GURU TEGH BAHADUR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
PRACTICAL FILE

NAME-AKANSHA
ROLL NO.-02713202819
BRANCH –ECE-1
 INDEX

S.NO. NAME OF EXPERIMENT DATE SIGNATURE

1. To study design parameter of a satellite.

2. To find the link C/N Ratio.

3. Evaluation of SNR in Satellite links.

4. To obtain a plot of the relationship

between the height of satellite i.e.
orbital altitude and the satellite antenna
diameter for the parameter achieved
during link budget analysis.

5. Design and plot a rectangular microstrip

antenna using a substrate(RT/duroid
5880) with dielectric constant
2.2,h=0.05cm(0.019inch) so as to
resonate at 2.4GHz.

6. To study plot radiation pattern of a

rectangular patch antenna.

7. Design and plot a circular microstrip

antenna using a substrate(RT/duroid
5880) with dielectric constant
2.2,h=0.05cm(0.019inch) so as to
resonate at 2.4GHz

8. To study plot radiation pattern of a

circular patch antenna.
 EXPERIMENT-1

AIM: To study design parameter of a satellite.

THEORY:
A satellite is basically any object that revolves around a planet in a circular or elliptical
path. The moon is Earth's original, natural satellite, and there are many manmade
(artificial) satellites, usually closer to Earth.
• The path a satellite follows is an orbit. In the orbit, the farthest point from
Earth is the apogee, and the nearest point is the perigee.
• Artificial satellites generally are not mass-produced. Most satellites are
custom built to perform their intended functions. Exceptions include the
GPS satellites (with over 20 copies in orbit) and the Iridium satellites (with
over 60 copies in orbit).
• Approximately 23,000 items of space junk -- objects large enough to track
with radar that
were inadvertently placed in orbit or have outlived their usefulness -- are
floating above Earth. The actual number varies depending on which agency
is counting. Payloads that go into the wrong orbit, satellites with run-down
batteries, and leftover rocket boosters all contribute to the count.

Launching of a Satellite -

All satellites today get into orbit by riding on a rocket or by riding in the cargo bay of
the Space Shuttle. Several countries and businesses have rocket launch capabilities,
and satellites as large as several tons make it safely into orbit on a regular basis.
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. 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.

Diagram of a Satellite -
ANATOMY OF SATELLITE -

1. Altitude Control-
 Satellites must take precise measurements from their place in orbit so they
don't wobble,satellites are stabilized.
 Stabilizing a satellite is attitude control.
 The attitude of a satellite is its position in space - its orientation.
 Attitude determines what a satellite looks at - which way its cameras are
facing, and the angle the satellite makes with the object it is orbiting.
 To stabilize a satellite, the satellite must have a system that keeps it moving
evenly throughits orbit.
 Satellites often use a spinning or gyroscopic motion to keep them stable.
 A satellite's measurements and pictures will be inaccurate and fuzzy if it is
notstabilized.
 A satellite's orbit is more likely to decay - slowly change course either toward
the Earth orout into space - if it is not stabilized.
 In stabilizing a satellite, the direction that the satellites' instruments and
solar panels are facing is also important.
 It is easier and cheaper to power a satellite that has solar panels that are
constantly exposed to the sunlight; this is necessary for satellites with
extraordinarily high energy requirements; however, this is not possible if the
satellite is spinning.
 There are several ways to stabilize a satellite:
- spin stabilized
- spun/despun
- three-axis stabilized
2. Body -

The body of a satellite, also known as the bus of a satellite, holds all of the scientific
equipment and other necessary components of the satellite. Satellites combine many
different materials to make up all of their component parts. Since satellites are
essentially pieces of scientific or communications equipment that must go into space,
engineers must design a bus that will take the equipment safely intospace.

There are several goals that engineers must accomplish when choosing materials for
the satellite's bus. Among these are:

• Outer Layer: protecting the satellite from collisions with

micrometeorites, or otherparticles floating in space
• Anti-radiation: protecting the satellite from the radiation of the sun
• Thermal Blanketing: using thermal blanketing to keep the satellite at a
comfortabletemperature for the instruments to function
• Conduction: conducting heat away from the satellite's vital instruments
• Structural Support
• Connecting Material
Generally, the smaller the satellite, the better. When choosing the materials for a bus,
the following factors are also usually taken into consideration: cost, weight,
longevity (how long the material will last), and whether the material has proven to be
functional on other satellites before.

3. Communications-
 All satellites need to have some means of communication with Earth; the
satellite may need to receive instructions and transmit the information it
collects, or it may relay information sent to it to another site on Earth
 This is generally done using some type of antenna
 Antennas are defined simply as a piece of equipment that allows transmission
andreception of radio signals
 Since the information is transmitted using radio waves, which move at the
speed of light, this method allows for very fast communications (only a very
small time lag)
 Antennas come in many families: simple, dishes, patch arrays, and inflatable

4. Grapple Fixture-
 The Canadarm can be used for launching or retrieving satellites (satellites
can also belaunched using rockets).
 So that the Canadarm can grip these satellites, they are built with a part
called agrapple fixture, which is attached to the bus of the satellite.
 The original grapple fixture consisted of a foot-long metal pin, a base plate, and a
target.
 The end of the Canadarm (called its End Effector) has three snare wires
which wraparound the grapple fixture using small motors
 The wires are then retracted, and the satellite is pulled snugly against the
end of Canadarm.
 Today, grapple fixtures have removable grapple pins so that if the
Canadarm fails, an astronaut can manually remove the pin to release the
satellite.
 Grapple fixtures now have an electrical connector on the end of the pin
 This can join with an electrical adaptor (called a Special Purpose End Effector or
SPEE) atthe end of the Canadarm.
 This allows electrical power and data communications to move from the
shuttle to thesatellite when it is grappled.
 This is used to preserve a satellite's batteries during deploy and retrieval
activities.

5. Internal Computer-
 All satellites must have a method of storing and analyzing the data collected by
thesatellite, and a way of controlling its various systems
 This is usually performed by some type of computerThe satellite subsystem
that fulfills this role is called Telemetry Tracking and Control.
  TT&C is the brain of the satellite and its operating system.
 It logs every activity of the satellite, receives information from the ground
station, and takes care of any general upkeep, or "housekeeping", the satellite
needs to do.
 TT&C is made up of three components: Telemetry, Tracking, and Control.

6. Power Source-
 Every satellite needs a source of power.
 Factors to consider are cost, durability, and effectiveness (amount of power
generated).
 Satellites use up a lot of electricity.
 Think! How could a power source be mounted in or on a satellite?
 Some possible power sources for satellites include: Solar panels, Batteries and
Nuclear power Heat generators.

7. Orbits-

A satellite's orbit works because of a balance between two forces. The orbit is a
combination of the satellite's velocity - the speed it is travelling in a straight line - and the
force of the Earth's gravitational pull on the satellite. These forces are similar to the
forces that keep all the planets in their places in the solar system. That gravitational pull
is the result of the mass or weight of the Earth and the mass of the satellite. Basically,
gravity keeps the satellite's velocity from sendingthe satellite flying out in a straight line
away from the Earth, and the satellite's velocity keeps the force of gravity from pulling
the satellite back to Earth. To illustrate this concept, think of a yo- yo. There is a long
string that holds the weight of the yo-yo ball at the end. The yo-yo ball is the satellite,
and your hand holding the end of the string is the Earth (not to scale of course). If you
swung that yo-yo in a circle, then the string would act as the gravity. Without the string,
the yo- yo ball would fly off into space, but without the weight and forward motion of
the yo-yo ball, the string would flop towards the ground.
 EXPERIMENT-2

AIM: To find the link C/N Ratio.

THEORY:
The Uplink
The uplink earth station is transmitting the signal and the satellite is receiving it.
Equation (1) can be applied to the uplink, but with subscript U denotes that the uplink is
being considered.

Eq (1) contains: the earth station EIRP, the satellite receiver feeder losses, and satellite
receiver G/T. The free space loss and other losses which are frequency-dependent are
calculated for the uplink frequency. The resulting carrier-to-noise density ratio given by
Eq. (1) is that which appears at the satellite receiver.

Downlink
The downlink the satellite is transmitting the signal and the earth station is receiving it.
Equation (1) can be applied to the downlink, but with subscript D to denote that the
downlink is being considered.

-- (2)

Eq. (2) contains: the satellite EIRP, the earth station receiver feeder losses, and the earth
station receiver G/T. The free-space and other losses are calculated for the downlink
frequency. The resulting carrier-to-noise density ratio given by Eq. (1) is that which
appears at the detector of the earth station receiver.
Where the carrier-to-noise ratio is the specified quantity rather than carrier-to-noise
density ratio, Eq. (1) is used. On assuming that the signal bandwidth B is equal to the
noise bandwidth BN, we obtain:

__(3)
Combined Uplink and Downlink C/N Ratio

The complete satellite circuit consists of an uplink and a downlink, as sketched in Fig.1

Fig 1. (a) combined uplink and downlink,(b) power flow diagram

Noise will be introduced on the uplink at the satellite receiver input.

PNU = noise power per unit
bandwidth PRU = average carrier
at the same point The carrier-to-
noise ratio on the uplink is

Note that power levels, and not decibels, are being used.

PR= carrier power at the end of the space link

= the received carrier power for the downlink.
= K x the carrier power input at the satellite
Where
K= the system power gain from satellite input to earth station input. This includes the
satellite transponder and transmits antenna gains, the downlink losses, and the earth
station receives antenna gain and feeder losses.
The noise at the satellite input also appears at the earth station input multiplied by K,
and in addition, the earth station introduces its own noise, denoted by PND. Thus the
end-of-link noise is KPNU + PND.
The C/No ratio for the downlink alone, not counting the KPNU contribution, is PR/PND,
and the combined C/No ratio at the ground receiver is PR/(KPNU + PND). The power
flow diagram is shown in Fig.1 b.
The combined carrier-to-noise ratio can be determined in terms of the individual link
values. To show this, it is more convenient to work with the noise-to-carrier ratios
rather than the carrier-to- noise ratios, and these must be expressed as power ratios,
not decibels.
Denoting the combined noise-to-carrier ratio value by No/C, the uplink value by
(No/C)U, and the downlink value by (No/C)D then,

--(4)

Equation (4) shows that to obtain the combined value of C/N0, the reciprocals of the
individual values must be added to obtain the N0/C ratio and then the reciprocal of this
taken to get C/N0.
The reason for this reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals method is that a single
signal power is being transferred through the system, while the various noise powers
which are present are additive.
Similar reasoning applies to the carrier-to-noise ratio, C/ N.

RESULT:

Thus we have studied uplink and downlink C/N ratio.

 EXPERIMENT-3

AIM: Evaluation of SNR in Satellite links.

THEORY:
Concept of signal to noise ratio SNR
Although there are many ways of measuring the sensitivity performance of a radio
receiver, the SN ratio or SNR is one of the most straightforward and it is used in a variety
of applications. However it has a number of limitations, and although it is widely used,
other methods including noise figure are often used as well.
Nevertheless the SN ratio or SNR is an important specification, and is widely used as a
measure of receiver sensitivity.

Signal to noise ratio for a radio receiver

The difference is normally shown as a ratio between the signal and the noise (S/N) and it
is normally expressed in decibels. As the signal input level obviousisly has an eflection
this ratio the input signal level must be given this is usually expressed in microvots
typically a certain input level required to give a 10dB signal to noise ratio is specified.

Signal to noise ratio formula

The signal to noise ratio is the ratio between the wanted signal and the unwanted
background noise
It is more usual to see a signal to noise ratio expressed in a logarithmic basis using
decibels:
If all levels are expressed in decibels, then the formula can be simplified to:
The power levels may be expressed in levels such as dBm (decibels relative to a mill
watt, or to some other standard by which the levels can be compared.

Effect of bandwidth on SNR

A number of other factors apart from the basic performance of the set can affect the
signal to noise ratio, SNR specification. The first is the actual bandwidth of the receiver.
As the noise spreads out over all frequencies it is found that the wider the bandwidth of
the receiver, the greater the level of the noise. Accordingly the receiver bandwidth
needs to be stated.

Additionally it is found that when using AM the level of modulation has an effect. The
greater the level of modulation, the higher the audio output from the receiver. When
measuring the noise performance the audio output from the receiver is measured and
accordingly the modulation level of the AM has an effect, Usually a modulation level of
30% is chosen for this measurement.

Signal to noise ratio specifications

This method of measuring the performance is most commonly and for HF

communications receivers. Typically one might expect to a figure in the region of 0.5
microvolt's for a 10 dB S/N in a 3 Id 17 bandwidth for SSB or Morse, For AM figure of 1.5
microvolt's for a 10 dB S/N in a 6 bandwidth at 30% modulation for AM might be seen.

RESULT:
Thus we have studied S/N ratio for satellite Link
 EXPERIMENT-4

AIM: To obtain a plot of the relationship between the height of satellite i.e. orbital
altitude and the satellite antenna diameter for the parameter achieved during link
budget analysis.

THEORY:

Satellite Altitude:

Different satellites have different orbits depending upon their advantages and
disadvantages. These types of orbits help in classifying the use of satellite for different
communication purposes. Following are some of the types mentioned according to
their characteristics:

Low Earth Orbits (LEO)

They rotate 200 to 1200 Km above the Earth with a single orbit taking approximately
1.5 hour to complete. These satellites have “Simple launch vehicles” which can be used
to place large masses’ satellites into orbit. Other advantages include low packet delay
and less transmission power. The disadvantage of LEO Satellites include very Short
period of life as compared to Geo Synchronousand Geo Stationary satellites. Moreover,
special handover mechanisms are required and thus moresatellites to cover the Earth.

Figure 1: Satellite Orbits

Geo Synchronous Orbits: (Highly Elliptical Orbit)

Their period of rotation is exactly similar to the period of rotation of the Earth i.e. 35286
km. This clearly shows that such satellites would need 24 hours to complete a single
rotation. The rotation is around equator near latitudes and the orbit is not the
equatorial plane. Geo Synchronous Satellites, due to their position, observe the full
hemisphere of the Earth. Satellites in these orbits have a relatively poor resolution
and activities around the poles are difficult to monitor. These satellites are useful for
Hurricanes, Cyclones monitoring and Weather forecasting.
Geo Stationary Orbits:

They are positioned over the Earth’s equator so they don’t move North or South during
the day and the rotation above the Earth’s surface is similar to that of the
geosynchronous satellites. It is possible to cover almost all parts of the earth with just
3 geo satellites. They need space shuttle or Arianne Rocket to launch and the power
requirements are greater as compared to LEO satellites and large antennas are
required.

Medium Earth Obits (MEO):

The MEO satellite operates at about 5000 to 12000 km away from the earth's
surface. These satellites provide fewer handovers as compared to LEO and less complex
design. But higher power requirements and special antennas make it difficult to be used
in communication purpose

SATELLITE ANTENNA DIAMETER AND FREQUENCY RANGE:

Foot print of a satellite:

The process starts at an earth station where an installation is designed to transmit and
receive signals from a satellite in orbit around the earth where it sends information in
the form of very high power signal having high frequency which is in GHz range to
satellites.
The area which receives a signal of useful strength from the satellite is known as the
satellite's footprint.
The transmission system from the earth station to the satellite is called the uplink, and
the system from the satellite to the earth station is called the downlink.

Frequency range and antenna diameter:

There is an inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength from the light
equation. So, when frequency increases, wavelength decreases. As wavelength
increases, we require larger antennas to gather the signal.
C-band satellite transmissions occupy the 4 to 6 GHz frequency range. The minimum
size of an average C-band antenna is approximately 2-3 meters in diameter.
Ku-band satellite transmissions occupy the 12 to 14 GHz frequency range. A smaller
antenna can be used to receive the minimum signal strength. Ku-band antennas can be
as small as 18 inches in diameter.
Ka-band satellite transmissions occupy the 20 to 30 GHz frequency range. These very
high frequency transmissions mean very small wavelengths and very small diameter
receiving antennas.
A. Equation of Interest:

The relationship of the Antenna Diameter and Orbital Height can be given using the
Equation:

Antenna diameter = Altitude x [(C/No*32/ɳ*k*Ts/EIRP)]1/2

Figure 2: Satellite Footprint with respect to Height

RESULT:

The Lab is an extension of the Link Budgeting analysis studied in Lab session 8 and 9. It
is evident that the Diameter increases as the satellite moves at the higher orbital
Position which means that in order to maintain the foot print for different altitudes,
the Diameter of the satellite antenna must be increased.

FURTHER TASK:

Plot the Orbital Height for the Paraboloid Reflector using Horn Feed antennas. Same
task can be done for different types of antennas used in Satellite Communication
Systems for the desired Link Budgeting analysis
 EXPERIMENT-5

AIM: Design and plot a rectangular microstrip antenna using a substrate (RT/duroid
5880) with dielectric constant 2.2,h=0.05cm(0.019inch) so as to resonate at 2.4GHz.

SOFTWARE USED: HFSS

THEORY:
The rectangular patch is by far the most widely used configuration. It is very easy to
analyze using both the transmission-line and cavity models, which are most accurate for
thin substrates. We begin with the transmission-line model because it is easier to
illustrate. It was earlier indicated that the transmission-line model is the easiest of all
but it yields the least accurate results and lacks versatility. However, it does shed some
physical insight. Using the cavity model, a rectangular microstrip antenna can be
represented as an array of two radiating narrow apertures (slots), each of width W and
height h, separated by distance L. Basically, the transmission-line model represents the
microstrip antenna by two slots, separated by a low- impedance (Z) transmission-line of
length L.

Based on the simplified formulation, a design procedure is outlined which leads to

practical designs of rectangular microstrip antennas. The procedure assumes that the
specified information includes the dielectric constant of substrate(), resonant frequency
(f) and height (h) of the substrate.

DESIGN PROCEDURE:-

 For an efficient radiator, a practical width that leads to good radiation efficiencies
is
Where v, is the free-space velocity of light
 Determine the effective dielectric constant of microstrip antenna using
 Once W is found using eqn(1), determine the extension of L. using
 The actual length of patch can be determined by solve.
CALCULATION:

RESULT-

Rectangular microstrip antenna has been designed and plotted.

 EXPERIMENT-6

AIM: To study plot radiation pattern of a rectangular patch antenna.

SOFTWARE USED: HFSS

THEORY:
To illustrate the modelling of the micro strip using the cavity model, the principal E - and
H-plane patterns have been computed at fo= 4 GHz for the rectangular micro strip, with
42.2, h 0.1588 cm, L = 0.906 cm and L 1.068 cm. there are some differences in the E-
plane primarily near grazing and in the region below the ground plane. The ground plane
was 10 cm x 10 cm. the differences near grazing in the E-plane are primarily because the
theory assumes the dielectric material of the substrate is truncated and does not cover
the ground plane beyond the edges of the patch while those in the back region are
because the theory assumes an infinite ground plane. The shape of the H-plane patterns
are not affected significantly by the dielectric cover or the edges. Edge affects can be
taken into account using diffraction theory. The noted asymmetry in the measured and
Moment Method computed patterns is due to the feed which is not symmetrically
positioned along the E-plane. The moment method analysis accounts for the position of
the feed, while the cavity model does not account for it. The pattern for 0180
corresponds to observations angles which lie on the same side of the patch as does the
feed probe.

The presence of the dielectric-covered ground plane modifies the reflection coefficient,
which influences the magnitude and phase of the image. To account for the dielectric,
the reflection coefficient for the vertical polarization of +1 must be replaced by the
reflection coefficient while the reflection coefficient for horizontal polarization of -1
must be replaced by the reflection coefficient. Basically the introduction of the reflection
coefficients to account for the dielectric cover of the ground plane is to modify the
shape of the pattern in the E-plane of the micro strip antenna, primarily for observation
angles near grazing (near the ground plane), as was done for the lossy earth. Similar
changes are expected for the micro strip antenna. The changes in the pattern near
grazing come from the fact that, for the perfect conductor, the reflection coefficient for
vertical polarization is +1 for all-observation angles. However for the dielectric-covered
ground plane (impedance surface), the reflection coefficient is nearly +1 for observation
angles far away from grazing but begins to change very rapidly near grazing and
becomes-1 at the grazing; this the formation of the ideal null at grazing.

Similarly the reflection coefficient should basically control the pattern primarily in the H-
plane. However, because the reflection coefficient for horizontal polarization for a
perfect conductor is -1 for all observations angles while that for the dielectric-covered
ground plane is nearly -1 for all observation angles, the shape of the pattern in the 11-
plane is basically unaltered by the presence of the dielectric cover. This is illustrated in
for the earth. The pattern also exhibits a mull along the ground plane. Similar changes
are expected for the micro strip antenna.

CALCULATION:

RESULT:

Radiation pattern of rectangular microstrip is plotted.

 EXPERIMENT-7

AIM: Design and plot a circular microstrip antenna using a substrate(RT/duroid 5880)
with dielectric constant 2.2,h=0.05cm(0.019inch) so as to resonate at 2.4GHz

SOFTWARE USED: HFSS

THEORY:
Based on the simplified formulation, a design procedure is outlined which leads to
practical designs of rectangular microstrip antennas. The procedure assumes that the
specified information includes the dielectric constant of substrate(2), resonant
frequency (f) and height (h) of the substrate. The procedure is as follows:
Therefore the resonant frequency for the dominant TM110 should be modified by

DESIGN PROCEDURE:
A first order approximation to the solution is to find a e.

CALCULATION:

RESULT:

Circular microstrip patch antenna is designed and plotted

 EXPERIMENT-8

AIM: To study plot radiation pattern of a circular patch antenna.

SOFTWARE USED: HFSS

THEORY:
To illustrate the modelling of the micro strip using the cavity model, the principal E- and
H- plane patterns have been computed at fa= 4 GHz for the circular micro strip, with e-
2.2, h= 0.1588 cm, L = 0.906 cm and L. 1.068 cm. there are some differences in the E-
plane primarily near grazing and in the region below the ground plane. The ground plane
was 10 cm x 10 cm. the differences near grazing in the E-plane are primarily because the
theory assumes the dielectric material of the substrate is truncated and does not cover
the ground plane beyond the edges of the patch while those in the back region are
because the theory assumes an infinite ground plane. The shape of the H-plane patterns
are not affected significantly by the dielectric cover or the edges. Edge affects can be
taken into account using diffraction theory. The noted asymmetry in the measured and
Moment Method computed patterns is due to the feed which is not symmetrically
positioned along the E-plane. The moment method analysis accounts for the position of
the feed, while the cavity model does not account for it. The pattern for 0°S≤180"
corresponds to observations angles which lie on the same side of the patch as does the
feed probe.

The presence of the dielectric-covered ground plane modifies the reflection coefficient,
which influences the magnitude and phase of the image. To account for the dielectric,
the reflection coefficient for the vertical polarization of +1 must be replaced by the
reflection coefficient while the reflection coefficient for horizontal polarization of -1
must be replaced by the reflection coefficient. Basically the introduction of the reflection
coefficients to account for the dielectric cover of the ground plane is to modify the
shape of the pattern in the Eplane of the micro strip antenna, primarily for observation
angles near grazing (near the ground plane), as was done for the lossy earth. Similar
changes are expected for the micro strip antenna. The changes in the pattern near
grazing come from the fact that for the perfect conductor, the reflection coefficient for
vertical polarization is +1 for all observation angles. However for the dielectric-covered
ground plane (impedance Surface), the reflection coefficient is nearly +1 for observation
angles far away from grazing but begins to change very rapidly near grazing and
becomes-1 at the grazing; this the formation of the ideal null at grazing.

Similarly the reflection coefficient should basically control the pattern primarily in the H-
plane. However, because the reflection coefficient for horizontal polarization for a
perfect conductor is -J for all observations angles while that for the dielectric-covered
ground plane is nearly -1 for all observation angles, the shape of the pattern in the II-
plane is basically unaltered by the presence of the dielectric cover. This is illustrated in
for the earth. The pattern also exhibits a null along the ground plane. Similar changes
are expected for the micro strip antenna.
CALCULATION:

RESULT:

Radiation pattern of a circular microstrip is plotted.