Assignment-II and Its Solution

1. A solar panel of a satellite is filled with 50000 solar cells of 8 sq-cm each. If 12% of
the total area is reserved for wiring, then calculate the area of the solar panel.

A. 55.5 sq-meter
B. 50 sq-meter
C. 45.5 sq-meter
D. 40 sq-meter

Solution:
It is mentioned that, the total number of solar cell is 50000. So, area occupied by
the solar cells is 50000 × 8 × 10−4 = 40 sq-meter. it is also mentioned that, the 12%
of the total area is reserved for the purpose of wiring, hence, 100 − 12 = 88% of
the total area is occupied by the solar cells. So, the total area of the solar panel is
40
.88
= 45.46sq-meter. Thus, the most appropriate choice is C

2. Two systems of reliability 0.8 and 0.9 are connected in series. The overall reliability
of the integrated system will be

A. 0.72
B. 0.85
C. 0.9
D. 0.98

Solution:
The overall reliability of a cascaded system r0 = R1 ×R2 . Here, R1 = 0.8 and R2 = 0.9.
So, R0 = 0.72. Thus, the correct one is A.

3. Determine the power received by a VSAT terminal with effective antenna aperture
area of 0.098 sq-meter. The receiver terminal is 40000Km away from the transmitter
and the transmitter transmits 20 KW power.

A. -100 dBw
B. -100.1 dBm
C. -130 dBm
D. none of these

Solution:
P t Ae 20×103 ×0.098
The power density at the receiver terminal is pd = 4πR 2 = 4π×(40000×103 )2 = 9.52×10
−14

Watts. This is equivalently, -100.1 dBm. Hence, the appropriate choice is B.

4. Telemetry system of the satellite samples in sequence 40 sensors each producing 20 bits,
adds 240 bits overhead to form a frame and transmits the data at 1 Kbps to Control
Earth Station 42,000 km away. How long does it take to receive a complete telemetry
data frame at control earth station after the last bit of the frame is transmitted by
the telemetry?

A. 1.04 sec

1
 B. 1.18 sec
C. 0.14 sec
D. 2 sec

Solution:
The system has 40 sensors which are producing 20 bits each. Therefore, total number
of bits produced by the sensor system is 40 × 20=800. The system adds 240 bits as
overhead. Hence, total no of bits per frame is 240 + 800 = 1040. Frame transmission
1040 6
rate is 1 Kbps. Tf = 1000 = 1.04 and propagation delay Td = 42×10
3×108
= 0.14 sec.
So, the total time required to reach a complete frame to the Control Earth Station is
1.04 + 0.14 = 1.18 sec. Thus, the correct choice is B.

5. A satellite antenna makes 3-dB angle of 50 to cover a specific region of the earth.
Assuming 80% antenna efficiency, determine the gain of the antenna at 10 GHz.

A. 48.7 dBi
B. 20.6 dBi
C. 32.5 dBi
D. 42.5 dBi

Solution:
By using the gain formula of an antenna for a specific 3-dB beam width we can write
2 752 2 2
that G = ηπ 2
θ3−dB
. Where the quantity θ3−dB is in degree. Thus, 0.8×π52×75 = 1776.53,
which is equivalently 32.5 dBi. So, the appropriate option is C.

6. Find number of cells required to generate end of life power of 5000 Watts. Assume,
solar flux of 1100 Watts/sq-meter, solar cell efficiency at EOL of 10%, loss due to
shielding is 28% and cell area is 8 sq-cm.

A. 78000
B. 87345
C. 78121
D. 78915

Solution:
The formula given here can be used to determine the number of required solar cells
P = φe(1 − l)Ns. Where P ,φ,e,l,N and s represent required power in watts, solar flux
density is watts per square meter area, efficiency at the end of life, loss factor due to
shielding, number of solar cells and area occupied by each of the solar cells in square
meter respectively. Therefore,
P 5000
N = φe(1−l)s = 1100×0.10(1−0.28)×8×10−4 = 78914.14 ≈ 78915. So, the appropriate choice

is D.

7. A box is consists of four identical components of equal reliability of 0.8 are connected
as shown in the figure below. Determine the reliability of the entire box.

2
 A. 0.87

B. 0.74

C. 0.93

D. 0.80

Solution:
Referring to the given figure, there are two parallel paths, and each of the paths
contains two components of equal reliability 0.8 in series. Therefore, the reliability
of the upper path is Ru = 0.8 × 0.8 = 0.64. In similar fashion, the reliability of
the lower path will be Rl = 0.64. Now we can see that, the paths connected in
parallel have equal reliability. Therefore, the Reliability of the overall connection will
be Rt = 1 − [(1 − Ru )(1 − Rl )] = 1 − 0.1296 = 0.87. So, the appropriate choice is A.

8. For an interplanetary mission the spacecraft receives tele−command consisting of

header and command word at 100 bps. If the system is designed to accept header
with up to two errors, then determine the minimum header length for false alarm
probability of once in 400 days.

A. 40
B. 42
C. 44
D. 46

Solution:
At 100 bps, probability of False Alarm, PFA happens once in 400 days. Hence, PFA =
1
400×86400
= 2.89 × 10−10 .
The probability of false alarm with header length of N and two or fewer errors will be
n
C 2 +n C 1 +n C 0
PFA = = 2.89 × 10−10
2N
The above equation can be solved by using numerical method and scientific calculator
will be helpful for solving this. Hence, by iteration, we can get N = 42. So, the
appropriate option is B.

9. For EOL DC power of 6 KW, 80% of the DC power is used by transponders. Each
of the transponders has DC to RF conversion efficiency of 25% and transmits 20 dBw
RF power. Find the number of transponders

A. 10
B. 11
C. 12
D. 13

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 Solution:
It is given that end of life DC power is 6 Kw. And each of the transponders transmits
20 dBw RF power, which is equivalently 100 watts.
The DC power to RF power efficiency of each of the transponders is 25%, hence, from
6 Kw DC power generated RF power would be 6000×0.25×0.80 = 1200 Watts. Hence
the number of transponders supported would be 1200
100
= 12.
So, the appropriate option would be C.

10. For the longest duration of eclipse of 72 minutes, the power required to be supplied
to the satellite is 4 KW. Each of the batteries has capacity of 93 Watt-hours, depth
of discharge of 80% with discharge efficiency of 95%. If the mean discharge voltage is
measured as 1.3 volts, determine the number of battery cells are required.

A. 50
B. 51
C. 52
D. 53

Solution:
TP
The capacity of the battery can be mathematically formulated as C = N Dv d ηd
. Where,
P, T, D, Vd, ηd and N represent power in watts, time in hours, depth of discharge in
percent, mean discharge voltage in volts, discharge efficiency and number of battery
cells respectively.
Hence, by using that formula,
PT
N=
ηd CDVd
4000 × 1.2
=
93 × 1.3 × 0.8 × 0.95
= 52.23
≈ 53

So, the appropriate option is D.