Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
CONTENTS
Serial no. Topics Page
No.
Chapter 1: History of satellites 1
Introduction Satellite Communication 2
Advantages of Satellite Communication 5
Disadvantages of Satellite Communication 5
Chapter 4: Introduction 19
Satellite Orbits Mechanism of launching a Satellite 20
Low Earth Orbit 21
Sun-synchronous Satellites 23
Medium Earth Orbit 24
Geostationary Orbit 25
High Earth Orbit 28
28
Polar Orbit
29
Graveyard Orbit
Chapter 7: Glossary
Glossary Bibliography
&
Bibliography
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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a satellite as a celestial body orbiting another of larger
size or a manufactured object or vehicle intended to orbit the earth, the moon, or another celestial
body.
Many scientists didn't fully embrace Clarke's idea -- until Oct. 4, 1957. That's when the Soviet
Union launched Sputnik 1; the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth. Sputnik was a 23-inch (58-
centimeter), 184-pound (83-kilogram) metal ball. Although it was a remarkable achievement,
Sputnik's contents seem meager by today's standards.
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Communications satellites allow telephone and data conversations to be relayed through the
satellite. Typical communications satellites include Telstar and Intelsat. The most important
feature of a communications satellite is the transponder -- a radio that receives a conversation at
one frequency and then amplifies it and retransmits it back to Earth on another frequency. A
satellite normally contains hundreds or thousands of transponders. Communications satellites are
usually geosynchronous.
Sputnik 1 was launched as a step in the exploration of space and rocket development. While
incredibly important it was not placed in orbit for the purpose of sending data from one point on
earth to another. Hence, it was not the first "communications" satellite, but it was the first
artificial satellite in the steps leading to today's satellite communications.
ECHO 1: The first artificial satellite used solely to further advances in global communications
was a balloon named Echo 1. Echo 1 was the world's first artificial communications satellite
capable of relaying signals to other points on Earth. It soared 1,000 miles (1,609 km) above the
planet after its August 12, 1960 launch, yet relied on humanity's oldest flight technology —
ballooning. Launched by NASA, Echo 1 was a giant metallic balloon 100 feet (30 meters)
across.
The world's first inflatable satellite — or "satelloon", as they were informally known — helped
lay the foundation of today's satellite communications. The idea behind a communications
satellite is simple: Send data up into space and beam it back down to another spot on the globe.
Echo 1 accomplished this by essentially serving as an enormous mirror 10 stories tall that could
be used to bounce communications signals off of.
Telstar : was the first active, direct relay communications satellite. Belonging to AT&T as part
of a multi-national agreement between AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories, NASA, the British
General Post Office, and the French National PTT (Post Office) to develop satellite
communications, it was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral on July 10, 1962, the first
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privately sponsored space launch. Relay 1 was launched on December 13, 1962, and became the
first satellite to broadcast across the Pacific on November 22, 1963.
Since Sputnik, several nations, led predominantly by the United States, Russia and China, have
sent some 2,500 satellites into space [source: National Geographic]. Some of these man-made
objects, such as the International Space Station, are massive. Others might fit comfortably in
your kitchen breadbox. We see and recognize their use in weather reports, television
transmission by DIRECTV and DISH Network, and everyday telephone calls. Even those that
escape our notice have become indispensable tools for the military.
Of course, launching and operating satellites leads to problems. Today, with more than 1,000
operational satellites in orbit around Earth, our immediate cosmic neighborhood has become
busier than a big city rush hour. And then there's the discarded equipment, abandoned satellites,
pieces of hardware and fragments from explosions or collisions that share the skies with the
useful equipment. This orbital debris has accumulated over the years and poses a serious threat to
satellites currently circling Earth and to future manned and unmanned launches.
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The satellite relays are internally wide-area broadcast, i.e. point-to-multipoint whereas
all the terrestrial relays are point-to-point. Besides the cost of transmitting information is
independent of the distance involved.
The satellite circuits can be installed rapidly. Once the satellite is in position the earth
stations can be installed and communication can be established in days or even hours.
Thus a station can be easily relocated from one place and installed in another.
1.4
DISADVANTAGES OF SATELLITE COMUNICATIONS
With the satellite in position the communication path between the terrestrial transmitter
and receiver is approximately 75,000km long. Since the velocity of electromagnetic wave
is 3x105 km/s, there is a delay of ¼ sec between the transmission and reception of a
signal. Thus between talks there is an elapse of ½ sec.
The delay produces echo which is actually caused owing to imperfect impedance
matching. Thus there is an audible reflection with ½ sec delay.
The time delay of ½ sec reduces the efficiency of the satellite in data transmission and
long files transfers.
Besides the cost of installing a satellite is too high and the system requires high output
power for earth station transmitters and sensitive receivers.
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Telemetry
The telemetry system collects data from many sensors within the spacecraft and sends these data
to the controlling earth station. Typically as many as 100 sensors may be located on the
spacecraft to monitor pressure in the fuel tanks, voltage and current in the power conditioning
unit, current drawn by each subsystem, and critical voltages and current sin the communications
electronics. The temperature of the subsystems must be kept within pre-determined limits so
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many temperature sensors are fitted and the status and positions of the switches in the system are
also reported back by the telemetry system. The sighting devices used to maintain spacecraft
attitude are also monitored via the telemetry link: this is essential in case one should fail and
cause the satellite to point in the wrong direction.
The telemetry data are usually digitized and transmitted as frequency or phase shift keying (FSK
or PSK) of a low power telemetry carrier using TDM techniques. A low data rate is normally
used to allow the receiver at the earth station to have a narrow bandwidth and thus maintain a
high carrier-to-noise ratio. The entire TDM frame may contain thousands of bits of data and take
several seconds to transmit. At the earth station a computer is used to monitor, store and decode
the telemetry data so that the status of any system or sensor on the satellite can be determined
immediately by the controller on earth.
Tracking
A number of techniques can be used to determine the current orbit of a spacecraft. Velocity and
acceleration sensors on the spacecraft can be used to establish the change in orbit from the last
known position, by integration of the data. Together with accurate angular measurements from
the earth station antenna, range is used to determine the orbital elements. Active determination of
range can be achieved by transmitting a pulse or sequence of pulses to the satellite and observing
the time delay before the pulse is received again. If a sufficient number of earth stations with an
adequate separation are observing the satellite, its position can be established by triangulation
from the earth station look angles or by simultaneous range measurements.
Command
A secure and effective command structure is vital to the spacecraft launch and operation of any
communications satellite. The command system is used to make changes in attitude and
corrections to the orbit and to control the communication system. During launch, it is used to
control the firing of the apogee boost motor and to spin up a spinner or extend the solar sails of a
three axis stabilized spacecraft.
The control word is converted into a command word, which is sent in a TDM frame to the
satellite. After checking for validity in the spacecraft, the word is sent back to the control station
via the telemetry link where it is checked again in the computer. If it is found to have been
received correctly, an execute instruction will be sent to the satellite so that the command is
executed.
Solar cells are mounted on the body of a satellite or on flat panels. Mounting the solar cells on
the satellite’s body results in a more compact configuration but since not all cells will be
illuminated by the Sun at any one time; the power generated is less than it would be from large
panels made of solar cells that are continually positioned to face the Sun. The solar panels often
have a large surface area compared with the rest of the satellite, so they sustain a relatively large
number of collisions with debris particles. Solar panels are fragile and can be damaged easily,
but partial damage to a solar panel may not disable the satellite. Satellites often can continue to
function with partially working solar panels, albeit with diminished capacity. However, if the
solar panels fail to deploy or are torn off, a satellite without another power source would cease
functioning fairly quickly. A malfunction of the power distribution system could also totally
impair the satellite.
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Attitude estimates must be calculated quickly and continuously during the entire operational life
of the mission. During normal operations, the problem is recursive—the attitude filter basing
new predictions on present and prior sensor information. The attitude filter must also estimate
from activation when the spacecraft is first initiated and no prior data is available.
The systems designed to carry out 3-axis attitude determination are inevitably complex, but must
still be designed with the utmost care to perform the task as reliably as possible. Any, even
temporary malfunction is potentially serious, damaging fragile instruments, breaking
communications links, upsetting measurements and disrupting power generation.
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When a system is designed to automatically receive a transmission, amplify it, and send it back
to Earth, possibly at a different frequency, it is called a transponder .A satellite-based radar
system is also composed in part of transmitters and receivers used to send and then receive the
radio waves. Receivers are also used by the military for signals intelligence i.e., eavesdropping
on military communications, detecting the operating frequencies of enemy radar, or collecting
telemetry from ballistic missile tests. Similarly, a satellite may carry transmitters to send out
radio signals, such as the navigation signals from the Global Positioning System. A satellite may
be designed to transmit a signal to a specific receiver on the Earth, or to broadcast it over a large
area.
2.2 PAYLOAD:
The payload is the business-end of the satellite, consisting of:
Military communications satellites have ground stations that range from large, permanent
command headquarters to small, mobile field terminals. Ground stations are generally not highly
protected from physical attack. Disabling a control station may have an immediate disruptive
effect, but the disruption can be reduced by having redundant capabilities, such as alternate
control centers. Computers at control centers may be vulnerable to attack and interference,
especially if they are connected to the Internet. However, high value command computers will
have high security, and many of the military command center computers are isolated from the
Internet.
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The plane (xi, yi) containing the earth’s equator is called equatorial plane.
Orbital elements are used to specify the absolute or inertial coordinates of the satellite at time t.
The set commonly used in satellite communications is –
1. Eccentricity(e)
2. Semi major axis (a)
3. Inclination (i)
4. Right ascension of ascending mode (Ω)
5. Argument of perigee (ω)
6. Mean anomaly (at epoch) (M)
7. Look angles
The main two elements that define the shape and size of the ellipse:
3.2.1 Eccentricity:
The Eccentricity (e) defines how oval the satellite's orbit is. It is mathematically defined as the
ratio of the orbit's focus distance (c) to the orbit's semi-major axis (a).
e=c/a
The eccentricity of a satellite orbit is a unit less value that lies between 0 (circular orbit) and 1
(parabolic orbit).
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Two elements define the orientation of the orbital plane in which the ellipse is embedded:
3.2.3 Inclination:
Inclination (i): The angle that the orbital plane makes with the equatorial plane is the inclination
angle i. It can also be thought as the vertical tilt of the ellipse with respect to equatorial
plane(reference plane).
Vertical tilt of the ellipse with respect to the reference plane, measured at the ascending node
(where the orbit passes upward through the reference plane).
In this diagram, the orbital plane (yellow) intersects a reference plane (gray). For earth-orbiting
satellites, the reference plane is usually the Earth's equatorial plane, and for satellites in solar
orbits it is the ecliptic plane. The intersection is called the line of nodes, as it connects the center
of mass with the ascending and descending nodes. This plane, together with the Vernal Point (ɣ),
establishes a reference frame.
M(t) = M0 + n (t - t0)
t = the time chosen; and t0 = the time of the last known Mean Anomaly.
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For a perfectly circular orbit (Eccentricity of 0), the Mean Anomaly is exactly equal to the True
Anomaly throughout the orbit.
a) Azimuth angle (Az): The angle measured eastward from geographic north to the
projection of the satellite path on a local horizontal plane on earth station.
b) Elevation (ε): is defined between the centre of the satellite beam and the plane
tangential to the earth’s surface. A so called footprint can be defined as the area on earth
where the signals of the satellite can be received.
c) Inclination Angle (δ): is defined between the equatorial plane and the plane
described by the satellite orbit. An inclination angle of 0 degrees means that the satellite
is exactly above the equator.
If the earth and the satellite are considered as point masses influenced only by mutual
gravitational attraction, then Keplerian Orbit results.
In reality, the earth and satellites respond to many other influences like asymmetry of Earth’s
gravitational field, the gravitational field of sun and moon, solar radiation pressure, atmospheric
drag and so on. These interfering forces cause the true orbit to be different from a Keplerian
ellipse.
4.1 Introduction:
This unit discusses the basics of satellite and elaborating the parameters which are needed to
calculate the distance of an orbit to which a satellite is to be launched and the other factors which
are necessary to define an orbit. Further this unit discusses the applications of satellites and
elaborates on the global communication which has now become possible due to the presence of
satellites. Going further, this unit also elaborates on the types of orbits a satellite can follow to
provide communication.
Satellites orbit around the earth. Depending on the application, these orbits can be circular or
elliptical. Satellites in circular orbits always keep the same distance to the earth’s surface
following a simple law:
Kepler’s Law:
1. The orbit of a satellite is an ellipse with the centre of the earth at one of the foci.
2. The line joining the centre of the earth and the satellite sweeps over equal areas in equal
intervals of time.
3. The square of the orbital period of 2 satellites have the same ratio as the cubes of the
mean distance from the centre of the earth, i.e. .
The distance r = ( )
( )
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From the above equation it can be concluded that the distance of a satellite to the earth’s surface
depends on its rotation frequency.
For most satellite launches, the scheduled launch rocket is aimed straight up at first. This gets the
rocket through the thickest part of the atmosphere most quickly and best minimizes fuel
consumption.
After a rocket launches straight up, the rocket control mechanism uses the inertial guidance
system to calculate necessary adjustments to the rocket's nozzles to tilt the rocket to the course
described in the flight plan.
The IGS determines a rocket's exact location and orientation by precisely measuring all of the
accelerations the rocket experiences, using gyroscopes and accelerometers. Mounted in gimbals,
the gyroscopes' axes stay pointing in the same direction. This gyroscopically stable platform
contains accelerometers that measure changes in acceleration on three different axes. If it knows
exactly where the rocket was at launch and the accelerations the rocket experiences during flight,
the IGS can calculate the rocket's position and orientation in space.
In most cases, the flight plan calls for the rocket to head east because Earth rotates to the east,
giving the launch vehicle a free boost. The strength of this boost depends on the rotational
velocity of Earth at the launch location. The boost is greatest at the equator, where the distance
around Earth is greatest and so rotation is fastest.
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Once the rocket reaches extremely thin air, at about 120 miles (193 kilometres) up, the rocket's
navigational system fires small rockets, just enough to turn the launch vehicle into
a horizontal position. The satellite is then released. At that point, rockets are fired again to ensure
some separation between the launch vehicle and the satellite itself.
Most ELV (Expendable Launch Vehicles) launchers put the satellite in an inclined elliptical
orbit called a transfer orbit with an apogee at geosynchronous altitude and a 185-370 perigee. At
the transfer orbit apogee, a rocket engine called the Apogee Kick Motor (AKM) puts the
satellite into a circular geosynchronous orbit with (ideally) zero inclination. The AKM must be
capable of increasing the satellite velocity from 1.58 km/s to 3 km/s in geosynchronous orbit
while simultaneously reducing the orbital inclination to zero.
Geosynchronous satellites launched by STS (Space Transportation System) are moved from this
orbit to a transfer orbit by an additional stage frequently called a PAM (Payload Assist Module)
or a perigee motor.
for satellites, as that would be impractical due to atmospheric drag. With the exception of the
manned lunar flights of the Apollo program, all human spaceflights have taken place in LEO.
These satellites in this orbit are placed 500-1500 kilometres above the surface of the earth. As
LEOs circulate on a lower orbit, hence they exhibit a much shorter period that is 95 to 120
minutes. LEO systems try to ensure a high elevation for every spot on earth to provide a high
quality communication link. Each LEO satellite will only be visible from the earth for around ten
minutes.
The orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low earth orbit is about 7.8 km/s, but reduces
with increased orbital altitude. The delta-v needed to achieve low earth orbit starts around
9.4 km/s. (In astrodynamics a Δv or delta-v (literally "change in velocity") is a measure of the
amount of "effort" that is needed to change from one trajectory to another by making an orbital
maneuver. It is a scalar that has the units of speed.
Delta-v is produced by the use of propellant by reaction engines to produce a thrust that
accelerates the vehicle). Atmospheric and gravity drag associated with launch typically adds 1.5-
2.0 km/s to the delta-v launch vehicle required to reach normal LEO orbital velocity of around
7.8 km/s (28,080 km/h). Present day mobile communication systems use LEO satellites.
These satellites rise and set with the sun. Their orbit is defined in such a way that they are always
facing the sun and hence they never go through an eclipse.
For these satellites, the surface illumination angle will be nearly the same every time. (Surface
illumination angle is the angle between the inward surface normal and the direction of light. This
means that the illumination angle of a certain point of the Earth's surface is zero if the Sun is
precisely overhead and that it is 90 degrees at sunset and at sunrise). This consistent lighting is a
useful characteristic for satellites that image the Earth's surface in visible or infrared wavelengths
(e.g. weather and spy satellites) and for other remote sensing satellites (e.g. those carrying ocean
and atmospheric remote sensing instruments that require sunlight).
Typical sun-synchronous orbits are about 600 to 800 km in altitude, with periods in the 96 to
100 minute range, and inclinations of around 98° (i.e. slightly retrograde compared to the
direction of Earth's rotation: 0° represents an equatorial orbit and 90° represents a polar orbit).
Examples of Sun-Synchronous Satellites: Yohkoh, TRACE, Hinode and Proba-2,
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Fig 4.3 - LEO, Sun-Synchronous & MEO orbits and their respective distances from Earth
There is a difference between the geostationary and geosynchronous orbits. We should note that
while other orbits may be many, there is ONLY ONE Equatorial orbit, i.e. the orbit which is
directly above the earth's equator. Sometimes we send a satellite in the space which though has a
period of revolution is equal to period of rotation of earth, but its orbit is neither equatorial nor
Circular. So, this satellite will finish one revolution around the earth in exactly one day i.e. 23
hours, 56 Minutes and 4.1 seconds, yet it does NOT appear stationary from the earth. It looks
oscillating but NOT stationary and that is why it is called Geosynchronous.
2. Northern or southern regions of the Earth (poles) have more problems receiving these
satellites due to the low elevation above a latitude of 60°, i.e., larger antennas are needed
in this case.
3. Gravitational pull of sun and moon makes these satellites deviate from their orbit. Over
the period of time, they go through a drag. (Earth’s gravitational force has no effect on
these satellites due to their distance from the surface of the Earth.)
4. These satellites experience the centrifugal force due to the rotation of Earth, making them
deviate from their orbit.
5. The non-circular shape of the earth leads to continuous adjustment of speed of satellite
from the earth station.
6. The transmit power needed is relatively high which causes problems for battery powered
devices.
7. Huge propagation delay (~300 milliseconds) occurs.
8. Degradation of SNR takes place as huge power is to be provided for communication via
GEO satellite from earth.
9. Due to the large footprint, either frequencies cannot be reused or the GEO satellite needs
special antennas focusing on a smaller footprint.
10. There is no link diversity.
11. Expensive launching and maintenance mechanism.
Examples of GEO satellites: INMARSAT (used for VSAT).
Characteristic features:
1. It provides service at high altitudes and it gives selected area coverage.
2. The satellite has to pass through Van Allen belt.
3. It has the highest propagation delay.
4. The satellite is complex.
5. The launching and maintenance cost is highest.
Example of HEO satellites: Vela 1A.
satellite constellation also uses a polar orbit to provide telecommunications services. The
disadvantage to this orbit is that no one spot on the Earth's surface can be continuously sensed
from a satellite in a polar orbit. A satellite can hover over one polar area much the time, albeit
from far away, using a polar highly elliptical orbit with its apogee above that area.
To implement this frequency planning, the world is divided into three regions:
Within these regions, frequency bands are allocated to various satellite services, although a given
service may be allocated different frequency bands in different regions. Some of the services
provided by the satellite are:
Fixed satellite service: Provides Links for existing Telephone Networks Used for
transmitting television signals to cable companies.
Broadcasting satellite service: Provides Direct Broadcast to homes. E.g. Live Cricket
matches etc.
Meteorological satellite services: They are often used to perform Search and Rescue
service.
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There are 6 frequency bands that have been allocated for use of satellite communication. Based
on the satellite service, following are the frequencies allocated to the satellites:
5.2.2 Telephone:
The first and historically most important application for communication satellites was in
intercontinental long distance telephony. The fixed Public Switched Telephone Network
relays telephone calls from land line telephones to an earth station, where they are then
transmitted to a geostationary satellite.
Instead of using cables it was sometimes faster to launch a new satellite. But, fiber optic cables
are still replacing satellite communication across long distance as in fiber optic cable, light is
used instead of radio frequency, hence making the communication much faster (and of course,
reducing the delay caused due to the amount of distance a signal needs to travel before reaching
the destination.).
Using satellites, to typically reach a distance approximately 10,000 km away, the signal needs to
travel almost 72,000 km, that is, sending data from ground to satellite and (mostly) from satellite
to another location on earth. This results in substantial amount of delay and this delay becomes
more prominent for users during voice calls.
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Satellite communications are still used in many applications today. Remote islands such as
Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Diego Garcia, and Easter Island, where no submarine cables are
in service need satellite telephones. There are also regions of some continents and countries
where landline telecommunications are rare to nonexistent, for example large regions of South
America, Africa, Canada, China, Russia, and Australia. Satellite communications also provide
connection to the edges of Antarctica and Greenland. Other land use for satellite phones are rigs
at sea, a backup for hospitals, military, and recreation. Ships at sea often use satellite phones, and
planes
5.2.3 Radio:
Satellite radio offers audio services in some countries, notably the United States. Mobile services
allow listeners to roam a continent, listening to the same audio programming anywhere. A
satellite radio or subscription radio (SR) is a digital radio signal that is broadcast by a
communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio
signals. Satellite radio offers a meaningful alternative to ground-based radio services in some
countries.
Radio services are usually provided by commercial ventures and are subscription-based. The
various services are proprietary signals, requiring specialized hardware for decoding and
playback. Providers usually carry a variety of news, weather, sports, and music channels, with
the music channels generally being commercial-free.
In areas with a relatively high population density, it is easier and less expensive to reach the bulk
of the population with terrestrial broadcasts. Thus in the UK and some other countries, the
contemporary evolution of radio services is focused on Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)
services or HD Radio, rather than satellite radio.
Amateur radio operators have access to the amateur radio satellites that have been designed
specifically to carry amateur radio traffic. Most such satellites operate as space borne repeaters,
and are generally accessed by amateurs equipped with UHF or VHF radio equipment and highly
directional antennas such as Yagis or dish antennas. Due to launch costs, most current amateur
satellites are launched into fairly low Earth orbits, and are designed to deal with only a limited
number of brief contacts at any given time. Some satellites also provide data-forwarding services
using the X.25 or similar protocols.
5.2.4 Television:
As television became the main market, its demand for simultaneous delivery of relatively few
signals of large bandwidth to many receivers being a more precise match for the capabilities of
geosynchronous comsats. Two satellite types are used for North American television and radio:
Direct broadcast satellite (DBS), and Fixed Service Satellite (FSS).
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Fixed Service Satellites use the C band, and the lower portions of the Ku bands. They are
normally used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks and local affiliate stations
(such as program feeds for network and syndicated programming, live shots, and backhauls), as
well as being used for distance learning by schools and universities, business television (BTV),
Videoconferencing, and general commercial telecommunications. FSS satellites are also used to
distribute national cable channels to cable television head ends.
Free-to-air satellite TV channels are also usually distributed on FSS satellites in the Ku band.
The Intelsat Americas 5, Galaxy 10R and AMC 3 satellites over North America provide a quite
large amount of FTA channels on their Ku band transponders.
A direct broadcast satellite is a communications satellite that transmits to small DBS satellite
dishes (usually 18 to 24 inches or 45 to 60 cm in diameter). Direct broadcast satellites generally
operate in the upper portion of the microwave Ku band. DBS technology is used for DTH-
oriented (Direct-To-Home) satellite TV services
Some manufacturers have also introduced special antennas for mobile reception of DBS
television. Using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology as a reference, these antennas
automatically re-aim to the satellite no matter where or how the vehicle (on which the antenna is
mounted) is situated. These mobile satellite antennas are popular with some recreational vehicle
owners.
traditional navigation systems. Many vehicles come with installed GPS receivers. This system is
also used, e.g., for fleet management of trucks or for vehicle localization in case of theft.
Since HAPs operate at much lower altitudes than satellites, it is possible to cover a small region
much more effectively. Lower altitude also means much lower link budget (hence lower power
consumption) and smaller round trip delay compared to satellites. Furthermore, deploying a
satellite drains significant time and monetary resources, in terms of development and launch.
HAPs, on the other hand, do not cost much and are rapidly deployable. Another major difference
is that a satellite, once launched, does not allow for full maintenance, while HAPs do
Another solution involves shrinking the size and complexity of satellites. Scientists at
California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University have been working since 1999
on a new type of satellite, called CubeSat that relies on building blocks as small as 4 inches (10
centimetres) on a side. Each cube receives off-the-shelf components and can be combined with
other cubes, usually from different teams, to make a more complex payload. By standardizing
the design and spreading the development costs to multiple parties, the costs of the satellite don't
escalate as greatly. A single CubeSat spacecraft might cost less than $100,000 to develop, launch
and operate.
This illustration demonstrates how CubeSat1 could use its radar and laser cross-track sensor to
measure the distance and relative motion of the other satellite (CubeSat2 on left).
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