SATELLITE COMMUNICATION LAWS, CONCEPTS, ORBITS, APPLICATIONS

1. SATELLITE- COMMUNICATION
Presented by,
R-THANDAIAH PRABU M.E.,

2. “Working of satellite”

3. Satellite
• The word satellite originated from the Latin word
“Satellit”- meaning an attendant, one who is constantly
covering around & attending to a “master” or big man
• Earth Stations – antenna systems on earth
• Uplink – transmission from an earth station to a satellite
• Downlink – transmission from a satellite to an earth
station
• Transponder – electronics in the satellite that convert
uplink signals to downlink signals

7. Frequency Allocation for Satellite Communication
Band
Uplink (GHz)
Downlink (GHz)
C
6
4
Ku
14
12
Ka
30
20
X
8.2
7.5
S
40
20
Q
44
21
L
1.525 to 1.559
1.626 to 1.660
•First satellite launched into space: Sputnik (1957).

8. Frequency Bands Available for
Satellite Communications

11. APPLICATIONS
1. Global Telecommunications : Land, Sea, Air
2. Broadcasting : Sound, TV, Multimedia, Cable TV, DTH, DTU, DBS, DVB
3. Navigation : Global Positioning System (GPS)
4. Remote Sensing – Earth Observation
5. Weather
6. Emergency Communication Services – Disasters
7. Mobile Communication Services
8. Corporate Communications – Virtual Private Network (VPN)
- VSAT Technology
9. Military Communications

12. Applications

14. Different services of satellite systems
*Fixed satellite services
*Broadcasting satellite services
*Mobile satellite services
*Navigational satellite services
*Meteorological satellite services.

15. Communication process

17. Satellite Orbits
Polar Orbit
Low Earth Equatorial
Orbit
Geostationary Orbit
Molniya Orbit

18. north celestial pole
north pole
equator
equator
south pole
Major Axis
south celestial pole
celestial
sphere

19. Motion of Space Objects

20. Three classes of Satellite orbits:
Satellites orbits vary depending on:
1) altitude
2) inclination
3) orbital period
An orbit is the path that a satellite follows as it revolves around Earth
1) Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
up to 2,000km altitude
remote sensing satellites, altimeter satellites, other
2) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
altitudes between 5,000km – 20,000km
GPS satellites (12hr period – twice a day)
3) Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) 24hr period appears fixed
altitudes of 36,000km
communication satellites

22. Satellite orbit altitudes

23. GEO Orbit
• Advantages of the the GEO orbit
• No problem with frequency changes
• Tracking of the satellite is simplified
• High coverage area
• Disadvantages of the GEO orbit
• Weak signal after traveling over 35,000 km
• Polar regions are poorly served
• Signal sending delay is substantial

24. LEO Satellite Characteristics
•
•
•
•
Circular/slightly elliptical orbit under 2000 km
Orbit period ranges from 1.5 to 2 hours
Diameter of coverage is about 8000 km
Round-trip signal propagation delay less than 20
ms
• Maximum satellite visible time up to 20 min
• System must cope with large Doppler shifts
• Atmospheric drag results in orbital deterioration

25. MEO Satellite Characteristics
• Circular orbit at an altitude in the range of 5000 to
12,000 km
• Orbit period of 6 hours
• Diameter of coverage is 10,000 to 15,000 km
• Round trip signal propagation delay less than 50
ms
• Maximum satellite visible time is a few hours

26. Orbital location and footprint
• The location of a geostationary satellite is referred to
as its orbital location. International satellites are normally
measured in terms of longitudinal degrees East (° E) from the
Prime Meridian of 0°
• The geographic area of the Earth's surface over
which a satellite can transmit to, or receive from, is
called the satellite's "footprint."

27. Motion of
Space Objects
1473 -1543 Copernicus
Heliocentric (sun in the center) Orbit
1546 – 1601 Tycho Brahe
Before telescope followed the planets (acquired quality data)
1571 – 1630 Johannes Kepler
Discovered orbital path to be elliptical around focus point
Keplers 3 laws of planetary motion
1642 – 1727 Sir Isaac Newton
Physical Principals – Universal law of Gravitation

28. Keplers 3 (empirical) laws of
Planetary Motion
First Law (elliptical orbit)
“The orbital path of a planet takes the shape of an ellipse,
with the Sun located at one of its focal points.”

29. Kepler’s Second Law
The line from the sun to a planet sweeps out equal areas in
equal time intervals.
t1
t2
areaA
t4
aphelion
(slowest)
perihelion
(fastest)
areaB
areaA = areaB if t2-t1 = t4-t3
t3

30. Kepler’s Third Law
The ratio of the square of the planet’s orbital
period and the cube of the mean distance from
the Sun is constant
(D1/D2)3 = (P1/P2)2
Planets far from the sun take longer to orbit
the sun than do planets nearer the sun.

31. Geometry of an Ellipse
Semi-major axis of the satellite orbit
Eccentricity of the satellite orbit (deviation from a circle)
A satellite is closest to the earth at a point called Perigee
A satellites farthest point from the earth is called apogee
“GPS orbital period of 12 hours based on Kepler’s third law
corresponds to a satellite altitude of about 20,000km above the
surface of the earth”

32. Apogee
Inclination
V
Definitions & orbital parameters:
Apogee: Farthest from earth
Perigee
Right Ascension
Perigee: Closest approach to earth
Line of apsides: Joining perigee & apogee through center of the earth
Ascending node: Point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane
going from south to north
Descending node: Point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane
going from north to south
Line of nodes: Line joining the ascending and descending node
through the center of the earth

33. Inclination:
Angle between the orbital plane
and earth’s equatorial plane
Prograde orbit: Satellite moves in the same direction as the
earth’s rotation ( 0 to 90’)
Retrograde orbit: Satellite moves in the counter direction to the
earth’s rotation
Mean anomaly: Average value of the angular position of the
satellite with reference to the perigee
True anomaly: Angle from perigee to the satellite position
measured at the earth’s center.

36. Sources of Orbital
Perturbations
• Several external forces cause perturbation
to spacecraft orbit
• 3rd body effects, e.g., sun, moon, other
planets
• Unsymmetrical central bodies
• Space Environment: Solar Pressure, drag
from rarefied atmosphere

37. Orbit perturbations
1) Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion
Apply to any orbiting object (Satellites)
2) GPS Satellites orbit the earth in an
elliptical path
3) Earth becomes the focal points

38. • Mean motion of the orbital
period is called as anomalistic
period
P=2/n sec
• perturbation which must be
accounted for. Main effects:
• Regression of nodes
• Rotation of apsides

39. Orbital Perturbation Effects:
Regression of Nodes
Regression of Nodes: Equatorial bulge causes component of gravity
vector acting on SC to be slightly out of orbit plane
This out of orbit plane component
causes a slight precession of the
orbit plane.
The resulting orbital rotation is called regression of node.
Note: Although regression rate is small for Geo., it must be accounted.

40. Orbital Perturbation:
Rotation of Apsides
∆ω
Rotation of apsides caused by earth
oblateness is similar to regression of
nodes. The phenomenon is caused by
a higher acceleration near the equator
and a resulting overshoot at periapsis.
This only occurs in elliptical orbits.

41. Satellites in geosynchronous orbit

42. Uses of Geostationary Orbits
• Geostationary orbits are primarily used for two functions:
• Weather monitoring
• Telecommunications & Broadcasting
• Commercial growth is focused on:
• DTH TV (Direct To Home: Sky TV)
• Phone, Fax, Video, Data services
• Mobile Communications
• VSAT & USAT
• Digital Radio

43. Three conditions are required for an orbit
to be geostationary:
• The satellite must travel eastward at the
same rotational speed as the earth
• The orbit must be circular
• The inclination of the orbit must be zero

44. How To File for a Geo Position
• Only Allocated to National Governments
• Go to National Government
• Request Orbital Position (s)
• US Companies (Non Governmental Entities)
work through FCC
• UK through UK Radiocommunications Agency
• Prepare ITU Paperwork
• File & Coordinate
• First Come, First Served = Priority!

46. To determine the look angles for the
geostationary orbit we need
• The earth station latitude
• The earth station longitude
• The longitude of the sub satellite point
The average of radius R=6378 km
polar antenna
A single actuator is used which moves the antenna in a
circular arc ie known as polar mount antenna.

47. Declination
The angle of tilt is often referred to as the declination which
must not be confused with the magnetic declination used in
correcting compass readings.
Limits of Visibility:
The limits will be set by the geographic coordinates of the
earth station and the antenna elevation.