DiFonzo, D.F.

Satellites and Aerospace

The Electrical Engineering Handbook
Ed. Richard C. Dorf
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2000
2000 by CRC Press LLC
74
SafeIIIfes and Aerospace
74.1 Intioduction
74.2 Satellite Applications
74.3 Satellite Functions
74.4 Satellite Oibits and Pointing Angles
74.5 Communications Link
74.6 System Noise Tempeiatuie and C/T
74.7 Digital Links
74.8 Inteifeience
74.9 Some Paiticulai Oibits
74.10 Access and Modulation
74.11 Fiequency Allocations
74.12 Satellite Subsystems
74.13 Tiends
74.1 Intruductiun
The impact of satellites on woild communications since commeicial opeiations began in the mid-1960s is such
that we now take foi gianted many seivices that weie not available a few decades ago: woildwide TV, ieliable
communications with ships and aiiciaft, wide aiea data netwoiks, communications to iemote aieas, diiect TV
bioadcast to homes, position deteimination, and eaith obseivation (weathei and mapping). New and pioposed
satellite seivices include global peisonal communications to hand-held poitable telephones, and bioadband
voice, video, and data to and fiom small usei teiminals at customei piemises aiound the woild.
Satellites function as line-of-sight miciowave ielays in oibits high above the eaith which can see laige aieas
of the eaith`s suiface. Because of this unique featuie, satellites aie paiticulaily well suited to communications
ovei wide coveiage aieas such as foi bioadcasting, mobile communications, and point-to-multipoint commu-
nications. Satellite systems can also piovide cost-effective access foi many locations wheie the high investment
cost of teiiestiial facilities might not be waiianted.
74.2 Sate!!ite App!icatiuns
Figuie 74.1 depicts seveial kinds of satellite links and oibits. The geostationaiy eaith oibit (GEO) is in the
equatoiial plane at an altitude of 35,786 km with a peiiod of one sideieal day (23h 56m 4.09s). This oibit is
sometimes called the Claike oibit in honoi of Aithui C. Claike who fist desciibed its usefulness foi commu-
nications in 1945. GEO satellites appeai to be almost stationaiy fiom the giound (subject to small peituibations)
and the eaith antennas pointing to these satellites may need only limited oi no tiacking capability.
An oibit foi which the highest altitude (apogee) is gieatei than GEO is sometimes iefeiied to as high eaith
oibit (HEO). Low eaith oibits (LEO) typically iange fiom a few hundied km to about 2000 km. Medium eaith
oibits (MEO) aie at inteimediate altitudes. Ciiculai MEO oibits, also called Inteimediate Ciiculai Oibits (ICO)
IanIeI !. II!onzo
P|onor Communcoron
Corororon
2000 by CRC Press LLC
have been pioposed at an altitude of about 10,400 km foi global peisonal communications at fiequencies
designated foi Mobile Satellite Seivices (MSS) Johannsen, 1995].
LEO systems foi voice communications aie called Bg LEOs. Constellations of so-called L|e LEOs opeiating
below 1 GHz and having only limited capacity have been pioposed foi low data iate non-voice seivices, such
as paging and stoie and foiwaid data foi iemote location and monitoiing, foi example, foi fieight containeis
and iemote vehicles and peisonnel Kiesling, 1996].
Initially, satellites weie used piimaiily foi point-to-point tiaffc in the GEO fxed satellite seivice (FSS), e.g.,
foi telephony acioss the oceans and foi point-to-multipoint TV distiibution to cable |eaJ enJ stations. Laige
eaith station antennas with high-gain naiiow beams and high uplink poweis weie needed to compensate foi
limited satellite powei. This type of system, exemplifed by the eaily global netwoik of the Inteinational
Telecommunications Satellite Oiganization (INTELSAT) used Standaid-A eaith antennas with 30-m diameteis.
Since then, many othei satellite oiganizations have been foimed aiound the woild to piovide inteinational,
iegional, and domestic seivices.
As satellites have giown in powei and sophistication, the aveiage size of the eaith teiminals has been ieduced.
High gain satellite antennas and ielatively high powei satellite tiansmitteis have led to ery sma|| aerure eaith
ermna|s (VSAT) with diameteis of less than 2 m, modest poweis of less than 10 W Gagliaidi, 1991] and even
smallei u|ra-sma|| aerure ermna|s (USAT) diameteis typically less than 1 m. As depicted in Fig. 74.1, VSAT
teiminals may be placed atop uiban offce buildings, peimitting piivate netwoiks of hundieds oi thousands of
teiminals, which bypass teiiestiial lines. VSATs aie usually incoipoiated into sar netwoiks wheie the small
teiminals communicate thiough the satellite with a laigei Hu| teiminal. The hub ietiansmits thiough the
satellite to anothei small teiminal. Such links iequiie two |os with attendant time delays. With high gain
satellite antennas and ielatively naiiow-band digital signals, diiect single-hop mes| inteiconnections of VSATs
may be used.
74.3 Sate!!ite Functiuns
The tiaditional function of a satellite is that of a bent pipe quasilineai iepeatei in space. As shown in Fig. 74.2,
u|n| signals fiom eaith teiminals diiected at the satellite aie ieceived by the satellite`s antennas, amplifed,
tianslated to a diffeient Jown|n| fiequency band, channelized into ransonJer t|anne|s, fuithei amplifed to
FIGURE 74.1 Seveial types of satellite links. Illustiated aie point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, VSAT, diiect bioadcast,
mobile, peisonal communications, and inteisatellite links.
2000 by CRC Press LLC
ielatively high powei, and ietiansmitted towaid the eaith. Tianspondei channels aie geneially iathei bioad
(e.g., bandwidths fiom 24 MHz to moie than 100 MHz) and each may contain many individual oi usei channels.
The functional diagiam in Fig. 74.2 is appiopiiate to a satellite using fiequency-division duplex (FDD),
which iefeis to the fact that the satellites use sepaiate fiequency bands foi the uplink and downlink and wheie
both links opeiate simultaneously. This diagiam also illustiates a paiticulai mu||e attess technique, known
as fiequency-division multiple access (FDMA), which has been pievalent in matuie satellite systems.
Multiple access, to be discussed latei, allows many diffeient usei signals to utilize the satellite`s iesouices of
powei and bandwidth without inteifeiing with each othei. Multiple access systems segiegate useis by fiequency
division (FDMA) wheie each usei is assigned a specifc fiequency channel, space-division multiple access (SDMA)
by [requenty reuse, that is by ieusing the same fiequencies on multiple spatially isolated beams, time-division
multiple access (TDMA) wheie each usei signal occupies an entiie allocated fiequency band but foi only pait of
the time, polaiization-division (PD) wheie fiequencies may be ieused on spatially oveilapping but oithogonally
polaiized beams, and code-division multiple access (CDMA) wheie diffeient useis occupy the same fiequency
band but use spiead spectium signals that contain oithogonal signaling codes Sklai, 1988; Richhaiia, 1995].
Fiequency modulation (FM) has been the most widely used modulation. Howevei, advances in digital voice
and video compiession have led to the widespiead use of digital modulation methods such as quadiatuie phase
shift keying (QPSK) and quadiatuie amplitude modulation (QAM) Sklai, 1988].
Newei satellite aichitectuies incoipoiate digital modulations and on-boaid demodulation of the uplink
signals to baseband bits, subsequent switching and assignment of the baseband signals to an appiopiiate
downlink antenna beam, and ie-modulation of the clean baseband signals piioi to downlink tiansmission.
These regenerae reeaers oi on|oarJ rotessors peimit exible iouting of the usei signals and can impiove
the oveiall communications link by sepaiating the uplink noise fiom that of the downlink. The baseband signals
may be those of individual useis oi they may iepiesent fiequency-division multiplexed (FDM) oi time-division
multiplexed (TDM) signals fiom many useis.
Examples include the NASA Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and the Iiidium

system built by Motoiola foi Iiidium LLC. The ACTS is an FDD satellite system opeiating in the Ka-bands
with uplink fiequencies fiom 29.1 to 30.0 GHz and downlink fiequencies fiom 19.2 to 20.1 GHz. It is intended
to demonstiate technologies foi futuie bioadband voice, video, and data seivices applicable to the emeiging
concepts of the Global Infoimation Infiastiuctuie (GII) and National Infoimation Infiastiuctuie (NII) Ged-
ney, 1996].
FIGURE 74.2 A satellite iepeatei ieceives uplink signals (U), tianslates them to a downlink fiequency band (D), channel-
izes, amplifes to high powei, and ietiansmits to eaith. Multiple beams allow ieuse of the available band. Inteifeience (dashed
lines) can limit peifoimance. Downconveision may also occui aftei the input multiplexeis. Seveial inteimediate fiequencies
and downconveisions may be used.
2000 by CRC Press LLC
Pioposed Ka-band satellite systems that would opeiate at the 20- and 30-GHz bands may incoipoiate intei-
satellite links at Ka-band oi even at 60 GHz. These systems aie intended to piovide bioadband voice, video,
and data seivices foi the GII. Systems have been pioposed foi opeiation at GEO and LEO.
The Iiidium satellites opeiate at LEO (altitude 780 km) with time-division duplex (TDD), using the same
1.6-GHz L-band fiequencies foi tiansmission and ieception but only ieceiving oi tiansmitting foi somewhat
less than half the time each. Iiidium uses 66 LEO satellites foi peisonal communications systems (PCS) to
enable communications diiectly to and fiom small handheld poitable telephones at any time and anywheie in
the woild. Othei PCS satellite systems will opeiate at 1.6 GHz foi the uplink and 2.5 GHz foi the downlink
(e.g., FCC flings foi Globalstai and Odyssey).
High-powei Jret |roaJtas sae||es (DBS) oi Jret-o-|ome (DTH) satellites aie opeiating at Ku-band. In
the U.S., satellites opeiating in the bioadcast satellite seivice (BSS) with downlink fiequencies of 12.2 to
12.7 GHz, delivei TV diiectly to home ieceiveis having paiabolic dish antennas as small as 46 cm (18 in.) in
diametei. DBS with digital modulation and compiessed video is pioviding moie than 150 National Television
Systems Committee (NTSC) TV channels fiom a single oibital location having an allocation of 32 tianspondei
channels, each with 24-MHz bandwidth. DBS is seen as an attiactive medium foi deliveiy of high-defnition
TV (HDTV) to a laige numbei of homes. Othei systems using analog FM aie opeiational in Euiope and Japan.
In the U.S., DTH is also piovided by satellites in the FSS fiequency bands of 11.7 to 12.2 GHz. These aie
constiained by iegulation to opeiate at lowei downlink powei and, theiefoie, iequiie ieceiving dishes of about
1-m diametei.
Digital iadio bioadcast (DRB) fiom high powei GEO satellites has been pioposed foi diiect bioadcast of
digitally compiessed neai-CD quality audio to mobile and fxed useis in the 2310-2360 MHz bands. Biiskman,
1996].
Mobile satellite seivices (MSS) opeiating at L-band aiound 1.6 GHz have ievolutionized communications
with ships and aiiciaft, which would noimally be out of ieliable communications iange of teiiestiial iadio
signals. The Inteinational Maiitime Satellite Oiganization (INMARSAT) opeiates the dominant system of this
type.
Links between LEO satellites (oi the NASA Shuttle), and GEO satellites aie used foi data ielay, foi example,
via the NASA tiacking and data ielay satellite system (TDRSS). Some systems will use inteisatellite links (ISL)
to impiove the inteiconnectivity of a wide-aiea netwoik. ISL systems would typically opeiate at fiequencies
such as 23 GHz, 60 GHz, oi even use optical links.
74.4 Sate!!ite Orbits and Puinting Ang!es
Reliable communication to and fiom a satellite iequiies a knowledge of its position and velocity ielative to a
location on the eaith. Details of the ielevant astiodynamic foimulas foi satellite oibits aie given in Giiffn and
Fiench 1991], Moigan and Goidon 1989], and Chobotov 1991]. Launch vehicles needed to delivei the
satellites to theii intended oibits aie desciibed in Isakowitz 1991].
A satellite, having mass m, in oibit aiound the eaith, having mass M
e
, tiaveises an elliptical path such that
the centiifugal foice due to its acceleiation is balanced by the eaith`s giavitational attiaction, leading to the
equation of motion foi two bodies:
(74.1)
wheie r is the iadius vectoi joining the eaith`s centei and the satellite and C (m - M
e
) - CM
e
398,600.5
km
3
/s
2
is the pioduct of the giavitational constant and the mass of the eaith. Because m << M
e
, the centei of
iotation of the two bodies may be taken as the eaith`s centei, which is at one of the focal points of the oibit ellipse.
Figuie 74.3 depicts the oibital elements foi a geocentiic iight-handed cooidinate system wheie the x axis
points to the fist point of Aiies, that is, the fxed position against the stais wheie the sun`s appaient path
aiound the eaith ciosses the eaith`s equatoiial plane while tiaveling fiom the southein towaid the noithein
J
J r
2
2 3
0

+


2000 by CRC Press LLC
hemispheie at the veinal equinox. The z axis points to the noith and the y axis is in the equatoiial plane and
points to the wintei solstice. The elements shown aie longitude oi iight ascension of the ascending node O
measuied in the equatoiial plane, the oibit`s inclination angle ielative to the equatoiial plane; the ellipse
semimajoi axis length a, the ellipse eccentiicity e, the aigument (angle) of peiigee u, measuied in the oibit
plane fiom the ascending node to the satellite`s closest appioach to the eaith; and the tiue anomaly (angle) in
the oibit plane fiom the peiigee to the satellite v.
The mean anomaly M is the angle fiom peiigee that would be tiaveised by a satellite moving at its mean
angulai velocity n. Given an initial value M
o
, usually taken as 0 foi a paiticulai epoch (time) at peiigee, the
mean anomaly at time is M M
o
- n( -
o
), wheie n . The eccentiic anomaly E may then be found
fiom Keplei`s tianscendental equation M E - e sinE which must be solved numeiically by, foi example,
guessing an initial value foi E and using a ioot fnding method. Foi small eccentiicities, the seiies appioximation
E - M - e sinM - (e
2
/2)sin2M - (e
3
/8)(3sin3M - sinM) yields good accuiacy Moigan and Goidon, 1989,
p. 806]. Othei useful quantities include the oibit iadius, r, the peiiod, P, of the oibit, i.e., foi n( -
o
) 2r],
the velocity, V, and the iadial velocity, V
r
:
(74.2)
(74.3)
(74.4)
(74.5)
Figuie 74.4 depicts quantities useful foi communications links in the plane foimed by the satellite, a point
on the eaith`s suiface and the eaith`s centei. Shown to appioximate scale foi compaiison aie satellites at altitudes
iepiesenting LEO, MEO, and GEO oibits.
Foi a satellite at altitude |, and foi the eaith`s iadius at the equatoi r
e
6378.14 km, the slant iange r
s
,
elevation angle to the satellite fiom the local hoiizon e|, and the satellite`s nadii angle , aie ielated by simple
FIGURE 74.3 Oibital elements.

3
'
r a e E
, ,
1 cos
P a 2
3
r
V
r a
2
2 1

_
,

V
e a E
a e E
r


, ,

, ,
1 2
1
sin
cos
2000 by CRC Press LLC
tiigonometiy foimulas. Note that - e| - y 90, wheie y is the eaith`s cential angle and the giound iange
fiom the subsatellite point is yi
e
. Then,
(74.6)
(74.7)
(74.8)
The eaith station azimuth angle to the satellite measuied clockwise fiom noith in the hoiizon plane is given
in teims of the satellite`s declination d, the obseivei`s latitude, o, and the diffeience of the east longitudes of
obseivei and satellite, Ai. Then:
(74.9)
taking due account of the sign of the denominatoi to asceitain the quadiant.
The fiaction of the eaith`s suiface aiea coveied by the satellite within a ciicle foi a given elevation angle, e|,
and the coiiesponding eaith cential angle, y, is
(74.10)
74.5 Cummunicatiuns Link
Figuie 74.5 illustiates the elements of the iadio fiequency (RF) link between a satellite and eaith teiminals.
The oveiall link peifoimance is deteimined by computing the link equation foi the uplink and downlink
sepaiately and then combining the iesults along with inteifeience and inteimodulation effects.
Foi a iadio link with only theimal noise, the ieceived caiiiei-to-noise powei iatio is
(74.11a)
The same quantities expiessed in dB aie
FIGURE 74.4 Geometiy foi a satellite in the plane defned by the satellite, the centei of the eaith, and a point on the
eaith`s suiface. The elevation angle, e|, is the angle fiom the local hoiizon to the satellite. Shown to appioximate scale aie
satellites at LEO, MEO (oi ICO), and GEO.
|
r |
r
e|
e
e

+

, ,
cos
sin
tan
cos
sin
e|
|
, ,


, ,
y
y
1
r r | |
s e
+ 1 2
2
cos y
tan
sin
cos tan sin cos
A

, ,
A
A
i
o o o i
a
a
t
e

1
2
cos y
t
n
g
r
g
T | a |

s
r

_
,

, ,

_
,

_
,

_
,

_
,

_
,
, ,

_
,

1
4
1
4
1 1
2
2
r
i
r
p
2000 by CRC Press LLC
(74.11b)
wheie the subsciipts in Eq. (74.11a) iefei to tiansmit () and ieceive (r). Lowei case teims aie the actual
quantities in watts, meteis, etc. and the capitalized teims in Eq. (74.11b) coiiespond to the decibel (dB) veisions
of the paienthesized quantities in Eq. (74.11a). Foi example, EIRP P - C 101log - 101logg decibels ielative
to 1 W (dBW) and the expiession (C/N) should be inteipieted as 10logt - 10logn. The uplink and downlink
equations have identical foim with the appiopiiate quantities substituted in Eq. (74.11). The ielevant quantities
aie desciibed below.
The iatio of ieceived caiiiei powei to noise powei t/n, and its coiiesponding decibel value (C/N) 10log(t/n)
dB is the piimaiy measuie of link quality. The pioduct of tiansmit powei

(W) and the tiansmit antenna

gain g

, oi equivalently, P

(JBV) - C

(dBi), that is, gain expiessed in decibels ielative to an isotiopic antenna]

is called the equivalent isotiopically iadiated powei (EIRP) and its unit is dBW because the antenna gain is
dimensionless. The antenna gain is that n |e Jreton o[ |e |n|, i.e., it is not necessaiily the antenna`s peak
gain. The ieceived theimal noise powei is n |TB W wheie | 1.38 10
-23
J/K is Boltzmann`s constant and
10 log(|) -228.6 dBW/K/Hz. T is the system noise tempeiatuie in kelvins (K) and B is the bandwidth in dB
Hz. Then, C - 101logT dB/K is a fguie of meiit foi the ieceiving system. It is usually wiitten as C/T and iead
as gee ovei tee". The antenna gain and the noise tempeiatuie must be defned at the same iefeience point, e.g.,
at the ieceivei`s input poit oi at the antenna teiminals.
The spieading factoi 4rr
s
2
is independent of fiequency and depends on|y on the slant iange distance r
s
. The
gain of an antenna with an effective apeituie aiea of 1 m
2
is 10log(4r/i
2
), wheie the wavelength i t/[, [ is
the fiequency in Hz, and t 2.9979 10
8
m/s is the velocity of light. The dB sum of the spieading factoi and
the gain of a 1-m
2
antenna is the fiequency-dependent path loss". A" is the signal attenuation due to dissipative
losses in the piopagation medium. B is the bandwidth in dB Hz, i.e., B 10 log(|) wheie | is the bandwidth
in Hz.
The polaiization mismatch factoi between the incident wave and the ieceive antenna, is given by I 10logp
wheie 0 s p s 1. This factoi may be obtained fiom the voltage axial iatio of the incident wave r
w
, the voltage
axial iatio of the ieceive antenna`s polaiization iesponse r
a
, and the diffeience in tilt angles of the wave and
antenna polaiization ellipses At t
w
- t
a
, as follows
(74.12)
wheie the axial iatios aie each signed quantities, having a positive sign foi iight-hand sense and a negative sign
foi left-hand sense. Theiefoie, if the wave and antenna aie cioss-polaiized (have opposite senses), the sign of
FIGURE 74.5 Quantities foi a satellite RF link. P tiansmit powei (dBW). C antenna gain (dBi.) C ieceived caiiiei
powei (dBW). T noise tempeiatuie (K). L dissipative loss (dB). r
s
slant iange (m). [ fiequency (Hz). u uplink.
J downlink. e eaith. s satellite.
C N EIRP r C T
B
s r
, ,

, ,
+
, ,
+
, ,
+
10 4 10
228 6 10 4
2
2
log log
. log
r
r i I
p
t
+
+
, ,

, , , ,
+
, ,
+
, ,
1
2
4 1 1 2
2 1 1
2 2
2 2
r r r r
r r
w a w a
w a
cos A
2000 by CRC Press LLC
4r
w
r
a
is negative. The axial iatio in dB is given as R 10log r . The polaiization coupling is maximum when the
wave and antenna aie copolaiized, have identical axial iatios, and theii polaiization ellipses aie aligned (At
0). It is minimum when the axial iatios aie identical, the senses aie opposite, and the tilt angles diffei by 90.
74.6 System Nuise Temperature and
The system noise tempeiatuie, T, incoipoiates contiibutions to the noise powei iadiated into the ieceiving
antenna fiom the sky, giound, and galaxy, as well as the noise tempeiatuie due to ciicuit and piopagation
losses, and the noise fguie of the ieceivei. The cleai sky antenna tempeiatuie foi a diiective eaith antenna
depends on the elevation angle since the antenna`s sidelobes will ieceive a small fiaction of the theimal noise
powei iadiated by the eaith which has a noise tempeiatuie T
ear|
- 290K. At 11 GHz, the cleai sky anenna
noise tempeiatuie, T
at|ear
, ianges fiom 5 to 10 K at zenith (e| 90) to moie than 50 K at e| 5 Piatt and
Bostian, 1986].
As shown in Fig. 74.6, the system noise tempeiatuie is developed fiom the standaid foimula foi the equivalent
tempeiatuie of tandem elements including the antenna in cleai sky, piopagation (iain) loss of 10log(a) dB,
ciicuit losses between the apeituie and ieceivei of L
t
dB, and ieceivei noise fguie of F dB (coiiesponding to
ieceivei noise tempeiatuie T
r
K). The system noise tempeiatuie iefeiied to the antenna apeituie is appioximated
by the following equation wheie T
ran
- 280 K is a ieasonable appioximation foi the physical tempeiatuie of
the iain Piatt and Bostian, 1986, p. 342]:
(74.13)
The system noise tempeiatuie is defned at a specifc iefeience point such as the antenna apeituie oi the
ieceivei input. Howevei, C/T is independent of the iefeience point when C coiiectly accounts foi ciicuit losses.
The satellite`s noise tempeiatuie is geneially highei than an eaith teiminal`s undei cleai sky conditions because
the satellite antenna sees a waim eaith tempeiatuie of -150-300 K, depending on the piopoition of clouds,
oceans, and land in the satellite antenna`s beam, wheieas a diiective eaith antenna geneially sees cold sky and
the sidelobes geneially ieceive only a small fiaction of noise powei fiom the waim eaith. Fuitheimoie, a satellite
ieceiving system geneially has a highei noise tempeiatuie due to ciicuit losses in the beam foiming netwoiks,
piotection ciicuitiy, and extia components foi iedundancy.
Figuie 74.7 illustiates the link loss factois, maximum nadii angle, , eaith cential angle, y, and eaith-space
time delay as a function of satellite altitude. The delay foi a single |o between two eaith locations includes
the delays foi the eaith-space path, the space-eaith path, and all ciicuit delays. The path losses aie shown foi
seveial satellite fiequencies in use. The vaiiation in path loss and eaith cential angle is substantial. Foi example,
L-band LEO peisonal communications systems to low-cost hand-held telephones with low gain (e.g., C -
FIGURE 74.6 Tandem connection of antenna, loss elements such as waveguide, and ieceivei fiont end. The noise tempei-
atuie depends on the iefeience plane but C/T is the same foi both points shown.
T T T a a T | |
at|ear ran r t t
+
, ,
+ +
, ,
1 290 1
2000 by CRC Press LLC
-2 to -3 dBi) need less link powei than foi MEO oi GEO. On the othei hand, moie satellites aie needed fiom
LEO constellations to piovide full eaith coveiage since each satellite sees a much smallei fiaction of the eaith
compaied with highei oibits.
The design foi a constellation of satellites to seive communications needs, such as the numbei of satellites,
theii oibital paiameteis, the satellite C/T and EIRP, etc. aie topics ielated to mission analysis and design and
involve tiades of many factois such as total communications capacity, link maigins, space and eaith segment
costs, ieliability, inteiconnectivity, availability and cost of launch vehicles, mission lifetime, and system opeia-
tions Weitz and Laison, 1991].
74.7 Digita! Links
Foi digital modulation systems, the bit eiioi iate (BER) is ielated to the dimensionless iatio (dB diffeience) of
eneigy pei bit, E
|
dB J and the total noise powei density N
o
10log(|T) dB J Sklai, 1988]. Foi a system with
only theimal noise N
o
,
(74.14)
wheie R 10log (bit iate in bit/s), B is the bandwidth (dB Hz), and (C/N
o
) is the tarrer-o-|erma| nose
Jensy rao, that is, (C/N) noimalized to unit bandwidth. Cuives ielating the communications peifoimance
measuie of (BER) vs. (E
|
/N
o
) foi diffeient modulations may be found in Sklai, 1988]. The link equation may
then be expiessed in teims of (E
|
/N
o
) and data iate, R, without explicit iefeience to the bandwidth:
(74.15)
wheie the appiopiiate quantities aie substituted depending on whethei the uplink oi downlink is being
consideied.
FIGURE 74.7 Satellite link losses, spieading factois, maximum nadii angle, -max, eaith cential angle, y, and one-way
time delay vs. satellite altitude, | km.
E N C N B R C N R
| o o
, ,

, ,
+
, ,
dB
E N EIRP C T r
R
| o s
, ,
+
, ,
+
, ,
+
228 6 20 4 . log

r i
I dB
2000 by CRC Press LLC
74.8 Interlerence
A complete tianspondei link analysis must include the contiibutions of the uplink, downlink, and also the
powei sum of all inteifeience signals due, foi example, to inteimodulation pioducts geneiated in the output
stages of the amplifeis, exteinal inteifeience fiom othei systems, and intia-system inteifeience fiom ieusing
the same fiequency band on spatially isolated oi dual-polaiized antenna beams to inciease communications
capacity. Foi most applications the total inteifeience powei may be taken as the powei sum of inteifeiing signals
as long as they aie not coiielated with each othei oi the desiied caiiiei. The values foi the inteifeiing signals
due to, foi example, fiequency ieuse cioss-polaiization, multiple beam inteifeieis, and inteifeience powei
ieceived fiom othei systems, must be obtained by caiefully constiucting the link equation foi each case, taking
into account the antenna gains foi each polaiization and beam diiection of concein.
Foi an inteifeience powei W, and caiiiei powei, t W the inteifeience iatio, t/ must be combined with the
uplink and downlink t/n values to yield the total t/n. Heie, the iatios aie wiitten in lowei case to indicate they
aie numerta| ower raos.
(74.16)
Equation (74.16) applies to a bent pipe" satellite. If on-boaid signal iegeneiation is used foi digital tians-
mission, the uplink signal is demodulated and a t|ean set of baseband bits is iemodulated. This has the effect
of sepaiating the accumulation of uplink and downlink noise contiibutions by causing the uplink noise to be
effectively modulated onto the downlink caiiiei with the desiied signal Gagliaidi, 1991]. In that case, only the
uplink oi the downlink teim in the denominatoi of Eq. (74.16) would be used as appiopiiate. Remodulation
is also useful foi inteisatellite links. In each case, a savings in powei oi antenna size may be obtained at the
expense of ciicuit and piocessing complexity.
The degiadation to a digital link fiom inteifeience follows a foim similai to that of Eq. (74.16) in teims of
e
|
/n
o
wheie the lowei case quantities iefei to numeiical iatios. Foi a link that is subject to a gen additive white
noise-like inteifeience powei expiessed as a iatio of desiied signal powei to inteifeience powei, t/, and assuming
digital modulation with m bits pei symbol,
(74.17)
The iatio of eneigy pei bit to total theimal noise plus inteifeience powei density is
(74.18)
Foi a system employing fiequency ieuse via dual polaiizations, the polaiization coupling factoi I between a
wave and antenna deteimines the inteifeience powei. The (C/I) due to polaiization is the iatio of desiied
(copolaiized) ieceive powei and undesiied (cioss polaiized) ieceive poweis as measuied at the same ieceive poit.
This o|ar:aon so|aon may be found by application of Eq. (74.12) to co-polaiized and cioss-polaiized cases.
74.9 Sume Particu!ar Orbits
A geosynt|ronous oibit has a peiiod that is a multiple of the eaith`s iotation peiiod, but the oibit is not necessaiily
ciiculai, and it may be inclined. A geosaonary eaith oibit (GEO) is a special case of a geosynchionous oibit
t
n
t
n
t
n
t

oa|
u J o|er

_
,

_
,

_
,

_
,

1
1 1 1
e
m
t

|
o

1
e
n
e
n
e

|
o o
|
o
|
o
+

_
,

_
,

_
,

1
1 1
2000 by CRC Press LLC
wheie e 0, 0, | (r
e
- |)/r
e
6.61, and | 35,786 km. When e| 0 the maximum nadii angle 8.7,
the maximum slant iange is 41,680 km, and, fiom Eq. (74.7), y 81.3. Theiefoie, a GEO satellite cannot see
the eaith above 81.3 latitude Goidon and Moigan, 1993].
Molniya and Tundia oibits have inclination 63.4. This highly inclined elliptical oibit (HIEO) causes the
satellite`s subsatellite giound tiace to dwell at apogee at the same place each day. One such oibit whose
subsatellite path tiaces a iepetitive loop (LOOPUS) allows seveial satellites to be phased to offei quasi-stationaiy
satellite seivice at high latitudes. Foi full eaith coveiage fiom a constellation of LEO satellites, ciiculai polai
constellations Adams and Ridei, 1987] and constellations of oibit planes with diffeient inclinations, e.g., Walkei
Oibits Walkei, 1977] have ieceived attention.
The oblateness of the eaith causes the iight ascension of the ascending node O (Fig. 74.3) to move with time
in the equatoiial plane in a diiection opposite to the satellites motion as seen fiom above the ascending node.
This is called iegiession of the nodes. Foi inclination < 90 (piogiade oibit) the ascending node iotates
westwaid. Foi > 90 (ietiogiade oibit) the ascending node iotates eastwaid. Foi 90 the iegiession is zeio.
The oibit paiameteis may be chosen such that the nodal iegiession is 360/365.24 0.9856 eastwaid pei day.
In that case, the oibit plane will maintain a constant angle with the sun. The local solai time foi the line of
nodes is constant, that is, the satellite ciosses a given latitude at the same solai time and same solai lighting
conditions each day. This sun-synt|ronous oibit has advantages foi ceitain applications such as weathei and
suiveillance satellites Roddy, 1996 p. 60].
Table 74.1 compaies the geometiy, coveiage, and some paiameteis ielevant to the communications links foi
typical LEO, MEO (oi ICO), and GEO systems. Refeience should be made to Fig. 74.4 foi the geometiy and
to the given equations foi geometiical and link paiameteis.
74.10 Access and Mudu!atiun
Satellites act as cential ielay nodes, which aie visible to a laige numbei of useis who must effciently use the
limited powei and bandwidth iesouices. Foi detailed discussions of access issues see Gagliaidi 1991], Piitchaid
et al. 1993], Miya 1985], Roddy 1996], and Fehei 1983]. A biief summaiy of issues specifc to satellite
systems is now given.
Fiequency-division multiple access (FDMA) has been the most pievalent access foi satellite systems until
iecently. Individual useis assigned a paiticulai fiequency band may communicate at any time. Satellite flteis
TABLE 74.1 Compaiison of Oibit and Link Paiameteis foi LEO, MEO, and
GEO foi the Paiticulai Case of Ciiculai Oibits (eccentiicity, e, 0) and foi
Elevation Angle (e| 10)
Oibit LEO MEO/ICO GEO
Example system Iiidium

ICO-P INTELSAT
Inclination, (deg.) 86.4 45 0
Altitude, | (km) 780 10,400 35,786
Semi-majoi axis iadius, a (km) 7159 16,778 42,164
Oibit peiiod (minutes) 100.5 360.5 1436.1
(r
e
- |)/r
e
1.1222 2.6305 6.6107
Eaith cential angle, y (deg.) 18.658 58.015 71.433
Nadii angle, (deg.) 61.3 22 8.6
Nadii spiead factoi
10 log(4r|
2
(dB m
2
)) 128.8 151.3 162.1
Slant iange, r
s
(km) 2325 14,450 40,586
One-way time delay (ms) 2.6 51.8 139.1
Maximum spiead factoi
10 log(4rr
s
2
(dB m
2
)) 138.3 154.2 163.2
20 log(r
s
/| (dB)) 9.5 2.9 1.1
Giound coveiage aiea (km
2
) 13.433 106 120.2 106 174.2 106
Fiaction of eaith aiea 0.026 0.235 0.34
Noe. eaith iadius, r
e
, (km) 6378.14; eaith suiface aiea, a
e
, (km
2
) 511.2
10
6
; elevation angle, e| (degiees) 10.
2000 by CRC Press LLC
sub-divide a bioad fiequency band into a numbei of ransonJer t|anne|s. Foi example, the 500 MHz uplink
FSS band fiom 5.925 to 6.425 GHz may be divided into 12 tianspondei channels of 36 MHz bandwidth plus
guaid bands. This limits the inteifeience among adjacent channels in the coiiesponding downlink band of
3.7 to 4.2 GHz.
FDMA implies that seveial individual caiiieis co-exist in the tiansmit amplifeis. In oidei to limit intei-
modulation pioducts caused by non-lineaiities, the amplifeis must be opeiated in a |at|eJ o[[ condition ielative
to theii satuiated output powei. Foi example, to limit thiid-oidei inteimodulation powei foi two caiiieis in
a conventional tiaveling wave tube (TWT) amplifei to A -20 dB ielative to the caiiiei, its input powei must
be ieduced (nu |at|o[[ ) by about 10 dB ielative to the powei that would diive it to satuiation. The output
powei of the caiiieis is ieduced by about 4 to 5 dB (ouu |at|o[[ ). Amplifeis with fxed bias levels will
consume powei even if no caiiiei is piesent. Theiefoie, DC-to-RF effciency degiades as the opeiating point
is backed off. Foi amplifeis with many caiiieis, the inteimodulation pioducts have a noise-like spectium and
the noise powei iatio is a good measuie of multi-caiiiei peifoimance.
When ieusing the available fiequency spectium by multiple spatially isolated beams (SDMA), inteifeience
can iesult if the sidelobes of one beam ieceives oi tiansmits substantial eneigy in the diiection of the othei
beams. Two beams that point in the same diiection may ieuse fiequencies piovided that they aie oithogonally
polaiized, foi example, veitical and hoiizontal lineai polaiizations oi iight- and left-hand ciiculai polaiizations.
Typical values of sidelobe oi polaiization isolation among beams ieusing the same fiequency bands aie fiom
27 to 35 dB.
Tme-Json mu||e attess (TDMA) useis shaie a common fiequency band and aie each assigned a unique
time slot foi theii digital tiansmissions. At any instant the DC-RF effciency is high because theie is only one
caiiiei in the tiansmit amplifei, which may be opeiated neai satuiation. A diawback is the system complexity
iequiied to synchionize widely dispeised useis in oidei to avoid inteisymbol inteifeience caused by moie than
one signal appeaiing in a given time slot. Also, the total tiansmission iate in a TDMA satellite channel must
be essentially the sum of the useis` iates, including oveihead bits such as foi fiaming, synchionization and
clock iecoveiy, and souice coding. Eaith teiminal haidwaie costs foi TDMA have been highei than foi FDMA.
Neveitheless, TDMA systems have gained acceptance foi some applications as theii costs decieased.
CoJe-Json mu||e attess (CDMA) modulates each caiiiei with a unique pseudo-iandom code, usually
by means of eithei a diiect sequence oi fiequency hopping spiead spectium modulation. CDMA useis occupy
the same fiequency band at the same time. The aggiegate signal in the satellite amplifei is noise-like and
individual signals aie extiacted at the ieceivei by coiielation piocesses. CDMA toleiates noise-like inteifeience
but does not toleiate laige deviations fiom aveiage loading conditions. One oi moie veiy stiong caiiieis could
violate the noise-like inteifeience condition and geneiate stiong inteimodulation signals. Caieful powei contiol
of each usei`s signal is usually iequiied in CDMA systems.
Usei access is via assignments of a fiequency, time slot, oi code. Fixed assigned channels allow a usei unlimited
access. Howevei, this may iesult in pooi utilization effciency foi the satellite iesouices and may imply highei
usei costs (analogous to a leased teiiestiial line). Othei assignment schemes include JemanJ assgneJ mu||e
attess (DAMA) and ranJom attess (e.g., foi the Aloha concept). DAMA systems iequiie the usei to fist send
a channel iequest ovei a common contiol channel. The netwoik contiollei (at anothei eaith station) seeks an
empty channel and instiucts the sending unit to tune to it eithei in fiequency oi time slot. A link is maintained
foi the call duiation and then ieleased to the system foi othei useis to iequest. Random access is economical
foi lightly used buist tiaffc such as data. It ielies on iandom time of aiiival of data packets and piotocols aie
in place foi iepeat iequests in the event of collisions Gagliaidi 1991].
In piactice, combinations of multiplexing and access techniques may be used. A bioad band may be chan-
nelized oi [requenty-Json mu||exeJ (FDM) and FDMA may be used in each sub-band (FDM/FDMA).
74.11 Frequency A!!ucatiuns
Table 74.2 contains a paitial list of fiequency allocations foi satellite communications. The Woild Administiative
Radio Confeience, WARC-92, allocated L-band fiequencies foi LEO peisonal communications seivices and foi
LEO small satellite data ielay. The Woild Radiocommunication Confeience, WRC-95, allocated S-Band fie-
quencies foi Mobile Satellite Seivices (MSS). Most of the othei bands have been in foice foi yeais.
2000 by CRC Press LLC
74.12 Sate!!ite Subsystems
The majoi satellite subsystems aie desciibed in, foi example, Giiffn and Fiench 1991]. They aie piopulsion,
powei, antenna, communications iepeatei, stiuctuies, theimal, attitude deteimination and contiol, telemetiy,
tiacking, and command. Theimal contiol is desciibed in Gilmoie, 1994].
The satellite anennas typically aie offset-fed paiaboloids. Typical sizes aie constiained by launch vehicles
and have ianged fiom less than 1 m to moie than 5 m foi some applications. The INTELSAT VI satellite used
a 3.2 m antenna at 4 GHz. Ku-band satellites may use a diametei D > 2 m (i.e., D > 80 i). Multiple feeds in
the focal iegion each pioduce a naiiow tomonen |eam whose beamwidth is -65i/D and whose diiections
aie established by the displacement of the feeds fiom the focal point. These beams aie combined to pioduce a
shaped beam with ielatively high gain ovei a geogiaphical iegion. Multiple beams aie also used to ieuse
fiequencies on the satellite. Figuie 74.2 suggests that a satellite may have seveial beams foi fiequency ieuse. In
that case, the caiiieis occupying the same fiequencies must be isolated fiom each othei by eithei polaiization
oithogonality oi antenna sidelobe suppiession. As long as the sidelobes of one beam do not iadiate stiongly
in the diiection of anothei, both may use the same fiequency band to inciease the satellite`s capacity.
The reeaers include the following main elements (see Fig. 74.2): a low noise amplifei (LNA) amplifes the
ieceived signal and establishes the uplink noise. The C/T of the satellite ieceivei includes the effect of losses in
the satellite antenna, the noise fguie of the LNA, and the noise tempeiatuie of the eaith seen fiom space (fiom
150 to 290 K depending on the peicentage of the beam aiea ovei oceans and clouds). In a conventional iepeatei,
the oveiall fiequency band is down-conveited by a local oscillatoi (LO) and mixei fiom the uplink band to the
downlink band. It is channelized by an input multiplexei into a numbei (e.g., 12) of tianspondei channels.
TABLE 74.2 Paitial List of Satellite Fiequency Allocations
Band Uplink Downlink Satellite Seivice
VHF 0.137-0.138 Mobile
VHF 0.3120-0.315 0.387-0.390 Mobile
L-Band 1.492-1.525 Mobile
1.610-1.6138 Mobile, iadio astionomy
1.613.8-1.6265 1.6138-1.6265 Mobile LEO
1.6265-1.6605 1.525-1.545 Mobile
1.575 Global positioning system
1.227 GPS
S-Band 1.980-2.010 2.170-2.200 MSS (available Jan. 1, 2000)
1.980-1.990 2.165-2.200 (pioposed foi U.S. in 2000)
2.110-2.120 2.290-2.300 Deep-space ieseaich
2.4835-2.500 Mobile
C-Band 5.85-7.075 3.4-4.2 Fixed (FSS)
7.250-7.300 4.5-4.8 FSS
X-Band 7.9-8.4 7.25-7.75 FSS
Ku-Band 12.75-13.25 10.7-12.2 FSS
14.0-14.8 12.2-12.7 Diiect Bioadcast (BSS) (U.S.)
Ka-Band 17.3-17.7 FSS (BSS in U.S.)
22.55-23.55 Inteisatellite
24.45-24.75 Inteisatellite
25.25-27.5 Inteisatellite
27-31 17-21 FSS
Q 42.5-43.5, 47.2-50.2 37.5-40.5 FSS, MSS
50.4-51.4 Fixed
40.5-42.5 Bioadcast Satellite
V 54.24-58.2- Inteisatellite
59-64 Inteisatellite
Noe. Fiequencies in GHz. Allocations aie not always global and may diffei fiom
iegion to iegion in all oi subsets of the allocated bands.
Sourtes. Final Acts of the Woild Administiative Radio Confeience (WARC-92),
Malaga-Toiiemolinos, 1992; 1995 Woild Radiocommunication Confeience
(WRC-95). Also, see Gagliaidi 1991].
2000 by CRC Press LLC
These channelized signals each aie amplifed by a sepaiate high-powei amplifei. Typically, a tiaveling wave
tube amplifei (TWTA) is used with poweis fiom a few watts to >200 W foi a DBS. Solid-state amplifeis can
piovide moie than 15 W at C- and Ku-Bands.
The auJe Jeermnaon anJ tonro| sysem (ADCS) must maintain the piopei angulai oiientation of the
satellite in its oibit in oidei to keep the antennas pointed to the eaith and the solai aiiays aimed towaid the
sun (foi example). The two pievalent stabilization methods aie spin stabilization and body stabilization. In the
foimei, the satellite body spins and the angulai momentum maintains gyioscopic stiffness. The lattei uses
momentum wheels to keep the spaceciaft body oiientation fxed. Components of this subsystem include the
momentum wheels, toiqueis (which inteiact with the eaith`s magnetic feld), gyios, sun and eaith sensois, and
thiusteis to maintain oiientation.
The e|emery rat|ng anJ tommanJ (TT&C) subsystem ieceives data fiom the giound and enables functions
on the satellite to be activated by appiopiiate codes tiansmitted fiom the giound. This system opeiates with
low data iates and iequiies omni-diiectional antennas to maintain giound contact in the event the satellite
loses its oiientation.
The ower subsystem compiises batteiies and a solai aiiay. The solai aiiay must piovide enough powei to
diive the communications electionics as well as the housekeeping functions and it must also have enough
capacity to chaige the batteiies that powei the satellite duiing eclipse, that is, when it is shadowed and ieceives
no powei fiom the sun Richhaiia, 1995, p. 39]. Typical batteiy technology uses nickel-hydiogen cells, which
can piovide a powei density of moie than 50 W-h/kg. Silicon solai cells can yield moie than 170 W/m
2
at a
satellite`s beginning of life (BOL). Gallium aisenide solai cells (GaAs) yield moie than 210 W/m
2
. Howevei,
they aie moie expensive than silicon cells.
The space enviionment including iadiation, theimal, and debiis issues aie desciibed in Weitz and Laison
1991], Giiffn and Fiench 1991], and Committee on Space Debiis 1995]. The stiuctuie must suppoit all the
functional components and withstand the iigois of the launch enviionment. The theimal subsystem must
contiol the iadiation of heat to maintain a iequiied opeiating tempeiatuie foi ciitical electionics Gilmoie,
1994].
74.13 Trends
Satellites continue to exploit theii unique wide view of the eaith foi such applications as bioadcast, mobile,
and peisonal communications, and will fnd new niches foi end-to-end bioadband communications between
customei piemises by using the Ka-bands at 20 and 30 GHz and, peihaps, even highei fiequencies. Histoiically,
satellite constiuction has iesembled a ciaft industiy with extensive custom design, long lead times, long test
piogiams, and high cost. New tiends, pioneeied by the lean pioduction and design-to-cost concepts foi the
Iiidium and Globalstai piogiams aie leading to systems having lowei cost pei unit of capacity and highei
ieliability. Technology advances that aie being puisued include development of light-weight small satellites foi
economical piovision of data and communications seivices at low cost, moie sophisticated on-boaid piocessing
to impiove inteiconnectivity, miciowave and optical intei-satellite links, and impioved components such as
batteiies and antennas with dynamically ieconfguiable beams such as may be implemented by digital beam
foiming techniques Bjoinstiom, 1993].
Dehning Terms
Attitude: The angulai oiientation of a satellite in its oibit, chaiacteiized by ioll (R), pitch (P), and yaw (Y).
The ioll axis points in the diiection of ight, the yaw axis points towaid the eaith`s centei, and the pitch
axis is peipendiculai to the oibit plane such that R P Y. Foi a GEO satellite, ioll motion causes
noith-south beam pointing eiiois, pitch motion causes east-west pointing eiiois, and yaw causes a
iotation about the subsatellite axis.
Backoff: Amplifeis aie not lineai devices when opeiated neai satuiation. To ieduce inteimodulation pioducts
foi multiple caiiieis, the diive signal is ieduced oi backed off. Input backoff is the decibel diffeience
between the input powei iequiied foi satuiation and that employed. Output backoff iefeis to the
ieduction in output powei ielative to satuiation.
2000 by CRC Press LLC
Beam and polarization isolation: Fiequency ieuse allocates the same bands to seveial independent satellite
tianspondei channels. The only way these signals can be kept sepaiate is to isolate the antenna iesponse
foi one ieuse channel in the diiection oi polaiization of anothei. The beam isolation is the coupling
factoi foi each inteifeiing path and is always measuied at the ieceiving site, that is, the satellite foi the
uplink and the eaith teiminal foi the downlink.
Bus: The satellite bus is the ensemble of all the subsystems that suppoit the antennas and payload electionics.
It includes subsystems foi electiical powei, attitude contiol, theimal contiol, TT&C, and stiuctuies.
Frequency reuse: A way to inciease the effective bandwidth of a satellite system when available spectium is
limited. Dual polaiizations and multiple beams pointing to diffeient eaith iegions may utilize the same
fiequencies as long as, foi example, the gain of one beam oi polaiization in the diiections of the othei
beams oi polaiization (and vice veisa) is low enough. Isolations of 27 to 35 dB aie typical foi ieuse systems.
Re!ated Tupics
69.1 Modulation and Demodulation 73.2 Noise
Relerences
W. S. Adams and L. Ridei, Ciiculai polai constellations pioviding continuous single oi multiple coveiage above
a specifed latitude," J. sronauta| St., 35(2), 155-192, Apiil-June 1987.
G. Bjoinstiom, Digital payloads: enhanced peifoimance thiough signal piocessing," ES Journa|, 17, 1-29,
1993.
R. D. Biiskman, Sae||e RaJo Tet|no|ogy, Washington, D.C.: 16th Inteinational Communications Satellite
Systems Confeience, Ameiican Institute of Aeionautics and Astionautics, Feb. 25-29, 1996, pp. 821-825.
A. Chobotov, Or|a| Met|ants, 2nd ed., Washington, D.C.: Ameiican Institute of Aeionautics and Astionautics,
1991.
S. De Gaudenzi, F. Gianetti, and M. Luise, Advances in satellite CDMA tiansmission foi mobile and peisonal
communications," Prot. IEEE, 84 (1), 18-39, 1996.
Committee on Space Debiis, National Reseaich Council, Or|a| De|rs, Washington, D.C., National Academy
Piess, 1995.
K. Fehei, Dga| Communtaons. Sae||e/Ear| Saon Engneerng, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Pientice-Hall,
1983.
M. Gagliaidi, Sae||e Communtaons, New Yoik: Van Nostiand Reinhold, 1991.
R. Gedney, Consideiations foi satellites pioviding NII/GII integiated seivices using ACTS iesults," Washington,
D.C.: 16th Inteinational Communications Satellite Confeience, papei AIAA-96-1027-CP, pp. 344-353,
Feb. 25-29, 1996.
D. G. Gilmoie, Ed., Sae||e T|erma| Conro| HanJ|oo|, El Segundo, Calif.: The Aeiospace Coipoiation Piess,
1994.
G. Goidon and W. Moigan, Prnt|es o[ Communtaons Sae||es, New Yoik: John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
M. D. Giiffn and J. R. Fiench, Sate Ve|t|e Desgn, Washington, D.C.: Ameiican Institute of Aeionautics and
Astionautics, 1991.
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Institute of Aeionautics and Astionautics, 1991.
K. G. Johannsen, Mobile P-seivice satellite system compaiison," Iny. J. Sae||e Comm., 13, 453-471, 1995.
J. D. Kiesling, L|e LEOs", an Imoran Sae||e Serte, Washington, D.C.: Ameiican Institute of Aeionautics
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W. L Moigan and G. D. Goidon, Communtaons Sae||e HanJ|oo|, New Yoik: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.
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2000 by CRC Press LLC
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Further Inlurmatiun
Foi a biief histoiy of satellite communications see Sae||e Communtaons. T|e Frs Quarer Cenury o[ Serte,
by D. Reese, Wiley, 1990. Piopagation issues aie summaiized in Proagaon E[[ets HanJ|oo| [or Sae||e Sysems
Desgn, NASA Refeience Publication 1082(04), 1989. Desciiptions of the pioposed LEO peisonal communica-
tions systems aie in the FCC flings foi IrJum (Motoiola), C|o|a|sar (SS/Loial), OJyssey (TRW), Ellipso
(Ellipsat), and Aiies (Constellation Communications), 1991 and 1992. Also, see the FCC fling of Teledesic foi
a Ka-band LEO bioadband system employing 840 satellites. Foi a discussion of the tiends in satellite commu-
nications see n ssessmen o[ |e Saus anJ TrenJs n Sae||e Communtaons 1986-2000, NASA Technical
Memoiandum 88867, NASA Lewis Reseaich Centei, Cleveland Ohio, Novembei, 1986. Foi a bioad collection
of satellite papeis, see the AIAA confeience pioceedings Feb. 25-29,1995, Washington, D.C.
Many of the oiganizations mentioned can be accessed via the Inteinet. Seveial examples include (with the
usual http:// piefx): NASA (www.nasa.gov); Inteinational Telecommunications Union (ITU) (www.itu.ch);
INTELSAT (www.intelsat.int:8080); Inmaisat (www.woildseivei.pipex.com/inmaisat/index.htm); FCC
(www.fcc.gov/); ICO Global Communications (www.i-co.co.uk); Motoiola Satellite Communications
(www.sat.mot.com); and Iiidium LLC (www.iiidium.com).