheUMTS3Gmobilephonestandard,whichusesWCDMA.
CDMAhasbeenusedintheOmniTRACSsatellitesystemfortransportationlogistics.

23

4.2DirectBroadcastSatelliteServices
Directbroadcastsatellite(DBS)isatypeofartificialsatellitewhichusuallysendssatellite
televisionsignalsforhomereceptionthroughgeostationarysatellites.Thetypeofsatellite
televisionwhichusesdirectbroadcastsatellitesisknownasdirectbroadcastsatellitetelevision
(DBSTV)ordirecttohometelevision(DTHTV).Thishasinitiallydistinguishedthe
transmissionsdirectlyintendedforhomeviewersfromcabletelevisiondistributionservicesthat
aresometimescarriedonthesamesatellite.
ADBSsubscriberinstallationconsistsofadishantennatwotothreefeet(60to90centimeters)
indiameter,aconventionalTVset,asignalconverterplacednexttotheTVset,andalengthof
coaxialcablebetweenthedishandtheconverter.Thedishinterceptsmicrowavesignalsdirectly
fromthesatellite.TheconverterproducesoutputthatcanbeviewedontheTVreceiver.
Broadcastservicesincludeaudio,television,andInternetservices.Directbroadcasttelevision,
whichisdigitalTV,isthesubjectofthischapter.ATypicalDBSsystemblockdiagramisshown
infig.4.1.Thehomereceiverconsistsoftwounitsanoutdoorunitandanindoorunit.

24

Fig.4.1Blockschematicfortheoutdoorunit(ODU)andIDUunitofDBS.

TheHomeReceiverOutdoorUnit(ODU):Thedownlinksignal,coveringthefrequencyrange
12.2to12.7GHz,isfocusedbytheantennaintothereceivehorn.Thehornfeedsintoapolarizer
thatcanbeswitchedtopasseitherlefthandcircularorrighthandcircularpolarizedsignals.The
lownoiseblockthatfollowsthepolarizercontainsalownoiseamplifier(LNA)andadown
converter.Thedownconverterconvertsthe12.2to12.7GHzbandto950to1450MHz,a

frequencyrangebettersuitedtotransmissionthroughtheconnectingcabletotheindoorunit.

25

Fig.4.2Blockschematicfortheoutdoorunit(ODU)
TheHomeReceiverIndoorUnit(IDU):ThetransponderfrequencybandsshowninFig.16.2
aredownconvertedtobeintherange950to1450MHz,butofcourse,eachtransponderretains
its24MHzbandwidth.TheIDUmustbeabletoreceiveanyofthe32transponders,although
only16ofthesewillbeavailableforasinglepolarization.Thetunerselectsthedesired
transponder.Itshouldberecalledthatthecarrieratthecenterfrequencyofthetransponderis
QPSKmodulatedbythebitstream,whichitselfmayconsistoffourtoeightTVprogramsTDM.
Followingthetuner,thecarrierisdemodulated,theQPSKmodulationbeingconvertedtoabit
stream.ErrorcorrectioniscarriedoutinthedecoderblocklabeledFEC.

4.3ApplicationofLEO
TheevolutionfromgeostationarytolowEarthorbit(LEO)satelliteshasresultedinanumberof
proposedglobalsatellitesystems,whichcanbegroupedintothreedistincttypesLittleLEOs,
BigLEOs,andBroadbandLEOs.Thesesystemscanbestbedistinguishedbyreferencetotheir
terrestrialcounterparts:paging,cellular,andfiber,asshowninTable4.1.Ontheground,paging,
cellular,andfiberservicesarecomplementary,notcompetitive,becausetheyoffer
fundamentallydifferentkindsofservices.Similarly,theLittleLEOs,BigLEOs,andBroadband

26

LEOsarecomplementaryratherthancompetitivebecausetheyareprovidingdistinctlydifferent
servicestargetedatdifferentmarkets,andhavedifferentpricingstructures.
Table4.1TerrestrialCounterparts

Typical applications of the various types of LEO systems are shown in Table 2. Of
course the Big LEOs can support the Little LEO applications, and the Broadband LEOs
can support both the Big and Little LEO applications.
Table4.2ApplicationofLEOSatellites

27

4.4MEOandGEOSatellites
MediumEarthorbit(MEO),sometimescalledintermediatecircularorbit(ICO),isthe
regionofspacearoundtheEarthabovelowEarthorbit(altitudeof2,000kilometres(1,243mi))
andbelowgeostationaryorbit(altitudeof35,786kilometres(22,236mi)).Themostcommonuse
forsatellitesin
this
region
is
fornavigation,communication,
andgeodetic/space
[1]

environmentscience. Themost
commonaltitudeisapproximately
20,200kilometres
(12,552mi)),whichyieldsanorbitalperiodof12hours,asused,forexample,bytheGlobal
PositioningSystem(GPS).OthersatellitesinMediumEarthOrbitincludeGlonass(withan
altitudeof19,100kilometres(11,868mi))andGalileo(withanaltitudeof23,222kilometres
[citationneeded]

(14,429mi))constellations.
SouthPolearealsoputinMEO.

CommunicationssatellitesthatcovertheNorthand

Geostationarysatellitesappeartobefixedoveronespotabovetheequator.Receivingand
transmittingantennasontheearthdonotneedtotracksuchasatellite.Theseantennascanbe
fixedinplaceandaremuchlessexpensivethantrackingantennas.Thesesatelliteshave
revolutionizedglobalcommunications,televisionbroadcastingandweatherforecasting,and
haveanumberofimportantdefenseandintelligenceapplications.
Onedisadvantageofgeostationarysatellitesisaresultoftheirhighaltitude:radiosignalstake
approximately0.25ofasecondtoreachandreturnfromthesatellite,resultinginasmallbut
significantsignaldelay.Thisdelayincreasesthedifficultyoftelephoneconversationandreduces
theperformanceofcommonnetworkprotocolssuchasTCP/IP,butdoesnotpresentaproblem
withnoninteractivesystemssuchastelevisionbroadcasts.Thereareanumberofproprietary
satellitedataprotocolsthataredesignedtoproxyTCP/IPconnectionsoverlongdelaysatellite
linksthesearemarketedasbeingapartialsolutiontothepoorperformanceofnativeTCPover
satellitelinks.TCPpresumesthatalllossisduetocongestion,noterrors,andprobeslink
capacitywithits"slowstart"algorithm,whichonlysendspacketsonceitisknownthatearlier
packetshavebeenreceived.Slowstartisveryslowoverapathusingageostationarysatellite.
Thereareapproximately600geosynchronoussatellites,someofwhicharenotoperational

28

Table4.3ApplicationofMEOandGEOSatellites
Satellites

Application

Medium
EarthOrbit

Highspeed
telephonesignals

Geosynchro
nousOrbit

Satellite
Television

Geostationa
ryOrbit

Directbroadcast
television

References
1
http://www.williamcraigcook.com/satellite/index.htm
l
2
http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/kidszone/satellite/kidz/in
to_space.html
3SatelliteCommunicationsDennisRoddy3rd
edition,McGrawHillpublication.
4http://www.radio
electronics.com/info/satellite/satellite
orbits/satellitesorbitdefinitions.php.
5www.wikipedia.com
6LEOsTHECOMMUNICATIONS
SATELLITESof21CenturybyMarkA.Sturza

29