ADITYA

Satellite Communication

Dr.R.RAMAN
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
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Course Outcomes

At the end of the Course, Student will be able to:

CO 1 : Understand the basic concepts, applications, frequencies used and types of
satellite communications
CO 2 : Understand the concept of look angles, launches and launch vehicles and orbital
effects in satellite communications.
CO 3 : Understand the various satellite subsystems and its functionality.
CO 4 : Understand the concepts of satellite link design and calculation of C/N ratio.
CO 5 : Understand the concepts of multiple access and various types of multiple access
techniques in satellite systems.
CO 6 : Understand the concepts of satellite navigation, architecture and applications of
GPS.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Course Contents

UNIT I : Introduction, Orbital Mechanics And Launchers

UNIT II : Satellite Subsystems 
UNIT III: Satellite Link Design 
UNIT IV: Multiple Access
UNIT V : Earth Station Technology, Low Earth Orbit And Geo-
stationary Satellite Systems 
UNIT VI: Satellite Navigation & The Global Positioning System

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Prerequisite

Communicatio
n Systems

Satellite
Communication

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Text Books
1. Satellite Communications – Timothy Pratt, Charles Bostian
and Jeremy Allnutt, WSE, Wiley Publications, 2nd Edition,
2003.

2. Satellite Communications Engineering – Wilbur L. Pritchard,

Robert A Nelson and Henri G.Suyderhoud, 2nd Edition, Pearson
Publications, 2003.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Unit : I Introduction

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 ADITYA

Introduction
(UNIT-I)

Dr.R.RAMAN
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
 Aditya
Unit-1 Outcomes
At the end of the Course, Student will be able to:

CO 1 : Understand the basic concepts, applications,

frequencies used and types of satellite communications

CO 2 : Understand the concept of look angles, launches and

launch vehicles and orbital effects in satellite communications.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Contents
INTRODUCTION : Origin of Satellite Communications, Historical Back-ground,
Basic Concepts of Satellite Communications, Frequency allocations for
Satellite Services, Applications, Future Trends of Satellite Communications.
ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS : Orbital Mechanics, Look Angle
determination, Orbital perturbations, Orbit determination, launches and
launch vehicles, Orbital effects in communication systems performance.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Origin of Satellite Communications

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 ADITYA

Introduction to Satellite Communications

Dr.R.RAMAN
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
 Aditya
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lecture, Student will be able to:

LO 1 : Understand the basic concepts and origin of
Satellite Communication.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

INTRODUCTION

• Satellite is a microwave repeater in the space

• There are about 750 satellites in space, most of them
are used for communication
• They are used for wide area coverage of earth’s
surface Transmission delay is about 0.3 sec.
• Transmission cost is independent of distance

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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MEANING OF “SATELLITE”

• The word “Satellite” is originated from the Latin word “Satellit” –

meaning an attendant, one who is constantly hovering around and
attending to a “master” or a big man
• For our own purposes however a satellite is simply any body that
moves around another (usually much larger) one in a mathematically
predictable path called an “Orbit”

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Origin of Satellite Communications

• The concept of using object in space to reflect signals for
communication was proved by Naval Research Lab in Washington
D.C.
• When it use the Moon to establish a very low data rate link between
Washington and Hawaii (in late 1940’s)
• Russia also started to enter the space age by successfully launching
SPUTNIK – the first spacecraft to orbit the earth (in Oct, 1957)
• Data Rate: Number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of
time

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• The American followed by launching an experimental satellite

EXPLORER in 1958
• In 1960 two satellite were deployed “ECHO” and “COURIER”
• In 1963 – SYNCOMIn 1965 – INTELSAT & MOLNYA – which
provides video (Television) and voice (Telephone)

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Historical Back-ground

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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BASIC CONCEPTS OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

• A communication satellite is an orbiting artificial earth satellite that
receives a communications signal from a transmitting ground station,
amplifies and possibly processes it, then transmits it back to the earth
for reception by one or more receiving ground stations.

• Communications information neither originates nor terminates at the

satellite itself.

• The satellite is an active transmission relay, similar in function to relay

towers used in terrestrial microwave communications

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• The commercial satellite communications industry has its beginnings

in the mid 1960s, and in less than 50 years has progressed from an
alternative exotic technology to a mainstream transmission
technology, which is pervasive in all elements of the global
telecommunications infrastructure.

• Today’s communications satellites offer extensive capabilities in

applications involving data, voice, and video, with services provided
to fixed, broadcast, mobile, personal communications, and private
networks users

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Evolution of Satellite Communication:

• During early 1950s, both passive and active satellites were considered
for the purpose of communications over a large distance.

• Passive satellites though successfully used in the early years of

communications satellite have with the advancement in technology
active satellites completely replaced the passive satellites.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Passive Satellites
• A satellite that only reflects signals from one Earth station to another
or from several Earth stations to several others.
• It reflects the incident electromagnetic radiation without any
modification or amplification.
• It can't generate power, they simply reflect the incident power.
• The first artificial passive satellite Echo-I of NASA was launched in
August 1960.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Disadvantages:
• Earth Stations required high power to transmit signals.
• Large Earth Stations with tracking facilities were expensive.
• A global system would have required a large number of passive
satellites accessed randomly by different users.
• Control of satellites not possible from ground.
• The large attenuation of the signal while traveling the large distance
between the transmitter and the receiver via the satellite was one of the
most serious problems.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Active Satellites
• In active satellites, it amplifies or modifies and retransmits the signal
received from the earth.
• Satellites which can transmit power are called active satellite.
• Have several advantages over the passive satellites.
• Require lower power earth station.
• Not open to random use.
• Directly controlled by operators from ground.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Disadvantages

• Requirement of larger and powerful rockets to launch heavier satellites

in orbit.
• Requirement of on-board power supply.
• Interruption of service due to failure of electronics components.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Two major elements of Satellite Communications Systems are:

The satellite communications portion is broken down into two areas or
segments: the space segment and the ground (or earth) segment.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Space Segment:
• The space segment includes the satellite (or satellites) in orbit in the
system, and the ground station that provides the operational control of the
satellite(s) in orbit.

• The ground station is variously referred to as the Tracking, Telemetry,

Command (TT&C) or the Tracking, Telemetry, Command and
Monitoring (TTC&M) station.

• The TTC&M station provides essential spacecraft management and

control functions to keep the satellite operating safely in orbit.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• The TTC&M links between the spacecraft and the ground are usually
separate from the user communications links.

• TTC&M links may operate in the same frequency bands or in other

bands.

• TTC&M is most often accomplished through a separate earth terminal

facility specifically designed for the complex operations required to
maintain a spacecraft in orbit.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Ground segment:
• The ground segment of the communications satellite system consists
of the earth surface area based terminals that utilize the
communications capabilities of the Space Segment.
• TTC&M ground stations are not included in the ground segment.
• The ground segment terminals consist of three basic types:
• fixed (in-place) terminals;
• transportable terminals;
• mobile terminals.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• Fixed terminals are designed to access the satellite while fixed in-place on
the ground.
• They may be providing different types of services, but they are defined by
the fact that they are not moving while communicating with the satellite.
• Examples of fixed terminals are small terminals used in private networks
(VSATs), or terminals mounted on residence buildings used to receive
broadcast satellite signals.
• Transportable terminals are designed to be movable, but once on location
remain fixed during transmissions to the satellite.
• Examples of the transportable terminal are satellite news gathering (SGN)
trucks, which move to locations, stop in place, and then deploy an antenna
to establish links to the satellite.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• Mobile terminals are designed to communicate with the satellite while

in motion.
• They are further defined as land mobile, aeronautical mobile, or
maritime mobile, depending on their locations on or near the earth
surface.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Control Centre function:

• Tracking of the satellite.

• Receiving data.
• Eclipse management of satellite.
• Commanding the Satellite for station keeping.
• Determining Orbital parameters from Tracking and Ranging data.
• Switching ON/OFF of different subsystems as per the operational
requirements.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

SATELLITE ORBITS

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Orbit: The path a Satellite follows around a planet is defined as an

orbit.
• Satellite Orbits are classified in two broad categories :
• Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO)
• Geo Stationary Orbit (GSO)

Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO)

• Early ventures with satellite communications used satellites in Non-geostationary
low earth orbits due to the technical limitations of the launch vehicles in placing
satellites in higher orbits
• Disadvantages of NGSO
• Complex problem of transferring signal from one satellite to another.
• Less expected life of satellites at NGSO.
• Requires frequent replacement of satellites compared to satellite in GSO

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Geo Stationary Orbit (GSO)
• There is only one geostationary orbit possible around the earth Lying on the
earth’s equatorial plane
• The satellite orbiting at the same speed as the rotational speed of the earth on
its axis.
Advantages:
• Simple ground station tracking.
• Nearly constant range
• Very small frequency shift
Disadvantages:
• Transmission delay of the order of 250 msec.
• Large free space loss
• No polar coverage
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
 Aditya

Satellite orbits in terms of the orbital height:

According to distance from earth:
• Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO)
• Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Geostationary or geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO):

• GEO satellites are synchronous with respect to earth.
• Looking from a fixed point from Earth, these satellites appear to be
stationary.
• These satellites are placed in the space in such a way that only three
satellites are sufficient to provide connection throughout the surface of
the Earth (that is; their footprint is covering almost 1/3rd of the Earth).
• The orbit of these satellites is circular.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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There are three conditions which lead to geostationary satellites.

Lifetime expectancy of these satellites is 15 years.
1) The satellite should be placed 35,786 kms (approximated to 36,000
kms) above the surface of the earth.
2) These satellites must travel in the rotational speed of earth, and in the
direction of motion of earth, that is eastward.
3) The inclination of satellite with respect to earth must be 00 .

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya
Geostationary satellite in practical is termed as geosynchronous as there
are multiple factors which make these satellites shift from the ideal
geostationary condition.
1) Gravitational pull of sun and moon makes these satellites deviate
from their orbit. Over the period of time, they go through a drag.
(Earth’s gravitational force has no effect on these satellites due to
their distance from the surface of the Earth.)
2) These satellites experience the centrifugal force due to the rotation
of Earth, making them deviate from their orbit.
3) The non-circular shape of the earth leads to continuous adjustment
of speed of satellite from the earth station. These satellites are used
for TV and radio broadcast, weather forecast and also, these
satellites are operating as backbones for the telephone networks.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya
Disadvantages of GEO:
• Northern or southern regions of the Earth (poles) have more problems
receiving these satellites due to the low elevation above a latitude of 60°, i.e.,
larger antennas are needed in this case.
• Shading of the signals is seen in cities due to high buildings and the low
elevation further away from the equator limit transmission quality.
• The transmit power needed is relatively high which causes problems for
battery powered devices.
• These satellites cannot be used for small mobile phones.
• The biggest problem for voice and also data communication is the high
latency as without having any handovers, the signal has to at least travel
72,000 kms.
• Due to the large footprint, either frequencies cannot be reused or the GEO
satellite needs special antennas focusing on a smaller footprint.
• Transferring a GEO into orbit is very expensive.
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Advantages Of GEO
• Minimal Doppler shift
• These factors make it ideal for satellite broadcast and other multipoint
applications
• GEO satellites have a 24 hour view of a particular area.
• A GEO satellite’s distance from earth gives it a large coverage area,
almost a fourth of the earth’s surface.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites:

• MEOs can be positioned somewhere between LEOs and GEOs, both
in terms of their orbit and due to their advantages and disadvantages.
• Using orbits around 20,000 km, the system only requires a dozen
satellites which is more than a GEO system, but much less than a LEO
system.
• These satellites move more slowly relative to the earth’s rotation
allowing a simpler system design (satellite periods are about six
hours).
• Depending on the inclination, a MEO can cover larger populations, so
requiring fewer handovers.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Disadvantages:
• Again, due to the larger distance to the earth, delay increases to about 70–
80 ms.
• The satellites need higher transmit power and special antennas for smaller
footprints.
Advantages Of MEO
• A MEO satellite’s longer duration of visibility and wider footprint means
fewer satellites are needed in a MEO network than a LEO network.

MEO satellites The GPS constellation calls for 24 satellites to be distributed

equally among six circular orbital planes

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites:

• These satellites are placed 500-1500 kms above the surface of the earth.
• As LEOs circulate on a lower orbit, hence they exhibit a much shorter
period that is 95 to 120 minutes.
• LEO systems try to ensure a high elevation for every spot on earth to
provide a high quality communication link.
• Each LEO satellite will only be visible from the earth for around ten
minutes.
• Using advanced compression schemes, transmission rates of about 2,400
bit/s can be enough for voice communication.
• LEOs even provide this bandwidth for mobile terminals with Omni-
directional antennas using low transmit power in the range of 1W.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• The delay for packets delivered via a LEO is relatively low (approx 10
ms).
• The delay is comparable to long-distance wired connections (about 5–
10 ms).
• Smaller footprints of LEOs allow for better frequency reuse, similar to
the concepts used for cellular networks.
• LEOs can provide a much higher elevation in Polar Regions and so
better global coverage.
• These satellites are mainly used in remote sensing an providing mobile
communication services (due to lower latency).

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Advantages Of LEO
A LEO satellite’s proximity to earth compared to a GEO satellite gives
it a better signal strength and less of a time delay, which makes it better
for point to point communication.
• A LEO satellite’s smaller area of coverage is less and waste of
bandwidth.
Disadvantages Of LEO
• A network of LEO satellites is needed, which can be costly
• LEO satellites have to compensate for Doppler shifts cause by their
relative movement.
• Atmospheric drag effects LEO satellites, causing gradual orbital
deterioration.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Advantages Of Satellite Communication

• Universal: Satellite communications are available virtually everywhere.
• Versatile: Satellites can support all of today's communications needs. Reliable:
Satellite is a proven medium for supporting a company's communications needs.
• Seamless: Satellite's inherent strength as a broadcast medium makes it perfect.
• Fast: Since satellite networks can be set up quickly, companies can be fast-to-
market with new services.
• Flexible Expandable
• High Quality
• Quick Provision of Services
• Mobile and Emergency Communication
• Suitable for both Digital and Analog Transmission

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS FOR SATELLITE SERVICES

Allocation of frequencies to satellite services is a complicated process
which requires international coordination and planning.
This is done as per the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
To implement this frequency planning, the world is divided into three
regions:
Region1: Europe, Africa and Mongolia
Region 2: North and South America and Greenland
Region 3: Asia (excluding region 1 areas), Australia and south-west
Pacific.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Within these regions, he frequency bands are allocated to various satellite

services.
Some of them are listed below.
• Fixed satellite service: Provides Links for existing Telephone Networks
Used for transmitting television signals to cable companies
• Broadcasting satellite service: Provides Direct Broadcast to homes.
E.g. Live Cricket matches etc.
• Mobile satellite services: This includes services for: Land Mobile
Maritime Mobile Aeronautical mobile
• Navigational satellite services : Include Global Positioning systems
• Meteorological satellite services: They are often used to perform
Search and Rescue service
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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Below are the frequencies allocated to these satellites:
Frequency Band (GHZ) Designations:
• VHF: 01-0.3
• UHF: 0.3-1.0
• L-band: 1.0-2.0
• S-band: 2.0-4.0
• C-band: 4.0-8.0
• X-band: 8.0-12.0
• Ku-band: 12.0-18.0 (Ku is Under K Band)
• Ka-band: 18.0-27.0 (Ka is Above K Band)
• V-band: 40.0-75.0
• W-band: 75-110
• Mm-band: 110-300
• μm-band: 300-3000

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Based on the satellite service, following are the frequencies allocated to

the satellites:

Frequency Band (GHZ) Designations:

• VHF: 01-0.3 ---Mobile & Navigational Satellite Services
• L-band: 1.0-2.0 --- Mobile & Navigational Satellite Services
• C-band: 4.0-8.0 --- Fixed Satellite Service
• Ku-band: 12.0-18.0 --- Direct Broadcast Satellite Services

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

APPLICATIONS OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

Weather Forecasting:
• Certain satellites are specifically designed to monitor the climatic conditions
of earth.
• They continuously monitor the assigned areas of earth and predict the weather
conditions of that region.
• This is done by taking images of earth from the satellite.
• These images are transferred using assigned radio frequency to the earth
station. (Earth Station: it’s a radio station located on the earth and used for
relaying signals from satellites.)
• These satellites are exceptionally useful in predicting disasters like
hurricanes, and monitor the changes in the Earth's vegetation, sea state, ocean
color, and ice fields
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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2) Radio and TV Broadcast:

• These dedicated satellites are responsible for making 100s of channels across
the globe available for everyone.
• They are also responsible for broadcasting live matches, news, world-wide radio
services.
• These satellites require a 30-40 cm sized dish to make these channels available
globally.

3) Military Satellites:
• These satellites are often used for gathering intelligence, as a communications
satellite used for military purposes, or as a military weapon.
• A satellite by itself is neither military nor civil.
• It is the kind of payload it carries that enables one to arrive at a decision
regarding its military or civilian character
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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4) Navigation Satellites:
• The system allows for precise localization world-wide, and with some
additional techniques, the precision is in the range of some meters.
• Ships and aircraft rely on GPS as an addition to traditional navigation
systems.
• Many vehicles come with installed GPS receivers.
• This system is also used, e.g., for fleet management of trucks or for
vehicle localization in case of theft.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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5) Global Telephone:
• One of the first applications of satellites for communication was the
establishment of international telephone backbones.
• Instead of using cables it was sometimes faster to launch a new satellite.
• But, fiber optic cables are still replacing satellite communication across long
distance as in fiber optic cable, light is used instead of radio frequency, hence
making the communication much faster (and of course, reducing the delay
caused due to the amount of distance a signal needs to travel before reaching the
destination.).
• Using satellites, to typically reach a distance approximately 10,000 kms away,
the signal needs to travel almost 72,000 kms, that is, sending data from ground to
satellite and (mostly) from satellite to another location on earth.
• This cause’s substantial amount of delay and this delay becomes more prominent
for users during voice calls.
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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6) Connecting Remote Areas:

• Due to their geographical location many places all over the world do
not have direct wired connection to the telephone network or the
internet (e.g., researchers on Antarctica) or because of the current state
of the infrastructure of a country.
• Here the satellite provides a complete coverage and (generally) there is
one satellite always present across a horizon.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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7) Global Mobile Communication:
• The basic purpose of satellites for mobile communication is to extend the area of coverage.
• Cellular phone systems, such as AMPS and GSM (and their successors) do not cover all parts
of a country.
• Areas that are not covered usually have low population where it is too expensive to install a
base station.
• With the integration of satellite communication, however, the mobile phone can switch to
satellites offering world-wide connectivity to a customer. Satellites cover a certain area on the
earth.
• This area is termed as a “footprint” of that satellite.
• Within the footprint, communication with that satellite is possible for mobile users.
• These users communicate using a Mobile-User-Link (MUL).
• The base-stations communicate with satellites using a Gateway-Link (GWL). Sometimes it
becomes necessary for satellite to create a communication link between users belonging to
two different footprints.
• Here the satellites send signals to each other and this is done using Inter-Satellite-Link (ISL).

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

FUTURE OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

Future communication satellites will have
• More onboard processing capabilities,
• More power, and
• Larger-aperture antennas that will enable satellites to handle more
bandwidth.
• The demand for more bandwidth will ensure the long-term viability of
the commercial satellite industry well into the 21st century

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Summary

At the end of this module you will be able to understand the

basic concepts, applications, frequencies used and types of
satellite communications

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lecture, Student will be able to:

LO 2 : Understand the concept of look angles, launches and

launch vehicles and orbital effects in satellite communications

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya
ORBITAL MECHANICS
• To achieve a stable orbit around the earth, a spacecraft must first be
beyond the bulk of the earth’s atmosphere, i.e., in what is popularly
called space.
• According to Newton's law of motion F=ma.
Where
a = acceleration,
F= force acting on the object and
m= mass of the object.
• It helps us understand the motion of satellite in a stable orbit.
(neglecting any drag or other perturbing forces).

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• (F=ma) states that the force acting on a body is equal to the mass of
the body multiplied by the resulting acceleration of the body.
• Thus, for a given force, the lighter the mass of the body, the higher the
acceleration will be.
• When in a stable orbit, there are two main forces acting on a satellite:
a centrifugal force due to the kinetic energy of the satellite, which
attempts to fling the satellite into a higher orbit, and a centripetal force
due to gravitational attraction of the planet about which the satellite is
orbiting, which attempts to pull the satellite towards the planet.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Forces involved in Orbital Mechanics

There are two relevant forces involved in this problem
1. Gravitational forces: attraction between any two objects
2. Centrifugal force: An outward-directed force that normally balances
the inward directed centripetal force.

• The standard acceleration due to gravity at the earth surface is 981

cm/s2
• The value decreases with height above the earth’s surface.
• The acceleration, a, due to gravity at a distance r from the centre of the
earth is a=µ/r2 km/ s2

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• Where the constant µ is the product of the universal gravitational constant

G and the mass of the earth ME
• The product GME is called kepler’s constant and has the value 3.98 x 105
km3 /s2 . The universal gravitational constant is
G=6.672x 10-11 Nm2 /kg2 .
• The mass of the earth ME =5.97 x 1024 kg.
• Since fore= mass x acceleration, the centripetal force acting on the
satellite, Fin is given by
Fin= m x (µ/r2 ) =m x (G ME /r2 )
• In a similar fashion, the centrifugal acceleration is given by
a=v 2 /r
• Which will give the centrifugal force,
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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Fout as Fout=m x(v2 /r )

• If the forces of the satellite are balanced

Fin=Fout m x (µ/r2 )=m x(v2 /r )

• Hence the velocity v of the satellite in a circular orbit is given by

v=(µ/r)1/2

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Kepler’s Laws
• Kepler’s laws of planetary motion apply to any two bodies in space
that interact through gravitation.
• The laws of motion are described through three fundamental
principles.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• Kepler’s First Law, as it applies to artificial satellite orbits, can be
simply stated as follows:
• ‘The path followed by a satellite around the earth will be an ellipse,
with the center of mass of earth as one of the two foci of the ellipse.’
This is shown in Figure:

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• If no other forces are acting on the satellite, either intentionally by

orbit control or unintentionally as in gravity forces from other bodies,
the satellite will eventually settle in an elliptical orbit, with the earth as
one of the foci of the ellipse.
• The ‘size’ of the ellipse will depend on satellite mass and its angular
velocity.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Kepler’s Second Law can likewise be simply stated as follows:

‘for equal time intervals, the satellite sweeps out equal areas in the
orbital plane.’
• Figure 2.3 demonstrates this concept.

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• The shaded area A1 shows the area swept out in the orbital plane by the
orbiting satellite in a one hour time period at a location near the earth.
• Kepler’s second law states that the area swept out by any other one hour
time period in the orbit will also sweep out an area equal to A1.
• For example, the area swept out by the satellite in a one hour period
around the point farthest from the earth (the orbit’s apogee), labeled A2
on the figure, will be equal to A1, i.e.: A1 =A2.
• This result also shows that the satellite orbital velocity is not constant;
the satellite is moving much faster at locations near the earth, and slows
down as it approaches apogee.
• This factor will be discussed in more detail later when specific satellite
orbit types are introduced.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Kepler’s Third Law is as follows:

‘the square of the periodic time of orbit is proportional to the cube of the
mean distance between the two bodies.’
This is quantified as follows:

Where
T=orbital period in s;
a=distance between the two bodies, in km;
µ=Kepler’sConstant =3.986004×105 km3/s2.
If the orbit is circular, then a=r, and

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Orbital Elements:
Apogee:
A point for a satellite farthest from the Earth.
It is denoted as ha.
Perigee:
A point for a satellite closest from the Earth.
It is denoted as hp.
Line of Apsides:
• Line joining perigee and apogee through centre of the Earth.
• It is the major axis of the orbit.
• One-half of this line’s length is the semi-major axis equivalents to
satellite’s mean distance from the Earth.
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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Ascending Node:
The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from north to south.
Descending Node:
The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from south to north.
Inclination:
• The angle between the orbital plane and the Earth’s equatorial plane.
• Its measured at the ascending node from the equator to the orbit, going from East to North.
• Also, this angle is commonly denoted as i.
Line of Nodes:
the line joining the ascending and descending nodes through the centre of Earth.
Prograde Orbit:
an orbit in which satellite moves in the same direction as the Earth’s rotation.
Its inclination is always between 00 to 900 .
Many satellites follow this path as Earth’s velocity makes it easier to lunch these satellites.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Retrograde Orbit:
• An orbit in which satellite moves in the same direction counter to the
Earth’s rotation.
Argument of Perigee:
• An angle from the point of perigee measure in the orbital plane at the
Earth’s centre, in the direction of the satellite motion.
Mean anamoly:
It gives the average value to the angular position of the satellite with
reference to the perigee.
True anamoly:
It is the angle from point of perigee to the satellite’s position, measure at
the Earth’s centre.

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Right ascension of ascending node:

• The definition of an orbit in space, the position of ascending node is
specified.
• But as the Earth spins, the longitude of ascending node changes and
cannot be used for reference.
• Thus for practical determination of an orbit, the longitude and time of
crossing the ascending node is used.
• For absolute measurement, a fixed reference point in space is required.
• It could also be defined as “right ascension of the ascending node;
right ascension is the angular position measured eastward along the
celestial equator from the vernal equinox vector to the hour circle of
the object”.
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Orbital Elements
Following are the 6 elements of the Keplerian Element set commonly
known as orbital elements.
• Semi-Major axis (a)
• Eccentricity (e) They give the shape (of ellipse) to the satellite’s orbit.
• Mean anomaly (M0) It denotes the position of a satellite in its orbit at
a given reference time.
• Argument of Perigee It gives the rotation of the orbit’s perigee point
relative to the orbit‟s nodes in the earth‟s equatorial plane.
• Inclination
• Right ascension of ascending node

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• They relate the orbital plane’s position to the Earth.

• As the equatorial bulge causes a slow variation in argument of perigee

and right ascension of ascending node, and because other perturbing
forces may alter the orbital elements slightly, the values are specified
for the reference time or epoch.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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LOOK ANGLE DETERMINATION

• The look angles for the ground station antenna are Azimuth and
Elevation angles.
• They are required at the antenna so that it points directly at the satellite.
• Look angles are calculated by considering the elliptical orbit.
• These angles change in order to track the satellite.
• For geostationary orbit, these angels values does not change as the
satellites are stationary with respect to earth.
• Thus large earth stations are used for commercial communications,
these antennas beamwidth is very narrow and the tracking mechanism is
required to compensate for the movement of the satellite about the
nominal geostationary position.

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• For home antennas, antenna beamwidth is quite broad and hence no

tracking is essential.
• This leads to a fixed position for these antennas.
• Sub satellite point: The point, on the earth’s surface of intersection
between a line frim the earth’s center to the satellite.

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The following information is needed to determine the look angles of

geostationary orbit.
• Earth Station Latitude
• Earth Station Longitude
• Sub-Satellite Point’s Longitude
• ES: Position of Earth Station
• SS: Sub-Satellite Point
• S: Satellite
• Range from ES to S
• Angle to be determined

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Geometry of Elevation Angle

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Coordinates
SUB-SATELLITE POINT
Latitude Ls
Longitude ls
EARTH STATION LOCATION
Latitude Le
Longitude le
Calculate γ,Angle at earth center

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Azimuth Angle Calculation for GEO Satellites

SUB-SATELLITE POINT
Equatorial plane,
• Latitude Ls = 00
• Longitude ls
EARTH STATION LOCATION
• Latitude Le
• Longitude le

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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ORBITAL PERTURBATIONS
• Theoretically, an orbit described by Kepler is ideal as Earth is
considered to be a perfect sphere and the force acting around the Earth
is the centrifugal force.
• This force is supposed to balance the gravitational pull of the earth.
• In reality, other forces also play an important role and affect the
motion of the satellite.
• These forces are the gravitational forces of Sun and Moon along with
the atmospheric drag.

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• Effect of Sun and Moon is more pronounced on geostationary earth

satellites where as the atmospheric drag effect is more pronounced for
low earth orbit satellites.
• As the shape of Earth is not a perfect sphere, it causes some variations
in the path followed by the satellites around the primary.
• As the Earth is bulging from the equatorial belt, and keeping in mind
that an orbit is not a physical entity, and it is the forces resulting from
an oblate Earth which act on the satellite produce a change in the
orbital parameters.

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• This causes the satellite to drift as a result of regression of the nodes and
the latitude of the point of perigee (point closest to the Earth).
• This leads to rotation of the line of apsides.
• As the orbit itself is moving with respect to the Earth, the resultant
changes are seen in the values of argument of perigee and right
ascension of ascending node.
• Due to the non-spherical shape of Earth, one more effect called as the
“Satellite Graveyard” is seen.
• The non-spherical shape leads to the small value of eccentricity at the
equatorial plane.
• This causes a gravity gradient on GEO satellite and makes them drift to
one of the two stable points which coincide with minor axis of the
equatorial ellipse
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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• Working satellites are made to drift back to their position but out-of-service
satellites are eventually drifted to these points, and making that point a
Satellite Graveyard.
Atmospheric Drag:
• For Low Earth orbiting satellites, the effect of atmospheric drag is more
pronounces.
• The impact of this drag is maximum at the point of perigee.
• Drag (pull towards the Earth) has an effect on velocity of Satellite (velocity
reduces).
• This causes the satellite to not reach the apogee height successive revolutions.
• This leads to a change in value of semi-major axis and eccentricity.
• Satellites in service are maneuvered by the earth station back to their original
orbital position.
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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ORBIT DETERMINATION
• Orbit determination requires that sufficient measurements be made to
determine uniquely the six orbital elements needed to calculate the
future of the satellite, and hence calculate the required changes that
need to be made to the orbit to keep it within the nominal orbital
location.
• The control earth stations used to measure the angular position of the
satellites also carryout range measurements using unique time stamps
in the telemetry stream or communication carrier.
• These earth stations generally referred to as the TTC&M(telemetry
tracking command and monitoring) stations of the satellite network.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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LAUNCHES AND LAUNCH VEHICLES

A satellite cannot be placed into a stable orbit unless two parameters
that are uniquely coupled together the velocity vector and the orbital
height are simultaneously correct.
There is little point in orbiting the correct height and not having the
appropriate velocity component in the correct direction to achieve the
desired orbit.
A geostationary satellite for example must be in an orbit at height
35,786.03km above the surface of the earth with an inclination of zero
degrees an ellipticity of zero, and a velocity of 3074.7m/s tangential to
the earth in the plane of the orbit, which is the earths equatorial plane.

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• The further out from the earth the orbit is greater the energy required
from the launch vehicle to reach that orbit.
• In any earth satellite launch, the largest fraction of the energy
expanded by the rocket is used to accelerate the vehicle from rest until
it is about 20miles (32 km) above the earth.
• To make the most efficient use of the fuel, it is common to shed
excess mass from the launcher as it moves upward on launch; this is
called staging.
• Most launch vehicles have multiple stage and as each stage is
completed that portion of the launcher is expended until the final
stage places the satellite into the desired trajectory.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• Hence the term:expandable lauch vehicle(ELV).

• The space shuttle , called the space transportation system (STS)by
NASA, is partially reusable.
• The solid rocket boosters are recovered and refurbished for future
mission and the shuttle vehicle itself is flown back to earth for
refurbishment and reuse.
• Hence the term:reusable launch vehicle(RLV) for such launchers.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Launch vehicle selection factor
• Price/cost
• Reliability-Recent launch success/failure history
• Dependable launch schedule- Urgency of the customer
• Performance
• Spacecraft fit
• Safety issues
• Launch site location
• Availability-launch site; vehicle; schedule;
• Market conditions-what the market will bea

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LAUNCHING ORBITS
• Low Earth Orbiting satellites are directly injected into their orbits.
• This cannot be done incase of GEOs as they have to be positioned
36,000kms above the Earth‟s surface.
• Launch vehicles are hence used to set these satellites in their orbits.
• These vehicles are reusable.
• They are also known as „Space Transportation System‟ (STS).

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• When the orbital altitude is greater than 1,200 km it becomes expensive to

directly inject the satellite in its orbit.
• For this purpose, a satellite must be placed in to a transfer orbit between
the initial lower orbit and destination orbit.
• The transfer orbit is commonly known as *Hohmann-Transfer Orbit.
• The transfer orbit is selected to minimize the energy required for the
transfer.
• This orbit forms a tangent to the low attitude orbit at the point of its
perigee and tangent to high altitude orbit at the point of its apogee.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• The rocket injects the satellite with the required thrust** into the
transfer orbit.
• With the STS, the satellite carries a perigee kick motor*** which
imparts the required thrust to inject the satellite in its transfer orbit.
• Similarly, an apogee kick motor (AKM) is used to inject the satellite in
its destination orbit.
• Generally it takes 1-2 months for the satellite to become fully
functional.
• The Earth Station performs the Telemetry Tracking and
Command**** function to control the satellite transits and
functionalities.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• It is better to launch rockets closer to the equator because the Earth

rotates at a greater speed here than that at either pole.
• This extra speed at the equator means a rocket needs less thrust (and
therefore less fuel) to launch into orbit.
• In addition, launching at the equator provides an additional 1,036 mph
(1,667 km/h) of speed once the vehicle reaches orbit.
• This speed bonus means the vehicle needs less fuel, and that freed
space can be used to carry more pay load.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

ORBITAL EFFECTS IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

PERFORMANCE
• There are a number of perbuting forces that cause an orbit to depart from
ideal Keplerian orbit.
• The most effecting ones are gravitational fields of sun and moon, non-
spherical shape of the Earth, reaction of the satellite itself to motor
movements within the satellites.
• Thus the earth station keeps manoeuvring the satellite to maintain its position.
• Within a set of nominal geostationary coordinates.
• Thus the exact GEO is not attainable in practice and the orbital parameters
vary with time.
• Hence these satellites are called “Geosynchronous” satellites or “Near-
Geostationary satellites”.
Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
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Doppler Effect
• To a stationary observer, the frequency of a moving radio transmitter
varies with the transmitter’s velocity relative to the observer.
• If the true transmitter frequency (i.e., the frequency that the transmitter
would send when at rest) is fT, the received frequency fR is higher
than fT when the transmitter is moving toward the receiver and lower
than fT when the transmitter is moving away from the receiver.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Range variations
• Even with the best station keeping systems available for geostationary
satellites, the position of a satellite with respect to earth exhibits a
cyclic daily variation.
• The variation in position will lead to a variation in range between the
satellite and user terminals.
• If time division multiple access(TDMA) is being used, careful
attention must be paid to the timing of the frames within the TDMA
bursts so that the individual user frames arrive at the satellite in the
correct sequence and at the correct time.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Earth Eclipse of A Satellite

• It occurs when Earth‟s equatorial plane coincides with the plane f he
Earth‟s orbit around the sun.
• Near the time of spring and autumnal equinoxes, when the sun is
crossing the equator, the satellite passes into sun‟s shadow.
• This happens for some duration of time every day.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• These eclipses begin 23 days before the equinox and end 23 days after
the equinox.
• They last for almost 10 minutes at the beginning and end of equinox
and increase for a maximum period of 72 minutes at a full eclipse.
• The solar cells of the satellite become non-functional during the
eclipse period and the satellite is made to operate with the help of
power supplied from the batteries.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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• A satellite will have the eclipse duration symmetric around the time
t=Satellite Longitude/15 12 hours.
• A satellite at Greenwich longitude 0 will have the eclipse duration
symmetric around 0/15 UTC +12hours = 00:00 UTC. The eclipse will
happen at night but for satellites in the east it will happen late evening local
time.
• For satellites in the west eclipse will happen in the early morning hour‟s
local time.
• An earth caused eclipse will normally not happen during peak viewing
hours if the satellite is located near the longitude of the coverage area.
• Modern satellites are well equipped with batteries for operation during
eclipse.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Sun Transit Outage:

• Sun transit outage is an interruption in or distortion of geostationary
satellite signals caused by interference from solar radiation.
• Sun appears to be an extremely noisy source which completely blanks
out the signal from satellite.
• This effect lasts for 6 days around the equinoxes.
• They occur for a maximum period of 10 minutes.

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• Generally, sun outages occur in February, March, September and
October, that is, around the time of the equinoxes.
• At these times, the apparent path of the sun across the sky takes it
directly behind the line of sight between an earth station and a
satellite.
• As the sun radiates strongly at the microwave frequencies used to
communicate with satellites (C-band, Ka band and Ku band) the sun
swamps the signal from the satellite.
• The effects of a sun outage can include partial degradation, that is, an
increase in the error rate, or total destruction of the signal.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Summary

At the end of this module you will be able to understand the

concept of look angles, launches and launch vehicles and orbital
effects in satellite communications.

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Satellite Communication
Dr. R. Raman, Associate
Professor, ECE
 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr.

R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr.

R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE
 Aditya

Satellite Communication
Dr. R. Raman, Associate
Professor, ECE
 Aditya

Summary

Conclude Learning Outcomes at the end of each

module

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

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Summary

Conclude Course (unit)Outcomes at the end of each

unit

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Summary

Conclude Course Outcomes at the end of course

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE

 Aditya

Satellite Communication Dr. R. Raman, Associate Professor, ECE