TCOM 750

Satellite Communications Fundamentals

Sept 15, 2004

Satellite RF Fundamentals 1
 Announcements

‰ Tonight we will view a video on amateur radio satellite

operations and discuss some concepts presented in the
class notes.
‰ Next week: Perspectives on Winning Proposals
¾ Guest Lecturer: Steve Trieber
‰ Recommended URLs:
¾ Surrey Space Centre: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/SSC/
¾ Surrey Satellite Technology LTD: http://www.sstl.co.uk
¾ SpaceQuest LTD: http://www.spacequest.com/
¾ Space Systems Development Lab: http://ssdl.stanford.edu/
¾ US Naval Academy Satellite Lab:
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/satstation.html

Satellite RF Fundamentals 2
 Team Rosters

TEAM 1 TEAM 2 TEAM3

1 Naim Kassar David Davis Yingjie Hall

2 Heng Fan Azzie Legesse Ravi Bhalotia
3 Arpan Shah Ayele Antenagegnehu Roger Ensminger
4 Mark Norton Timothy Maier Shelley Mountjoy
5 Kenneth Lim Shahid Nasim Yang Liu
6 Dana Jaff Padmanabhan Raman Anouar Benahmed

Satellite RF Fundamentals 3
 Objectives

‰ Refresh your knowledge of basic RF communications

concepts related to the operation of spacecraft.
‰ Analyze how amateur radio satellite operations and
methods can apply to our project.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 4
 Satellite RF Communications Architecture

Geostationary
Relay Satellite(s)
Spacecraft
Space Link
Antenna

Transmitter
OR
Data

Instrument
Space Link
Sensor

Data
to
Processor Data
Receiver to
Receiver
EARTH Processor

Satellite RF Fundamentals 5
 Subsystems of Satellite RF Communications
Atmospheric
Pointing Polarization Space Pointing
Loss,
Loss Loss Rain Loss
Loss Loss

Transmitter Receiver
SPACE
CHANNEL

Antenna Galactic, Star, Antenna

Terrestrial Noise

Power
Amplifier
Receiver
Receiver
Noise

Transmitter

Modulator Implementation Demodulator

Loss

Information Information
Source Sink
Satellite transmitter-to-receiver link with typical loss and noise sources
Satellite RF Fundamentals 6
 Definitions & Some Basics

‰ dB = 10 log10 (x); x is usually a power ratio

¾ dBW ≡ 10 log10 (watts)
Š For 100 watts; dBW = 10 log10 (100) = 20 dBW
¾ dBm ≡ 10 log10 (milliwatts)
Š For 100 watts; dBm = 10 log10 (100000) = 50 dBm
‰ Carrier Frequency
¾ Units are Hz
¾ MHz = Hz x 106
¾ GHz = Hz x 10 9
‰ Frequency Bands (of interest)
¾ S-Band = 2-3 GHz
¾ X-Band = 7-8 GHz
¾ Ku-Band = 13-15 GHz
¾ Ka-Band = 23-28 GHz

Satellite RF Fundamentals 7
 Logarithmic Scale

dBW dBm
20 dBW 100 Watts 50 dBm

Always a 30 dB
13 dBW 20 Watts 43 dBm difference between
dBm and dBW
10 dBW 10 Watts 40 dBm

0 dBW (Ref) 1 Watts 30 dBm

-10 dBW 0.1 Watts 20 dBm

-30 dBW 0.001 Watts 0 dBm (Ref)

(1 milliwatt)

-40 dBW 0.0001 Watts -10 dBm

A power below the reference level has

negative value, for either dBm or dBW

Satellite RF Fundamentals 8
 What is Doppler & Doppler Rate?
B

A
C

AOS LOS
T
BI
OR
EARTH

Doppler
Rate
Doppler
+∆ f Shift

A B C
Nominal (at-rest)
frequency -∆f

⎛ Vs ⎞
Doppler Shift = ∆f = ± ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ fs
⎝ C − V s ⎠
Vs = Radial velocity component between S/C and Site in the direction of the observer
C = Speed of Light = 2.997925 x 108 meters/sec.
Fs = Frequency of Transmission
∆f Vs
Doppler rate of change = = as f
∆t (C − Vs )2 s Doppler shifts become greater as the frequencies
become higher.
where as = rate of change of Vs = acceleration

Satellite RF Fundamentals 9
 Doppler & Doppler Rate

‰ Phase lock loops

Error
Input Signal Phase & Signal Low Pass
± Frequency
Filter
Doppler Comparer

Filtered
Error
Voltage Signal
Controlled
Oscillator

¾ Enable receiving & tracking of Doppler shifted signals

¾ Used in virtually all spacecraft & ground station designs to
accommodate dynamic frequency changes

Satellite RF Fundamentals 10
 Analog and Digital Data

Satellite RF Fundamentals 11
 Analog and Digital Data

‰ Most instrument data starts out as analog data

Volts

time

‰ Most analog data is converted to digital data (binary 2n)

Volts
7
6
5
4
time

‰ 3 bit system
Binary Analog
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 2 5 7 6 4
0 1 1 3
1 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
1 0 1 5
1 1 0 6
1 1 1 7 Serial data stream transmitted

Satellite RF Fundamentals 12
 Analog and Digital Data

‰ Why use digital data

+ Better performance vs. noise
+ Lends itself to computer processing & coding
- Consumes more bandwidth

Volts

Analog
Signal
t

Sampling Rate ≥ Nyquist rate (≥ 2 fmax)

Digital
Sampling fmax – max frequency component of the original signal
t

Digital
Bit
Stream t

Satellite RF Fundamentals 13
 Spectra Basics

Satellite RF Fundamentals 14
 Spectra (Baseband Signals)

Frequency Domain
Time Domain A
Amplitude
V(t) = Asin2πft Fourier

t
Transform
Hz
1
Period = T f=
T
∞ - j2πft
v(f ) = ∫ v(t ) e dt
-∞
Amplitude

y(t)
sin x ( )
x
Fourier
t

Transform
T

∞ - j2πft
7/T 6/T 5/T 4/T 3/T 2/T 1/T 1/T 2/T 3/T 4/T 5/T 6/T 7/T

y(f ) = ∫ y(t ) e dt
-∞

Satellite RF Fundamentals 15
 Spectra (Modulated Signal)

Given: an arbitrary modulating signal M(t)

an arbitrary “carrier signal” cos 2πfct
then the modulated signal V(t) ≡ M(t) cos 2πfct
Find: The Fourier transform of V(t)
∞
M(f ) = ∫ M(t ) e - j2 π fmt dt is the Fourier transform of M(t)
-∞
1 j2 πf t 1 − j2 πfc t
using the identity cos 2πfc t = e c + e
2 2
1 1
Then: M(t ) cos 2πfc t = M(t)e j2 πfc t + M(t )e − j2 πfc t
2 2

Then: The Fourier transform of V(t) = V(f)

A
1∞ 1∞
V (f ) = ∫ M(t ) e- j2π ( fm + fc )tdt + ∫ M(t ) e- j2 π( fm − fc )tdt M(0)
2 -∞ 2 -∞

f
-fm 0 fm
½ M(0) ½ M(0)

f
-fc 0 fc

Satellite RF Fundamentals 16
 Coding/Spreading/Data Compression

Satellite RF Fundamentals 17
 The Effects of Channel Noise

‰ In digital communications, raw data is put into the form of

bits, 1’s and 0’s.
‰ A carrier signal is modulated using this raw data for
convenient transmission over the channel.
‰ The carrier signal is subject to noise corruption in the
channel, sometimes making it impossible to reconstruct
the raw bits at the receiver.
¾ If a transmitted bit is received as its opposite (e.g., a 1 received
as a 0 or vice versa), then a “bit error” has occurred.
‰ This results in a progressive loss of information at the
receiver as the number of mistranslated bits grows.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 18
 BER and Eb/No

‰ The rate at which bits are corrupted beyond the capacity

to reconstruct them is called the BER (Bit Error Rate).
¾ A BER of less than 1 in 100,000 bits is generally desired for an
average satellite communications channel (also referred to as a
BER of 10-5).
¾ For some types of data, an even smaller BER is desired (10-7).
‰ The BER is directly dependent on the Eb/No, which is the
Bit Energy-to-Noise Density ratio.
¾ Since the noise density present on the channel is difficult to
control, this basically means that BER can be reduced through
using a higher powered signal, or by controlling other parameters
to increase the energy transmitted per bit.
‰ As the following chart shows, the BER will decrease (i.e.,
fewer errors) if the Eb/No increases.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 19
 Higher Eb/No Reduces the BER

BER Versus Eb/No

10-3

Some ways of
Increasing Eb/No
10-4
• Increase signal power
• Use a bigger antenna
• Use a super cooled receiver
BER

10-5

These methods can

10-6 be expensive

lower Eb/No higher

Satellite RF Fundamentals 20
 Another Strategy to Reduce BER

BER Versus Eb/No

10-3

Another strategy is to shift the

whole curve over to the left
10-4
This change in performance
can be achieved by using
Error Correction Coding Now the same BER can be
BER

achieved using a lower Eb/No

10-5

Less expensive method of

10-6 mitigating channel noise

lower Eb/No higher

Satellite RF Fundamentals 21
 Error Detecting versus Error Detecting/
Correcting Codes
‰ An error detecting code can only detect the presence of errors,
not correct them.
¾ This implies error detection and a subsequent request for
retransmission.
‰ There are times when retransmission of the message is not
practical.
¾ If a spacecraft is transmitting a playback dump of a storage device while
making a short pass over a ground station, it may not have time to stop
the transmission and retransmit in a short enough time.
‰ An error detecting/correcting code, on the other hand, has the
ability to detect a defined number of errors and correct them
for a prescribed environment that caused the errors, which is
commonly called Forward Error Correction (FEC).
¾ Usually, for a given code, more errors can be detected than can actually
be corrected.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 22
 Error Correction Codes

‰ Error control coding aims to correct errors caused by noise

and interference in a digital communications scheme.
‰ In error control coding, the information bits are represented as
another sequence of bits, also called coded symbols; this new
sequence is sent over the channel.
‰ This new sequence will use redundant information, often called
parity bits, to provide error protection (e.g., send a 0 as 00000
and a 1 as 11111).
‰ Now individual bit errors will not necessarily result in the
incorrect decoding of the original information bits.
¾ For instance, if 1 or 2 of the five 0’s sent over the channel in the above
example are interpreted as 1’s at the receiver, the original 0 can still be
decoded correctly if one makes a final decision based on the majority of
the received coded symbols.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 23
 Types of Error Correction Codes

‰ A rate 1/2 convolutional code, an example of one family of codes, is often

used on NASA space communication links.
¾ 2 coded symbols for every 1 data symbol (i.e., 100% overhead)
¾ Provides improved performance in a Gaussian noise environment
‰ The Reed-Solomon code, a special type of “block” code, also has the
advantage of smaller bandwidth expansion and also has the capability to
indicate the presence of uncorrectable errors.
¾ Provides improved performance in a bursty noise environment
¾ Overhead approximately 12%
‰ Where a greater coding gain is needed than can be provided by the
convolutional code or the Reed-Solomon code alone, the two codes are
often concatenated to provide a higher error-correction performance.
¾ One code serves as the “outer” code, one as the “inner” code

Satellite RF Fundamentals 24
 Typical Encoded Link

Baseband RF
Data Data Signal Signal
symbols symbols
1.12 Msps 2.24 Msps
Data Bits
1 Mbps Rate ½
R/S Modulator &
Convolutional LNA
Encoder Transmitter
Encoder
fc Antenna Antenna
Receiver

Data symbols
2.24 Msps
0 0 0 fc
1 MHz 2 MHz 1.12 2.24 2.24 2.24 2.24 Convolutional
MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz Decoder

Data symbols
1.12 Msps

R/S
Decoder
Note: Coding increases the bandwidth
of the baseband RF signal
Data Bits
1 Mbps
(with some errors)

Satellite RF Fundamentals 25
 Example Error Correcting Performance

‰ For a BER of 10-5, Theoretical THEORETICAL CURVES

Required Eb/N0 is as follows:

1

¾ Uncoded PSK: 9.6 dB 10 -1

¾ Reed-Solomon (R-S) Coding: 6.0 dB

¾ Convolutional Coding (7,1/2) 10 -2

PSK: 4.4 dB IDEAL PSK, NO CODING

¾ Convolutional + R-S 10 -3
CONV. CODING (7, 1/2)

(no R-S interleave): ~3.0 dB R-S CODING (255, 223)

¾ Convolutional + R-S 10 -4

(ideal R-S interleave): ~2.4 dB CONV. + R-S (IDEAL INTERLEAVE)

Pe
‰ (7,1/2), where rate 1/2 indicates that 10 -5 CONV. + R-S (NO INTERLEAVE)

for every 1 bit into the encoder 2

symbols are output of the encoder 10 -6

and 7 is the number of shift 10 -7

registers used to generate the

output symbol of the encoder. 10 -8

‰ Interleaving takes adjacent bits and

separates them to help protect from 10 -9

interference. 10 -10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12

E /N (dB)
b o

Satellite RF Fundamentals 26
 Data Compression

‰ Data transmission and storage cost money.

¾ Despite this, digital data are generally stored in efficient ways such as
ASCII text or binary code.
¾ These encoding methods require data files about twice as large as
actually needed to represent the information.
‰ Data compression is the general term for the various
algorithms and programs developed to address this problem.
¾ A compression program converts data from an easy-to-use format for
one optimized for compactness. Basically it discards redundant data
with a prescribed algorithm.
¾ An uncompression program returns the information to its original form.
‰ As an example of compression, a fax device compresses the
data before it sends it to reduce the time needed to transmit
the document.
¾ This can reduce the cost of transmission 10 or more times.
¾ Compression will be required for the Design Project Problem.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 27
 Spread Spectrum Definition
‰ Spread Spectrum (SS) was developed originally as an anti-jamming
technique.
¾ A jamming signal is a narrowband, high power signal which falls in the
bandwidth of the desired signal, thus disrupting communications
¾ Jamming can be intentional, or it can result from natural phenomena
such as multipath.
‰ SS works by spreading the desired signal over a much larger
bandwidth, Wss, much in excess of the minimum bandwidth W
necessary to send the information.
¾ A spreading signal, or coding signal, which is independent of the data, is
used to accomplish spreading.
¾ At the receiver, the original data is recovered through a process called
despreading, in which a synchronized replica of the spreading signal is
correlated with the received spread signal.
‰ Spreading used in the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)
¾ Reduce flux density of signals to meet Spectrum Management
requirements.
¾ Provide isolation for signals on same frequency.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 28
 Basic Spread Spectrum Technique: Direct Sequence

Signal x(t)
Recovered
Symbol (Data) x x Filter
data
rate R

spreading code spreading code

signal g(t) signal g(t)
chip rate Rch chip rate Rch

Rch ≈ ≥ 10 symbol (data) rate

‰ Multiplication by the spreading signal once spreads the signal bandwidth.

‰ Multiplication by the spreading signal twice recovers the original signal.
‰ The desired signal gets multiplied twice, but the jamming signal gets
multiplied only once.
‰ g(t) must be deterministic, since it must be generated at both the
transmitter and receiver, yet it must appear random to authorized
listeners.
¾ Generally g(t) is generated as a pre-defined pseudo-random sequence of 1s and
–1s through the use of prescribed shift registers.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 29
 Spreading: Effect of Spread Spectrum

G(f) Jammer with total power J

JO = J/W

Before Spreading

Gss(f) J'o = Jo (W/Wss)

After Spreading

wss

Satellite RF Fundamentals 30
 Spreading: Overview of Various Spreading
Techniques
‰ Direct Sequencing (DS) is the SS technique described above.
¾ Allows separation between desired signals all at the same frequency &
polarization
¾ Aids in meeting required flux density regulations
¾ Enables range determination of spacecraft
¾ Rule of thumb – spreading chip rate x 10 of symbol (data) rate
‰ In Frequency Hopping (FH), the frequency spectrum of the desired
signal is shifted pseudorandomly over M different frequencies.
¾ Each hop lasts a very short time, making the presence of a jamming signal in any
one hopped frequency band much less effective.
¾ FS is still a form of SS, as it requires greatly expanded bandwidth to operate.
‰ Time Hopping (TH) uses a coded sequence to turn the transmitter on
and off in a pseudorandom fashion to counter a pulsed jamming
signal.
¾ Requires, not more bandwidth, but a greater time duration for transmission.
¾ Not effective against continuous wave jammers, so it is usually combined with
other techniques.
‰ Hybrids of the three techniques above are often used.
¾ DS/FH, FH/TH, or DS/FH/TH are examples.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 31
 Modulation Schemes

Satellite RF Fundamentals 32
 Definition of Modulation

‰ Modulate means to change something

¾ In telecommunications, it means to change the amplitude,
frequency or phase of the carrier signal.
‰ Digital symbols (usually bits) are transformed into
waveforms by a process called digital modulation.
¾ These digital waveforms are then used to modulate the carrier.
‰ The following slide shows some commonly used Pulse
Code Modulation (PCM) waveforms.
‰ Definition: Baseband signals are those signals that are
used to modulate a high frequency carrier signal.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 33
 Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) Waveforms

1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

NRZ-Level (or NRZ-Change)

0 "One" is represented by one level
NRZ-L "Zero" is represented by the other level
1
NRZ-Mark
0
NRZ-M "One" is represented by a change in level
1 "Zero" is represented by no change in level

0 NRZ-Space
NRZ-S "One" is represented by no change in level
1 "Zero" is represented by a change in level

0 RZ
R-Z "One" is represented by a half-bit wide pulse
1 "Zero" is represented by no pulse condition
0 Bi-Phase-Level (or SplitPhase, Manchester 11+ 180o )
Biø-L
"One" is represented by a 10
1 "Zero" is represented by a 01
0
Biø-S Bi-Phase-Space
1 A transition occurs at the beginning of every bit period
"One" is represented by no second transition
0 "Zero" is represented by a second transition one-half bit period later
Biø-M
1 Bi-Phase-Mark
A transition occurs at the beginning of every bit period
"One" is represented by a second transition one-half bit period later
"Zero" is represented by no second transition

1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
MIS-01 NG5061

Satellite RF Fundamentals 34
 Motivation for Modulation

‰ It would be very difficult to send a baseband signal directly over a

channel because antennas are used to transmit electromagnetic
fields through space.
‰ The size of an antenna depends on the wavelength of the signal to be
transmitted.
¾ Often the antenna size is taken to be λ/4.
‰ A baseband signal has a relatively low frequency and therefore a very
large wavelength that is calculated as c/f, where c is the speed of light
and f is the frequency.
¾ An antenna might need to be unacceptably long to directly transmit a baseband
signal.
¾ If the baseband information is first modulated on a high frequency carrier, then the
required antenna diameter will be much more reasonable.
‰ In addition, by modulating carriers at different frequencies, more than
one baseband signal may be sent over the same channel, thus
increasing data throughput. This is call frequency multiplexing
(similar to current radio and TV broadcasting).

Satellite RF Fundamentals 35
 The Carrier Wave/How to Modulate

‰ The general form of a carrier wave is:

s(t) = A(t) cos [wct + ø(t)] S(t) ()
sin x
Modulator x

wc = carrier freq
A(t) = amplitude fc reference fc
ø(t) = phase

‰ The carrier can be modulated by using the baseband signal to

vary one or more of the above parameters over a duration of T,
the symbol period.
‰ Coherent modulation may be used when the receiver can
exploit knowledge of the actual carrier phase.
‰ Noncoherent modulation is used when knowledge of the
absolute phase is unavailable.
¾ Less complicated, but comes with a performance degradation.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 36
 QPSK versus BPSK

‰ BPSK modulation results in 1 symbol/Hz, where QPSK

modulation results in 2 symbols/Hz).
¾ As a result, the spectrum of QPSK is narrower than that of BPSK.
¾ The mainlobe of QPSK is half the width of the BPSK spectrum
mainlobe.
‰ The probabilities of bit error for BPSK and QPSK are
equal, but QPSK can support twice the data rate that
BPSK can.
‰ Higher orders of PSK can be designed (8-PSK, 16-PSK,
etc.), but there is a tradeoff (higher required power or
higher BER).

Satellite RF Fundamentals 37
 Comparison of Spectra for BPSK and QPSK for a
Given Data Rate
BPSK
4.5
BPSK, Uncoded
QPSK 4 QPSK, Uncoded

Required RF Bandwidth / Data Rate

3.5 QPSK, Rate 1/2 Coded

BPSK, Rate 1/2 Coded

3 Bandwidth Co
Difference d
Ga ing
in
2.5

2 Coding
Gain
Bandwidth
1.5
Difference

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Theoretical Required Eb/N0 for BER of 10 -5 , dB

1a

BPSK 1 = 180 DEGREES

0 = 0 DEGREES Inphase and Q I
Quadrature biphase 1b 0a
Two signals
states
for QPSK: Delay Data
BPSK by 90 degrees on 1
Four states
channel
1 0 for QPSK
0b
Satellite RF Fundamentals 38
 Noise Basics

Satellite RF Fundamentals 39
 Sources of System Noise

‰ The presence of noise degrades the performance of a satellite link

‰ The noise present in a satellite communications system (often called the
“system noise”) comes from many different sources
¾ Some of it is injected via the antenna from external sources
¾ Some of the noise is generated internally by various receiver
components
‰ The noise which comes in through the antenna can be seen as random
noise emissions from different sources, and it is also called the sky noise
¾ Terrestrial sources such as lightning, radio emissions, and the
atmosphere
¾ Solar radiation
¾ Galactic background (moon, stars, etc.)
‰ The receiver-generated noise can be caused by various receiver
components
¾ Results from thermal noise caused by the motion of electrons in all
conductors
¾ The principal components that generate noise are the active devices
such as LNA and random noise stemming from passive elements, such
as the line from the antenna to the receiver

Satellite RF Fundamentals 40
 Noise Temperature of a Device

‰ Noise temperature is a useful concept in communications

receivers, since it provides a way of determining how
much thermal noise is generated by active and passive
devices in the receiving system
¾ The physical noise temperature of a device, Tn, results in a noise
power of Pn = KTnB
K = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K; K in dBW = -228.6 dBW/K
Tn = Noise temperature of source in Kelvins
B = Bandwidth of power measurement device in hertz
‰ Because satellite communications systems work with
weak signals, it is mandatory to reduce the noise in the
receiver as far as possible
¾ Generally the receiver bandwidth is made just large enough to
pass the signal, in order to minimize noise power

Satellite RF Fundamentals 41
 The System Noise Temperature

‰ To determine the performance of a receiving system, we must find

the total thermal noise against which the signal must be
demodulated.
¾ The combination of all the noisy devices plus the antenna noise.
‰ This can be done by representing the receiver components as
noiseless devices with their individual gains and, at their inputs,
noise sources with the same noise power as the original noisy
components.
¾ The next slide shows how this is done for an earth station receiver.
‰ It is then easy mathematically to combine all of the noise sources
into one noise source, located at the input of a noiseless receiver.
¾ The noise temperature of this source, Ts, is called the system noise
temperature.
‰ The total noise power can then be calculated easily, for link
budget purposes, as Pn = KTsBG.
¾ G is the total gain of the receiver.
¾ B is the bandwidth of interest.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 42
 Noise Figure and the G/T Figure of Merit

‰ Noise figure can also be used to specify the noise generated

within a device
NF = (S/N)in/(S/N)out
‰ The noise figure of a device is related to its noise temperature
by:
Td = T0(NF - 1), where T0, the reference temperature, is usually 290° K (room
temperature)
RF AMP

NFdB = 3 dB; NF= 103/10= 2

Td = 290 (2-1) = 290° K
‰ The receiver gain and the system noise temperature can be
combined as a ratio, Gr/Ts, often just written as G/T
¾ For example, if the receive antenna is 50 dBi and the system noise
temperature is 500° K , then Gr/Ts = 50-10log (500) ≅ 23.0 dB/° K
‰ The G/T is often used as a figure of merit for an earth station
¾ As G/T goes up, so does the quality of the earth station

Satellite RF Fundamentals 43
 The Calculation of System Noise Temperature
(Cont’d)
‰ Example:
3 dB

Tsky = 50° LNA DEMODULATOR IF AMP RECEIVER

Loss = L NFLNA = 3 dB = 2 NFDC = 10 dB = 10 NFIF = 10 dB = 10 NFR = 10 dB = 10

1 GLNA = 30 dB GDC = 30 dB GIF = 30 dB GR = 30 dB
∈=
L
1
∈= = 0.5
10 3 dB / 10
Ts @ Reference Point

System Noise Temperature ≡ Ts °K To is reference temperature of each device = 290°K (assumed)

Ts ≈∈ Tsky + (1− ∈)To + (NFLNA − 1)To +

(NFPC − 1)To + (NFIF − 1)To + ...
GLNA GLNAGDC

(10 − 1)290 (10 − 1)290

≈ 0.5(50) + (1 − 0.5)290 + (2 − 1)290 + + + ...
1000 1000 x1000

≈ 25 + 145 + 290 + 2.6 + .0026 + ...

≈462 °K

Satellite RF Fundamentals 44
 Components

Satellite RF Fundamentals 45
 Components of Interest

‰ Antennas
¾ Receive & transmit RF (radio frequency) energy
¾ Size/type selected directly related to frequency/required gain
Gain Pattern
Omni Antenna (idealized) Directional (Hi-Gain) Antenna

0 dBi
360°

Isotropic antenna

Omni Antenna (typical)

Theta Cut
100 90 80
110 70
120 60
130 50

140 40

160
150 30

20
-3 dB Beamwidth
plot1 mtheta
170 10
plot2 mtheta

Three_dB 180 0
Gain is relative to
190

200 340
350

isotropic with units of Boresight

dBi
210 330

220 320

Peak Gain = X dBi

230 310
240 300
250 290

Side Lobes
260 270 280

Satellite RF Fundamentals 46
 Components of Interest (Cont’d)

‰ Antennas (cont’d)
¾ Polarization: the orientation of the electrical field vector;
specifically, the figure traced as a function of time by the
extremity of the vector at a fixed location in space, as observed
along the direction of propagation
¾ To minimize polarization loss, the transmit and receive antennas
should have the same polarization.

Linear Polarization Linear Polarization Circular Polarization Circular Polarization

Vertical Horizontal Left hand Right hand

Satellite RF Fundamentals 47
 Components of Interest (Cont’d)

‰ Filters & Diplexers

Band A
A
Pass
Filter
f1 – f2

f f
f1 f2

Receive fr
fr (2106.4 MHz)

Diplexer ft (2287.5 MHz)

Transmit ft

¾ Diplexer provides isolation between transmit & receive signals

Satellite RF Fundamentals 48
 Components of Interest (Cont’d)
‰ Transmitters (modulators) & Receivers (demodulators)

Transmitter Receiver
Original Original
Signal Signal
A A
sin (x ) sin (x )
x x

7/T 6/T 5/T 4/T 3/T 2/T 1/T 1/T 2/T 3/T 4/T 5/T 6/T 7/T
f 7/T 6/T 5/T 4/T 3/T 2/T 1/T 1/T 2/T 3/T 4/T 5/T 6/T 7/T

fc fc

‰ Transponders & Transceivers

Switch Transmitter
Diplexer
Transponder Receiver Transceiver
Mode
Mode

‰ Power Amplifier
Power
Transmitter Amplifier
G = 13 dB

1 watt (0 dBW) 20 watt (13 dBW)

Satellite RF Fundamentals 49
 Link Equation

‰ For an isotropic antenna in free space conditions, the power supplied

to the antenna, PT, is uniformly distributed on the surface of a sphere
of which the antenna is the center
‰ The power flux-density is the power radiated by the antenna in a
given direction at a sufficiently large distance, d, per unit of surface
P
area is: Power flux density = T
; d = distance
4πd
i 2

‰ The power flux-density radiated in a given direction by antenna

P G
having a gain, GT, in that direction is: Power flux density (pfd) = T T

4πd 2

‰ The equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) = PT GT

PG A
‰ The power received by an antenna with area AR is: P = pfd A = T T R

4πd
R R 2

4πA c
‰ The gain of any antenna, for example GR, is: G = ; λ= r

λ f
R 2

Satellite RF Fundamentals 50
 Link Equation (Cont’d)

PT GT AR PT GT GR EIRP GR EIRP GR ⎛ 4 π d⎞
2
PR = = = = where L = ⎜ ⎟
4 π d2 (
4πd
λ
2
) (
4πd
λ
2
L ) ⎜ λ ⎟
⎝ ⎠

Free Space Path Loss = (L) = 32.44 + 20 log d + 20 log f

dB km MHz
(see backup for derivation)
PT d
‰ In general, (P ) R dB
= (EIRP)dB + (GR )dB − (L)dB
GT
Receiving
(PR )dB = (EIRP)dB + (GR )dB − (Σ all losses) dB Antenna
Hypothetical Area = AR
Sphere

Satellite RF Fundamentals 51
 Link Equation
Let the noise spectral density, No ≡ KT
where K = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K; K in dBW = -228.6 dBW/K
T = system noise temperature in Kelvins
Gr
power P ⎛ Pr ⎞ ⎛G ⎞
Then the in 1 Hz ≡ r = EIRP KT ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = (EIRP ) dB + ⎜ r ⎟ - (K ) dB - (Losses ) dB
noise No Losses ⎝ No ⎠dB ⎝ T ⎠dB
The power received to noise density is related to the data rate by the energy per bit
as follows: ⎛ Pr ⎞ ⎛ Eb ⎞ ⎛ Eb ⎞
⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ R where: R = Bit Rate ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = Energy/bit received
⎝ No ⎠r ⎝ No ⎠r ⎝ No ⎠r

⎛ Eb ⎞ ⎛P ⎞
⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = ⎜⎜ r ⎟⎟ - R dB
⎝ No ⎠rdB ⎝ No ⎠dB

The actual Eb/N0 can be compared to the required Eb/N0 to see how much “margin”
the system contains.
is related to BER (see
⎛E ⎞ ⎛E ⎞ ⎛ Eb ⎞
Margin = ⎜⎜ b ⎟⎟ − ⎜⎜ b ⎟⎟ ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ theoretical curves for given
⎝ No ⎠rdB ⎝ No ⎠Req'd dB ⎝ No ⎠ Req' d dB modulation and coding scheme)
If the margin is not high enough, or is less than 0 dB, then, using the link budget, a system
engineer can easily determine how the communication system needs to be improved to
achieve the desired performance.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 52
 Link Budget Analysis

‰ A link budget is an engineering tool for satellite

communication systems, used to demonstrate and analyze link
performance
¾ Generally the desired end result is Bit Error Rate (BER), or the Eb/N0
required to achieve a desired BER
‰ Link performance is analyzed in terms of:
¾ Transmit power
¾ Antenna parameters (e.g. gain)
¾ Received system noise levels (usually specified as noise temperature)
¾ Other factors (e.g. propagation losses, interference, intermodulation)
‰ As for any budget, numbers are added and subtracted together
in a table format, with the “bottom line” at the bottom
¾ Factors that contribute to a higher Eb/N0 are added as positive numbers,
like “credits”
¾ Factors that contribute to a lower Eb/N0 are added as negative numbers,
like “debits”

Satellite RF Fundamentals 53
 Additional Losses on a Real Satellite Link

‰ On an ideal link, the only power loss term would be the

path loss caused by the dispersion of the transmit power
over the transmitter-to-receiver range.
‰ For a real satellite communications link, many other
losses need to be considered as well.
¾ Polarization loss, caused by the a mismatch between the
transmitting and receiving antennas.
¾ Rain attenuation and atmospheric loss.
¾ The receiver implementation loss.
¾ Pointing loss, caused by imperfect pointing of the antennas
¾ Miscellaneous other losses.
‰ In the link budget, these losses are sometimes listed as
line items subtracted from the received power, but some
of them may be combined in different ways.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 54
 Sample Link Budget (direct to ground)

Σ Losses = 0.67 dB Polarization loss

178.95 dB space loss @ 2575 KM and 5° elevation
QPSK 0.45 dB atmospheric loss
1.2 dB rain loss

8212.5 MHz 11m

Ground
Antenna
I = 75 MBPS Loss = 1.13 dB SPACE
Encoder
LNA Receiver
& Transmitter
Q = 75 MBPS Gain = 4.84 dBi G/T = 33.3 dB/K
data

11.6 dBW 10.49 dBW EIRP = 15.31 dBW C

= 95.95 dB Hz
No
I Q

⎛ Eb ⎞
⎜ ⎟
⎜ N ⎟ = 12.19 dB Decoder
⎝ o ⎠r

⎛ Eb ⎞
⎜ ⎟ = 4.25 dB
⎜N ⎟
⎝ o ⎠REQ'D

Implementation Loss = 2.0 dB

Decoded Data
Alaska SAR Facility
MARGIN = 5.94 dB
11 meter antenna

Satellite RF Fundamentals 55
 Example Link Budget (direct to ground)
*** DOWNLINK MARGIN CALCULATION***

GSFC C.L.A.S.S. ANALYSIS #1 DATE & TIME: 4/ 1/99 10:13:39 PERFORMED BY: Y.WONG
LINKID: EOS-AM/SGS

FREQUENCY: 8212.5 MHz RANGE: 2575.0 km

MODULATION: QPSK
I CHANNEL Q CHANNEL
--------- ---------
DATA RATE: 75000.000 kbps DATA RATE: 75000.000 kbps
CODING: RATE 1/2 CODED CODING: RATE 1/2 CODED
BER: 1.00E-05 BER: 1.00E-05

99.95 AVAILABILITY
GR EL=5 DEGREES

PARAMETER VALUE REMARKS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. USER SPACECRAFT TRANSMITTER POWER - dBW 11.60 NOTE A; EOL
02. USER SPACECRAFT PASSIVE LOSS - dB 1.13 NOTE A
03. USER SPACECRAFT ANTENNA GAIN - dBi 4.84 NOTE A include multipath loss
04. USER SPACECRAFT POINTING LOSS - dB .00 NOTE A
05. USER SPACECRAFT EIRP - dBWi 15.31 1 - 2 + 3 - 4
06. POLARIZATION LOSS - dB .67 NOTE A
07. FREE SPACE LOSS - dB 178.95 NOTE B
08. ATMOSPHERIC LOSS - dB .45 NOTE B; EL: 5.0 DEG
09. RAIN ATTENUATION - dB 1.20 Include Scintillation loss 1.1 dB
10. MULTIPATH LOSS - dB .00 NOTE A
11. GROUND STATION G/T - dB/DEGREES-K 33.30 G/T with rain at 5 degrees
12. BOLTZMANN'S CONSTANT - dBW/(Hz*K) -228.60 CONSTANT
13. RECEIVED CARRIER TO NOISE DENSITY - dB/Hz 95.95 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 + 11 - 12

I CHANNEL Q CHANNEL
--------- ---------
14. I-Q CHANNEL POWER SPLIT LOSS - dB 3.01 3.01 NOTE B; 1.00 TO 1.00
15. MODULATION LOSS - dB .20 .20 NOTE A
16. DATA RATE - dB-bps 78.75 78.75 NOTE A
17. DIFFERENTIAL ENCODING/DECODING LOSS - dB .20 .20 NOTE A
18. USER CONSTRAINT LOSS - dB 1.60 1.60 2 dB Includes diff encoding and
modulation losses
19. RECEIVED Eb/No - dB 12.19 12.19 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18
20. IMPLEMENTATION LOSS - dB 2.00 2.00
21. REQUIRED Eb/No - dB 4.25 4.25 I: NOTE B; Q: NOTE B
22. REQUIRED PERFORMANCE MARGIN - dB 3.00 3.00 NOTE A
23. MARGIN - dB 2.94 2.94 19 - 20 - 21 - 22

NOTE A: PARAMETER VALUE FROM USER PROJECT - SUBJECT TO CHANGE

NOTE B: FROM CLASS ANALYSIS IF COMPUTED

Satellite RF Fundamentals 56
 TDRSS Return Link Power Received

‰ For ease of calculation, TDRSS defines the relationship

between data rate and the signal power level received
isotropically at TDRS (Prec) for a Bit Error Rate of 10-5
‰ Ideal required Prec = RbdB + K
¾ For rate 1/2 coded signals, assume: K = -221.8 (MA); -231.6 (SSA); -245.2
(KuSA); -247.6 (KaSA)
‰ Due to defining the Prec isotropically at TDRS, the predicted received
power is calculated the same as identified earlier (see Link Equation
slide); however, GR is set to 1 (= 0 dB) for the isotropic antenna. (i.e.,
Prec = Pr = GRGTPT(λ/4πR)2 Watts)
¾ In dB, this can be expressed as PR = GR + GT + PT + 20Log(λ/4πR) dBW
‰ Margin = Predicted Prec – Ideal Prec – Other Losses
¾ Other Losses are treated as debits and encompass items such as
polarization loss (mismatch of the transmit polarization with receiving
polarization), pointing loss (inability of transmit antenna to point to
receiving antenna), incompatibility loss, and interference degradation.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 57
 Example Simple TDRS Link Budget using Prec
Equation

*** RETURN LINK CALCULATION -- NETWORK SYSTEMS ENGINEER ANALYSIS ***

GSFC C.L.A.S.S. ANALYSIS #0 DATE & TIME: 03/03/03 10: 1:31 PERFORMED BY: R. BROCKDORFF
USERID: EOS-AM LINKID: KSA8L RELAY SYS.: TDRS-East TO STGT

SERVICE: FREQUENCY: DATA GROUP/MODE: POLAR: RANGE CASE: ALTITUDE: ELEVATION: RANGE:
KuSA 15003.4 MHz DG-2 MODE-2A LCP MAXIMUM 710.6 Km 1.5 Deg 44592.7 Km
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I CHANNEL Q CHANNEL

DATA RATE = 75000.00 KBPS DATA RATE = 75000.00 KBPS

MOD TYPE = QPSK MOD TYPE = QPSK
SYMBL FMT = NRZ-M SYMBL FMT = NRZ-M
RATE 1/2 CODED RATE 1/2 CODED

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPACE-SPACE LINK NOTES
------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------
1 USER TRANSMIT POWER, dBW 12.00 User Provided Data
2 PASSIVE LOSS, dB 1.80 User Provided Data
3 USER ANTENNA GAIN, dBi 44.30 User Provided Data
4 POINTING LOSS, dB 2.20 User Provided Data
5 USER EIRP, dBW 52.30 (1)-(2)+(3)-(4)
6 SPACE LOSS, dB 208.95 CLASS Analysis
7 ATMOSPHERIC LOSS, dB 0.00 Not Considered
8 MULTIPATH LOSS, dB 0.00 Not Considered
9 POLARIZATION LOSS, dB 0.10 User Provided Data
10 SSL RAIN ATTENUATION, dB 0.00 User Provided Data
11 Prec AT INPUT TO TDRS, dBW -156.75 (5)-(6)-(7)-(8)-(9)-(10)
12 Required Prec AT INPUT TO TDRS, dBW -163.44 -245.2 + 10*log (Data Rate)
13 DYNAMICS LOSS, dB 0.00 Not Considered
14 USER CONSTRAINT LOSS, dB 0.00 CLASS Analysis
15 RFI LOSS, dB 0.00 CLASS Analysis
16 MARGIN, dB 6.69 (11)-(12)-(13)-(14)-(15)

• Slight difference in simplified link budget vs detailed link budget due to exact
customer configuration and space-to-ground link effects

Satellite RF Fundamentals 58
 Sample Link budget (thru TDRS)
QPSK Σ Losses = 0.10 dB Polarization loss
208.95 dB space loss @ 44592.7 KM and 1.5° elevation

15003.4 MHz
Loss = 2.2 dB
I = 75 MBPS Loss = 1.8 dB
Encoder
Space
& Transmitter
Q = 75 MBPS Gain = 44.30 dBi

Space Ground Link

12 dBW 10.2 dBW EIRP = 52.30 dBW Transparent to

the link budget
when using the
ideal Prec
equation
LNA QPSK

Prec is defined here for a unity gain

antenna and BER = 10-5
Predicted Prec = -156.75 dBW
Ideal Required Prec = -163.44 dBW Receiver
Margin = 6.69 dB
data
I = 150 Msps Q = 150 Msps

Decoder
Note: Significantly more EIRP needed as
compared to a direct downlink
(52.3 vs. 15.31 dBW)

Decoded Data

Satellite RF Fundamentals 59
 Geometric Coverage (Ground)
Florida ground station with spacecraft altitudes 400, 800, and 1200 km
Merritt Island

400 km
800 km
1200 km

Elevation angle is the angle between local horizontal at ground station and spacecraft

Satellite RF Fundamentals 60
 Geometric Coverage (Ground)
Ground station elevation angles of 0, 10, and 20 degrees
Merritt Island

El = 0O
El = 10O
El = 20O

Satellite RF Fundamentals 61
 Geometric Coverage (Ground)
Spacecraft altitude = 1200 km
Merritt Island

Another
antenna

Building

Antenna
limits

Effects of terrain and antenna limitations

Elevation angel = 0°

Satellite RF Fundamentals 62
 Geometric Coverage (Ground)
Coverage circle for Svalbard at a spacecraft altitude of 400 km

Svalbard
Location

0° elevation angel

Satellite RF Fundamentals 63
 Geometric Coverage (Ground)
Spacecraft Orbit of 400 KM, 65 deg inc circular
Hawaii (HAW3), Alaska (AGIS), Wallops Island (WPSA), Svalbard (SGIS), McMurdo (MCMS)

Svalbard

AGIS

WPSA

HAW3

MCMS

Satellite RF Fundamentals 64
 Geometric Coverage (Ground)
Spacecraft Orbit of 400 KM, 98 deg inc circular
Hawaii (HAW3), Alaska (AGIS), Wallops Island (WPSA), Svalbard (SGIS), McMurdo (MCMS)

AGIS

WPSA

HAW3

Satellite RF Fundamentals 65
 Geometric Coverage (TDRS)
Synchronous Satellite Coverage at 319 deg long

Synsat location

Coverage
No coverage

Spacecraft height = 500 km

Satellite RF Fundamentals 66
 TDRS Basics

Satellite RF Fundamentals 67
 NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)

‰ The TDRSs are in geosynchronous orbit at allocated longitudes

¾ A geostationary satellite is in a circular orbit parallel to and 35786.43 km above the
equator with an angular velocity that matches that of the earth.
Š It hovers above a fixed point on the equator and therefore appears to be motionless.
¾ A geosynchronous satellite has the same orbit period as a geostationary satellite,
but its orbit may be elliptical and inclined.
Š A geosynchronous satellite in an inclined circular orbit moves in a figure-8 pattern as viewed from
earth.
Š To maintain a geosynchronous orbit, a satellite must periodically make east-west corrections or it
will drift in longitude.
‰ The TDRSs, along with supporting ground systems, make up NASA’s
Space Network.
‰ The Space Network was established to act as a bent-pipe relay (i.e.,
repeater) and dramatically increase coverage to low earth orbiting
satellites as compared to a worldwide network of ground stations.
¾ The SN dramatically increased tracking and data acquisition (T&DA) coverage from
15% to 85% per orbit of low earth orbiting spacecraft as well as decreased
operational costs (see coverage slides for depiction).
Š Requires ~ 30 dB additional EIRP vs direct to ground
¾ Today, 100% line-of-sight coverage can be provided to LEO customers.
Š Use of 2 TDRS constellation has a Zone of Exclusion (ZOE)
Š Use of 3 TDRS constellation does not have ZOE

Satellite RF Fundamentals 68
 TDRSS Constellation

WHITE SANDS
COMPLEX
GUAM REMOTE
GROUND TERMINAL

F-5
174°W F-7 TDRS-8 TDRS-I F-1 F-6 F-4 F-3
TDW 171°W 170.7°W 149.5°W 049°W 047°W 041°W 275°W
(in storage) TDS TDE TDZ
TDRS-J
150°W

McMurdo Ground Station

McMurdo TDRS Relay System
(McMurdo, Antarctica)

Satellite RF Fundamentals 69
 TDRSS FIELDS OF VIEW

WHITE
SANDS
COMPLEX

GUAM
254°
174° TDW 94° TDW
321°
121° 41° TDE
355° 195°

127° 47° TDS 327° 275° TDZ

91° 251° F-7

171° F-7

0/360
-180W 180W

TDRS VIEWS BASED ON 600KM USER ALTITUDE AT

THE EQUATOR

Satellite RF Fundamentals 70
 TDRSS Ground Segment
‰ TWO FUNCTIONALLY IDENTICAL,
GEOGRAPHICALLY SEPARATED GROUND
TERMINALS AT THE WHITE SANDS TEST
FACILITY

‰ THE WHITE SANDS COMPLEX (WSC) HAS

FIVE SPACE TO GROUND LINK
TERMINALS (SGLTs)

‰ A SIXTH SGLT HAS BEEN INSTALLED AT

THE REMOTE GROUND TERMINAL ON
GUAM AS AN EXTENDED WSC SGLT

‰ DATA SERVICES MANAGEMENT CENTER

¾ OPERATIONAL HUB LOCATED AT WSC

FOR COORDINATING ALL SPACE
NETWORK ACTIVITIES BETWEEN
CUSTOMERS AND SN

Satellite RF Fundamentals 71
 Space Segment: Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite (F1 - F7)
Solar array
Power output is Single Access Antenna
approximately 1800 Dual frequency communications
watts and tracking functions:
S-band TDRSS (SSA)
Omni Antenna (S-band) K-band TDRSS (KSA)
and Solar Sail K-band auto-tracking
4.9 meter shaped reflector assembly
SA equipment compartment
mounted behind reflector
Two axis gimballing

Space-to-Ground-Link Antenna
Multiple Access Antenna TDRS downlink
30 helices: 2.0 meter parabolic reflector
12 diplexers for transmit Dual orthogonal linear polarization TDRS:
30 receive body mounted single horn feed
Single commanded beam, transmit orthomode transducer
20 adapted beams for receive Two axis gimballed
Ground implemented receive function

• Forward (FWD): link from TDRSS Ground Station through TDRS to Customer Spacecraft
• Return (RTN): link from Customer Spacecraft through TDRS to TDRSS Ground Station

Satellite RF Fundamentals 72
 Multiple Access (MA) vs Single Access (SA)

‰ Multiple Access (MA):

¾ Fixed S-band frequency (2106.4 MHz fwd and 2287.5 MHz rtn)
¾ Fixed polarization (left hand circular)
¾ Low data rate (<= 300 kbps)
¾ Forward service operations are time-shared amongst customers
¾ Return service supports multiple customers simultaneously
(lower service cost to customer vs SA)
Š Phased array antenna and beamforming equipment allow for spatial discrimination between
customers; PN spreading provides additional discrimination
¾ Return Demand Access Service allows customers to have a dedicated return link
continuously (lower service cost to customer)
‰ Single Access (SA):
¾ Multiple frequency bands (S-band, Ku-band, Ka-band)
Š S-band: selectable frequency (2025.8 – 2117.9 MHz fwd; 2200-2300 MHz rtn)
Š Ku-band: fixed frequency (13775 MHz fwd; 15003.4 MHz rtn)
Š Ka-band: selectable frequency (22550-23550 MHz fwd; 25250-27500 MHz rtn)
Š S-band and K-band simultaneously
¾ Selectable polarization (left or right hand circular)
¾ High data rate (up to 300 Mbps)
¾ Forward service operations are time-shared amongst customers
¾ Return service operations are time-shared amongst customers (higher service cost
to customer vs MA)

Satellite RF Fundamentals 73
 Data Rates Associated with Space Network Services

Service WSC & TDRS F1-F7 Capabilities(3) WSC & TDRS F8-F10 Capabilities

Forward Up to 7MBps; EIRP = 43.6 dBW (normal); 48.5 Up to 7 MBps; EIRP = 43.6 dBW (normal); 48.5
dBW (high) dBW (high)
S-Band
Return Up to 6 Mbps; G/T (min) = 9.0 dB/K Up to 6 Mbps; G/T (min) = 9.0 dB/K

Forward Up to 25 Mbps(4); Autotrack EIRP = 46.5 dBW Up to 25 Mbps(4); Autotrack EIRP = 46.5 dBW
(normal); 48.5 dBW (high) (normal); 48.5 dBW (high)
Ku-Band
Single Return Up to 300 Mbps; Autotrack G/T = 24.4 dB/K Up to 300 Mbps; Autotrack G/T = 24.4 dB/K
Access
Forward N/A Up to 25 Mbps(5); Autotrack EIRP = 63 dBW

Ka-Band
Return N/A Up to 300 Mbps/800 Mbps(1);
Autotrack G/T = 26.5 dB/K

SSA: 2/TDRS; 10/WSC; 2/GRGT SSA: 2/TDRS; 10/WSC; 2/GRGT(5)

Number of Single Access Links KuSA: 2/TDRS; 10 KuSA/WSC; 2/GRGT KuSA: 2/TDRS (2); 10/WSC; 2/GRGT(5)
KaSA: 2/TDRS (2); 8/WSC(5)

Forward 1/TDRS @ up to 300 kbps; 4/WSC; 1/GRGT 1/TDRS @ up to 300 kbps; 4/WSC(5)
EIRP = 34 dBW EIRP = 42 dBW (LEOFOV)
Multiple Access
Return 5/TDRS @ up to 300 kbps; 20/WSC; 2/GRGT; 5/TDRS @ up to 3 Mbps; 20/WSC(5)
Formed Beam G/T= 3.1 dB/K (Does not include G/T = 4.5 dB/K (LEOFOV) (6)
DAS)
User Tracking Range, 1&2 way Doppler Range, 1&2 way Doppler
(No Ka-band Tracking)
Notes:
1. Spacecraft only 3. For customer data configurations, see 450-SNUG, Space Network Users’ Guide
2. The SN can simultaneously support S-band or Ku/Ka-band (F8- 4. Current WSC configuration supports 7 Mbps
F10 only) forward and/or return services through 1 SA antenna to 5. Guam Remote Ground Terminal (GRGT) is not currently configured to support TDRS F8-F10
the same ephemeris. F8-F10 cannot simultaneously support 6. F8 may experience lower G/T performance less than 12 hrs per day
Ku/Ka-band services through 1 SA antenna.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 74
 Spectrum Management

Satellite RF Fundamentals 75
 Purpose of Spectrum Management

‰ Ensure that the system in which time and money has

been invested to develop provides the required quality of
service (i.e., Bit Error Rate) when it is deployed or
installed.

¾ Apply order to the use of the orbit/spectrum resource.

¾ Provide technical bases for coordination.

¾ Ensure that systems operate as intended.

¾ Promote the efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum.

¾ Accommodate new services, applications and technology.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 76
 Frequency Allocations

‰ The radio frequency spectrum is a national and

international resource whose use is governed by Federal
statutes and international treaty.
¾ Internationally: The International Telecommunication Union
(ITU), which is a specialized agency of the United Nations, acts as
the global spectrum coordinator and develops binding
international treaty governing the use of the radio spectrum by
some 40 different services around the world.
Š The Radio Regulations contain a number of provisions governing the way
the radio frequency spectrum is to be used.
¾ Nationally (within the US): responsibility is broken into 2 areas:
Š National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) manages the
Government spectrum
Š Federal Communications Commission (FCC) manages the non-
government spectrum
¾ The international and national Table of Allocations shows what
segments of the radio frequency spectrum are to be used by
which services.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 77
 Spectrum Allocations Available to NASA LEO
Missions for Telecommunications
Band Ground Network Space Network
Link/Frequency Allocated Services Link/Frequency Allocated Services
S-band Uplink: Primary: Space Operation, Earth Forward Link: Primary: Space Operation,
2025-2110 MHz Exploration-Satellite, 2025-2110 MHz Earth Exploration-Satellite,
Space Research Space Research
Downlink: Primary: Space Operation, Return Link: Primary: Space Operation,
2200-2290 MHz Earth Exploration-Satellite, 2200-2290 MHz Earth Exploration-Satellite,
Space Research Space Research
X-band Uplink: Primary: Space Research (non-deep Forward Link: N/A No Allocation
7190-7235 MHz space)
Downlink: Primary: Return Link: N/A No Allocation
8025-8400 MHz; Earth Exploration-Satellite
8450-8500 MHz (8025-8400 MHz)
Space Research (8450-8500 MHz)
Ku-band Uplink: N/A No Allocation Forward Link: Primary with Fixed-Satellite
13.75-14.0 GHz Service: Space Research (note)
Secondary with all other services:
Space Research
Downlink: N/A No Allocation Return Link: Secondary: Space Research
14.8-15.35 GHz
Ka-band Uplink: N/A No Allocation Forward Link: Primary: Inter-Satellite
22.55-23.55 GHz
Downlink: Primary: Earth Exploration-Satellite Return Link: Primary: Inter-Satellite
25.5-27 GHz 25.25-27.5 GHz
Note: In the band 13.75 –14.0 GHz geostationary space stations in the space research service, for which information for advance
publication has been received by the IFRB prior to 31 January 1992, shall operate on an equal basis with stations in the fixed satellite
service; new geostationary space stations in the space research service advanced published after that date will operate on a secondary
basis.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 78
 Background Material

Satellite RF Fundamentals 79
 References

‰ “Digital Communications,” Bernard Sklar

‰ “Antennas,” J.D. Ravs
‰ “Space Network Users’ Guide,” Rev. 8, June 2002,
http://gdms.gsfc.nasa.gov/
¾ Sign on as Guest
¾ Select CCMS
¾ Select Document Library
¾ Select Code 450
‰ “Error Bounds for Convolutional Codes and Asymmetrically Optimum
Decoding Algorithum,” A.J. Viterbi, IEEE Trans information Theory,
Vol. IT13, April 1967, pp 260-169
‰ “Principles of Digital Communications and Coding,” A.J. Viterbi and
J.K. Omura
‰ “Ground Network Users’ Guide,” February 2001,
http://www.wff.nasa.gov/~code452/
‰ “Digital Communications,” Kamilo Feher
‰ Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS)
http://www.CCSDS.ORG

Satellite RF Fundamentals 80
 Compression: Lossy versus Lossless Compression

‰ A lossless compression technique means that the

restored data file is identical to the original.
¾ This is necessary for many types of data, like executable code,
word processing files, etc.
¾ GIF images are examples of lossless compressed files.
‰ On the other hand, data files that represent images,
among others, do not have to be kept in perfect condition.
¾ A lossy compression technique allows a small level of noisy
degradation to the original data.
¾ Lossy techniques are much more effective at compression than
lossless methods: for a digital image, JPEG can achieve a 12-to-1
compression ratio, as opposed to a 2-to-1 ratio for GIF.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 81
 Link Equation: Pr/N0 for Cascaded Links

‰ Often a satellite communications link will consist of more than

one point-to-point path.
¾ For example, a satellite at low earth orbit often will send its data up to a
satellite at high earth orbit, which will then relay the data down to a
ground station.
‰ For a two-path system, the total Pr/N0 can be found as:
1
(Pr /N0 )Total =
1 1
+
(Pr /N0 )Up (Pr /N0 )Down

‰ As an example, if a link has uplink Pr/N0 of 60 dB-Hz and a

downlink Pr/N0 of 60 dB-Hz, then the overall Pr/N0 is 57 dB-Hz.
‰ Sometimes either the uplink or the downlink will be much more
high powered than the other.
¾ In this case, the total Pr/N0 will be almost identical to that of the weaker
link, and the link budget for the stronger link need not even be done at
all.
Satellite RF Fundamentals 82
 Link Equation: Geometric Coverage (TDRS)
TDRSS Satellite System: Areas of non coverage

Satellite RF Fundamentals 83
 Space Segment: Tracking and Data Relay Satellites

1 of 2 Single Access (SA) Antennas

‰ S & Ku-Band for F1-F7
‰ S, Ku, & Ka-Band for F8-F10
Field of View (Primary): ±22° E-W, ±28.0° N-S S-Band Phased – Array for
Extended FOV (HIJ only): ±76.8° E-W*, ±30.5° N- Multiple-Access (MA) Service
S**
‰ 1 Fwd, 5 Rtn Links for F1-F7***
‰ 1 Fwd, 5 Rtn Links for F8-F10
Field of View (Primary): ±13° conical

FWD
Link
Space-Ground
Space-GroundLink
Link

‰‰ Fwd:
Fwd: 14.6-15.225
14.6-15.225
GHz
GHz RTN
Link
‰
‰ Rtn:
Rtn: 13.4-14.05
13.4-14.05GHz
GHz
Customer
Spacecraft

Space-Space Link
Space-Space Link
‰
‰ Primary
Primarysite
siteatat ‰ Fwd: 2.025-2.120 GHz (S-band)
White
White Sands,NM
Sands, NM ‰ Fwd: 2.025-2.120 GHz (S-band)
- - STGT NASA
STGT TDRSS
TDRSS NASAandand 2.1064 GHz (MA)
- - WSGTU
WSGTU Ground Customer
Customer 2.1064 GHz (MA)
‰ Ground Ground 13.775 GHz (Ku-band)
‰ Additional
Additionalsite
siteatat Station
Station Ground 13.775 GHz (Ku-band)
22.55-23.55 GHz (Ka-band)
Guam Operations
Guamtotosupport
support Operations 22.55-23.55 GHz (Ka-band)
TDRS
TDRSatat85E
85E ‰ Fwd: 2.025-2.120 GHz (S-band)
- - GRGT
GRGT ‰ Fwd: 2.025-2.120 GHz (S-band)
2.1064 GHz (MA)
2.1064 GHz (MA)
13.775 GHz (Ku-band)
13.775 GHz (Ku-band)
22.55-23.55 GHz (Ka-band)
* - 76.8° outboard 22.55-23.55 GHz (Ka-band)
** - 24°E-W (inboard)
*** - Demand Access Service allows large expansion on the number of non-coherent return link services available through F1 – F7

Satellite RF Fundamentals 84
 Spectrum: Available Allocations for the
Ground Network and/or the Space Network
S-band
‰ Only bands that support both
MHz MHz the Ground Network (GN) and
the Space Network (SN) on a
2 010 – 2 170 2 170 – 2 450

Allocation to Services Allocation to Services

Region 1

2 010 – 2 025
Region 2

2 010 – 2 025
Region 3

2 010 – 2 025
Region 1

2 170 – 2 200 FIXED

Region 2 Region 3
primary basis.
FIXED
MOBILE
FIXED
MOBILE
FIXED
MOBILE
MOBILE ‰ Basic capabilities of the
Ground Network at S-band are:
MOBILE-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)
MOBILE-SATELLITE S5.388 S5.389A S5.389F S5.392A
(Earth-to-space)
2 200 – 2 290 SPACE OPERATION (space-to-Earth) (space-to-space)

S5.388
S5.388 S5.389C S5.389D
S5.389E S5.390 S5.388 EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE
(space-to-Earth) (space-to-space)
¾ Command rates to 32 kbps
2 025 – 2 110 SPACE OPERATION (Earth-to-space) (space-to-space)
EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE
FIXED (note)
¾ Telemetry and mission data
(Earth-to-space) (space-to-space) MOBILE S5.391

FIXED SPACE RESEARCH (space-to-Earth) (space-to-space)

MOBILE S5.391
SPACE RESEARCH (Earth-to-space) (space-to-space) 2 290 – 2 300
S5.392

FIXED
rates to 10 Mbps (note)
S5.392 MOBILE except aeronautical mobile
¾ Support available from
selected sites worldwide
2 110 – 2 120 FIXED SPACE RESEARCH (deep space) (space-to-Earth)

MOBILE 2 300 – 2 450 2 300 – 2 450

‰ Basic capabilities of the Space

SPACE RESEARCH (deep space) (Earth-to-space) FIXED FIXED

S5.388 MOBILE MOBILE

Network at S-band are:

2 120 – 2 160 2 120 – 2 160 2 120 – 2 160 Amateur RADIOLOCATION

FIXED FIXED FIXED Radiolocation Amateur

¾ Command rates to 300 kbps

MOBILE MOBILE MOBILE S5.150 S5.282 S5.395 S5.150 S5.282 S5.393 S5.394 S5.396

Mobile-Satellite

S5.388
(space-to-Earth)
S5.388 S5.388
PN spread
2 160 – 2 170
FIXED
2 160 – 2 170
FIXED
2 160 – 2 170
FIXED
¾ Telemetry and mission data
MOBILE MOBILE MOBILE rates to 6 Mbps
MOBILE-SATELLITE
(space-to-Earth)
S5.388 S5.389C S5.389D
¾ Virtually global support.
‰ Efforts to control the inter-
S5.388 S5.392A S5.389E S5.390 S5.388

service interference are under-

Note: Maximum support data rate is dependent on the particular way within the ITU-R.
ground station capabilities

Satellite RF Fundamentals
 Spectrum: Available Allocations for the Ground
Network and/or the Space Network
X-band
‰ Bands only support Ground
S5.460 Additional allocation: the band 7 145 - 7 235 MHz is also
allocated to the space research (Earth-to-space) service on a primary Network operations on a primary
basis, subject to agreement obtained under No. S9.21. The use of the basis
band 7 145 -7 190 MHz is restricted to deep space; no emissions to
deep space shall be effected in the band 7 190 - 7 235 MHz. ‰ The 7190-7235 MHz band may be
MHz
8 175-8 750
used to command subject to the
Allocation to Services earth station being coordinated
Region 1 Region 2 Region 3
with terrestrial systems operating
in the bands that might experience
8 175-8 215 EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)
FIXED

interference.
FIXED-SATELLITE (Earth-to-space)
METEOROLOGICAL-SATELLITE (Earth-to-space)
MOBILE

S5.462A S5.463 ‰ The 8025-8400 MHz and 8450-8500

8 215-8 400 EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)
FIXED MHz bands may be used for
FIXED-SATELLITE (Earth-to-space)
MOBILE transmissions in the space-Earth
8 400 – 8 500
S5.462A S5.463

FIXED
direction.
MOBILE except aeronautical mobile ‰ Basic capabilities of the Ground
Network at X-band are:
SPACE RESEARCH (space-to-Earth) S5.465 S5.466

S5.467

8 500-8 550 RADIOLOCATION

¾ Telemetry and mission data rates
to 150 Mbps (note)
S5.468 S5.469

8 550-8 650 EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE (active)

RADIOLOCATION
SPACE RESEARCH (active)

S5.468 S5.469 S5.469A

8 650-8 750 RADIOLOCATION

S5.468 S5.469

Note: Maximum support data rate is dependent on the particular ground station
capabilities

Satellite RF Fundamentals 86
 Spectrum: Available Allocations for the Ground
Network and/or the Space Network
Ku-band
GHz ‰ Bands only support Space
Network Operations (13.775 GHz
12.5-14.25

Allocation to Services

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 forward/15.0034 GHz return) on

13.75-14 FIXED-SATELLITE (Earth-to-space) S5.484A
RADIOLOCATION
a secondary basis
Standard Frequency and Time Signal-Satellite
(Earth-to-space) ‰ For TDRSS advanced
Space Research

S5.499 S5.500 S5.501 S5.502 S5.503 S5.503A publications received prior to

14-14.25 FIXED-SATELLITE (Earth-to-space) S5.484A S5.506
RADIONAVIGATION S5.504
January 31 1992, the 13.775 GHz
Mobile-Satellite (Earth-to-space)
except aeronautical mobile-satellite forward link operates on a
Space Research

S5.505
primary basis with respect to
the Fixed-Satellite Service (E-S).
GHz
‰ Basic capabilities of the Space
14.8 – 17.3
Network at Ku-band are:
Allocation to Services

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 ¾ Forward link will support up to

14.8 – 15.35 FIXED
MOBILE
25 Mbps.
Space Research
S5.339
¾ Return link will support up to
15.35 – 15.4 EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE (passive) 300 Mbps.
RADIO ASTRONOMY
SPACE RESEARCH (passive) ¾ Virtually global support.
S5.340 S5.511

Satellite RF Fundamentals 87
 Spectrum: Available Allocations for the Ground
Network and/or the Space Network
Ka-band
GHz ‰ The pair of Ka-band allocations
(22.55-23.55 GHz and 25.25-27.5
22.55 – 23.55

Allocation to Services

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 GHz) support only the Space

22.55 – 23.55 FIXED
INTER-SATELLITE
Network on a primary basis.
MOBILE
‰ The 25.5-27 GHz band is
S5.149
available globally on a primary
GHz
25.25 – 28.5
basis for S-E transmissions from
Allocation to Services Earth-exploration satellites.
Region 1 Region 2 Region 3

25.25 – 25.5 FIXED ‰ Basic capabilities of the Space

INTER-SATELLITE S5.536
MOBILE
Network at Ka-band are:
Standard Frequency and Time Signal-Satellite
(Earth-to-space) ¾ Forward links in the 22.55-23.55
25.5-27 EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE (space-to Earth)
S5.536A S5.536B
GHz band will support data
FIXED
INTER-SATELLITE S5.536
rates up to 25 Mbps.
MOBILE
Standard Frequency and Time Signal-Satellite
¾ Return links in the 25.25-27.5
27.5-28.5
(Earth-to-space)

FIXED
GHz band will support data
FIXED-SATELLITE (Earth-to-space) S5.484A S5.539
MOBILE
rates up to 300/800 Mbps (note)
S5.538 S5.540

Note: Capable of supporting 800 Mbps with upgrades to the TDRSS ground stations

Satellite RF Fundamentals 88
 Spectrum: Definition of Spectrum Allocations

‰ Space Research Service: A radiocommunication service in which spacecraft or

other objects in space are used for scientific or technological research purposes.
‰ Space Operation Service: A radiocommunication service concerned exclusively
with the operation of spacecraft, in particular space tracking, space telemetry and
space telecommand.
‰ Earth Exploration-Satellite Service: A radiocommunication service between earth
stations and one or more space stations, which may include links between space
stations, in which:
¾ information relating to the characteristics of the Earth and its natural phenomena, including data
relating to the state of the environment, is obtained from active sensors or passive sensors on Earth
satellites;
¾ similar information is collected from airborne or Earth-based platforms;
¾ such information may be distributed to earth stations within the system concerned;
¾ platform interrogation may be included.
¾ This service may also include feeder links necessary for its operation.
‰ Meteorological-Satellite Service: An earth exploration-satellite service for
meteorological purposes.
‰ Inter-Satellite Service: A radiocommunication service providing links between
artificial satellites.

Satellite RF Fundamentals 89