You are on page 1of 75

SatelliteCommunications

Introduction

Generalconcepts
Needs,advantages,and
disadvantages
Satellitecharacteristics
Orbits
Earthcoverage
Systemcomponentsanddesign
Powersources
Communicationcharacteristics
GPS Satellite - NASA

SpectrumandBandwidth
Channelcapacity
FrequencyandWavelength
Pathlosses

Antennasandbeamshaping
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Text
Text
Satellite Communications, Second Edition, T.
Pratt, C. Bostian, and J. Allnut, John Wilen &
Sons, 2003.

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Other Useful References


Ippolito, Louis J., Jr., Satellite Communications Systems Engineering, John Wiley,
2008.
Kraus, J. D., Electromagnetics, McGraw-Hill, 1953.
Kraus, J. D., and Marhefka, R. J., Antennas for All Applications, Third Edition,
McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Morgan, W. L. , and Gordon, G. D., Communications Satellite Handbook, John Wiley
& Sons, 1989.
Proakis, J. G., and Salehi, M., Communication Systems Engineering, Second Edition,
Prentice-Hall, 2002.
Roddy, D, Satellite Communications, Fourth Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 1989.
Stark, H., Tuteur, F. B., and Anderson, J. B., Modern Electrical Communications,
Second Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1988.
Tomasi, W., Advanced Electronic Communications Systems, Fifth Edition, PrenticeHall, 2001.
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

General Concepts of Satellites:


They orbit around the earth
Have various orbital paths (to be discussed)

They carry their own source of power


They can communicate with:
Ground stations fixed on earth surface
Moving platforms (Non-orbital)
Other orbiting satellites
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Needs,Advantages&Disadvantages
Communications needs
Advantages of using satellites
Disadvantages of using satellites

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Satellite Communications Needs


Space vehicle to be used as communications
platform
(Earth-Space-Earth, Space-Earth, Space-Space)

Space vehicle to be used as sensor platform


with communications
Ground station(s) (Tx/Rx)
Ground receivers (Rx only)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

List Advantages & Disadvantages


List these on the sheet supplied.
Five minutes allowed.

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Advantages of Using Satellites


High channel capacity (>100 Mb/s)
Low error rates (Pe ~ 10-6)
Stable cost environment (no long-distance
cables or national boundaries)
Wide area coverage (whole North America,
for instance)
Coverage can be shaped by antenna patterns
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Disadvantages of Using Satellites

Expensive to launch
Expensive ground stations required
Cannot be maintained
Limited frequency spectrum
Limited orbital space (geosynchronous)
Constant ground monitoring required for
positioning and operational control

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Satellite Characteristics
Orbiting platforms for data gathering and
communications position holding/tracking
VHF, UHF, and microwave radiation used for
communications with Ground Station(s)
Signal path losses - power limitations
Systems difficult to repair and maintain
Sensitive political environment, with competing
interests and relatively limited preferred space
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

11

Mission Dependent Characteristics


Orbital parameters
Height (velocity & period related to this)
Orientation (determined by application)
Location (especially for geostationary orbits)

Power sources
Solar (principal), nuclear, chemical power
Stored gas/ion sources for position adjustment
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

11

Satellite Application Examples

Lect 01

Telecommunications
Military communications
Navigation systems
Remote sensing and surveillance
Radio / Television Broadcasting
Astronomical research
Weather observation
2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

12

Orbits
Have particular advantages and
disadvantages (See text Chapter 1)
Are determined by satellite mission
Kepplers Laws of planetary motion
describe certain orbital properties
(Covered in Lecture 2)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

13

Orbital Properties

Altitude (radius to center of the earth)


Inclination with respect to the earth axis
Period of rotation about the earth
Ground coverage by the satellite
Communications path length(s)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

14

Types of Orbit

Dr. Leila Z. Ribeiro, George Mason University

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

15

Missions Associated with Orbit Types


GEO
Primarily commercial communications

MEO
Military and research uses

LEO
Remote sensing
Global Positioning Systems
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Lect 01 - 16

LEO and MEO Features

Earth coverage requires multiple passes


Typical pass requires about 90 minutes
Signal paths relatively short (lower losses)
Small area, high resolution ground image
Earth station tracking required
Multiple satellites for continuous coverage
(Decreases with increasing altitude - Telstar)
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

17

The Geostationary (Clarke) Orbit


Arthur C. Clarke, Wireless World, February,
1945, p58.

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

18

Geo-Synchronous Satellite (GEO) Features

Appearsfixedoverpointonearthequator
Eachsatellitecancover120degreeslatitude
OrbitalRadius=42,164.17km
EarthRadius=6,378.137km(avg)
Period(SiderealDay)=23.9344696hr
(86164.090530833seconds)
Longsignalpathlargepathlosses

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

19

GEO Features (continued)

Ground image area (instantaneous)


Ground track coverage (multiple orbits)
Stationarity (geostationary orbit)
Space coverage (satellite-satellite)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

20

Orbital Altitudes and Problems


Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
80 - 500 km altitude
Atmospheric drag below 300 km

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)


2000 - 35000 km altitude
Van Allen radiation between 200 - 1000 km

Geostationary Orbit (GEO)


35,786 km altitude (42,164.57 km radius)
Difficult orbital insertion and maintenance
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

21

Orbital Inclinations
Equatorial
Prograde inclined toward the east
Retrograde inclined toward the west

Inclined
Various inclination angles with respect to the
spin axis of the earth, including polar

Geostationary (on equator; no inclination)


Sun synchronous
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

22

Earth Coverage Calculation


BytheLawofSines:
rs

sin(

and,
90 +
Theelevationangleisapproximately,
cos(

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

23

Earth Coverage Calculation (continued)


The total coverage area on the surface of
the earth, using the previously calculated
value of ) is given by the equation,
A

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

24

Try the Calculation Yourself


Show Lect01S24calc.nb Mathematicaprogram

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

25

Sample Calculation [Mathematica]


re=6378.137;(*km*)
delta=32.4171;(*degrees*)
area=2pre^2(1Cos[deltaDegree]);
Print["Area=",area,[km^2]"]
Area=3.98313*10^7[km^2]

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

26

Alternate Earth Coverage Calculation


Coverage variation as a function of satellite
altitude (rsat)
r
Sin 1 e
rsat
r

= Sin 1 sat Sin[]


re

rsat is the radius to the


satellite from the center of
the earth

A = 2re2 (1 Cos[ ])

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

27

Calculation: CoverageArea.nb
re=6378.137;(*km*)
rs=re+hs;
alpha=ArcSin[re/rs]
ad=alpha/Degree
delta=ArcSin[(rs/re)*Sin[alpha]]alpha
dd=delta/Degree
A=2pre^2(1.0Cos[delta])
Plot[A,{hs,1000,2000},AxesLabel>"Coverage
[km^2]",Frame>True,
FrameLabel>{"Altitude[km]","Coverage[km^2]"}]

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

28

Earth Coverage vs Satellite Altitude

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

29

Advanced Earth Coverage Calculations


In:
Orbital Mechanics with MATLAB
http://www.cdeagle.com/html/ommatlab.html

Recommended download:
Coverage Characteristics of Earth Satellites
http://www.cdeagle.com/ommatlab/coverage.pdf

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Lect 01 - 30

Satellite System Components

Satellite(s)
Earth station(s)
Computer systems
Information network
(Example: Internet)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

31

Satellite System Design

Satellite network with earth stations.

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

32

Satellite Components

Receiver (receives on an uplink)


Receiving antenna
Signal processing (decode, security, encode, other)
Transmitter (transmits on a downlink)
Transmitting antenna (beam shaping)
Power and environmental control systems
Attitude control
(De)multiplexing (used in rotating satellites)
Position holding (mission dependent option)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

33

Simple Satellite Schematic

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

34

Satellite Power Sources


Solar power panels (near-earth satellites)
Power degrades over time - relatively long

Radioactive isotopes (deep space probes)


Lower power over very long life, rarely used.

Fuel cells (space stations with resupply)


High power but need maintenance and chemical
resupply, rarely used.
Example: International Space Station
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

35

Solar Power
Poweravailableinorbit:~1400wattsof
sunlightpersquaremeter
Conversionefficiency:~25%
Usefulpower:~350Watts/squaremeter
Panelsteeringrequiredformaximumpower
Typicalpowerlevels:275kW
Photocelloutputdegradesovertime
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

36

Typical Solar Power Panel Example


Type: GaAs/Ge
Voltage: 53.1Volts
Power: 1940Watts
(EffectiveLoad+
SourceResistance:
1.45341)

Geostationary Operational Environmental


Satellites (GOES) - Ground testing of solar
panels, NASA

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

37

Satellite Communication Characteristics

Via electromagnetic waves (radio)


Typically at microwave frequencies
High losses due to path length
Many interference sources
Attenuation due to atmosphere and weather
High-gain antennas needed (dish) to make
up for path loss and noise

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

38

Communication Characteristics (continued)

Spectrum and Bandwidth


Channel capacity
Frequency and Wavelength
Path losses

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Lect 01 - 39

Spectrum and Bandwidth


Electromagnetic spectrum allocations
(DC to light see next slide)
Bandwidth: the size or width (in Hertz)
of a spectrum frequency band
Frequency band: a range of frequencies in
the available spectrum.
Channel capacity increases with the
bandwidth (see Slide 42)
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

40

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Wikipedia

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

41

Channel Capacity
The number of error free bits of information
transmitted and received per second
Shannon (BSTJ, Vol. 27,1938)
The capacity C [bits/s] of a channel with
bandwidth W, and signal/noise power ratio S/N is

C

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

42

Frequency and Wavelength Formula


Microwave energy, at a given frequency, f
[Hz]
Moves at a velocity, v [m/s]
And has a wavelength (distance between peak
intensities), [m]
Formula: =v/f(v=cforspace)Note:
Thespeedoflight,c,inavacuum(space)is
fixedat,c=299792458[m/s]
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

43

Frequencies of Interest for Satellites


Generally between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.
The microwave spectrum
Allows efficient generation of signal power
Energy radiated into space
Energy may be focused (beam shaping)
Efficient reception over a specified area.
Properties vary according to the frequency used:
Propagation effects (diffraction, noise, fading)
Antenna Sizes
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

44

Microwaves
Include frequencies from 0.3 GHz to 300 GHz.
- Line of sight propagation (space and atmosphere).
- Blockage by dense media (hills, buildings, rain)
- Wide bandwidths compared to lower frequency bands.
- Compact antennas, directionality possible.
-Reduced efficiency of generation
1 GHz to 170 GHZ spectrum divided into bands with letter
designations (see next slide)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

45

Designated Microwave Bands


Standard designations
For microwave bands
Common bands for satellite
communication are the L, C
and Ku bands.

Wikipedia

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

46

Common Microwave Frequency Allocations


Lband
0.9501.450GHz
Note:GPSat1.57542GHz

Cband
3.74.2GHz(Downlink)
5.9256.425GHz(Uplink)

Kuband
11.712.2GHz(Downlink)
1414.5GHz(Uplink)
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

47

Common Microwave Frequency Allocations


Kaband
18.318.8,19.720.2GHz(Downlink)
30GHz(Uplink)

Vband
4075GHz
60GHzallocatedforunlicensed(WiFi)use
70, 80, and 90 GHz for other wireless
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

48

L-Band GPS Receiver

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Lect 01 - 49

L-Band
Frequencies: 0.950 1.450 GHz ( ~30cm)
Uses:
Amateur radio communications
GPS devices

Features:

Lect 01

Patch antenna used for GPS receivers


Low rain fade - Low atmospheric atten. (long paths)
Low power
Small receiver configurations
2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

50

C-Band

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

51

C-Band
Frequencies: 3.7 - 6.425 GHz ( ~5cm)
Uses:
TV reception (motels)
IEEE-802.11 WiFi
VSAT

Features:
Large dish antenna needed (3m diameter)
Low rain fade - Low atmospheric atten. (long paths)
Low power - terrestrial microwave interferences
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

52

Ku-Band

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

53

Ku-Band
Frequencies: 12 - 18 GHz ( ~ 2cm)
Uses:
Remote TV broadcasting
Satellite communications
VSAT

Features:
Rain, snow, ice (on dish) susceptibility
Small antenna size - high antenna gain
High power allowed
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

54

Ka-Band
Frequencies: 18 - 40 GHz (~ 1cm)
Uses:
High-resolution radar
Communications systems
Deep space communications

Features:
Obstacles interfere (buildings, vegetation, etc.)
Atmospheric absorption
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

55

V-Band
Frequencies:40to75GHz.(~5mm)
Uses:
Millimeterwaveradarresearch(veryexpensive!)
Highcapacitymillimeterwavecommunications
Pointtopointfixedwirelesssystems(WiFi)

Features:

Lect 01

Rainfade
Obstaclesblockpath
Atmosphericabsorption
Expensiveequipment
2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

56

Millimeter Waves
Planck space exploration satellite
Planck is a flagship mission of the European Space Agency (Esa).
It was launched in May 2009 and moved to an observing position
more than a million km from Earth on its "night side".It carries
two instruments that observe the sky across nine frequency bands.
The High Frequency Instrument (HFI) operates between 100 and
857 GHz (wavelengths of 3mm to 0.35mm), and the Low
Frequency Instrument (LFI) operates between 30 and 70 GHz
(wavelengths of 10mm to 4mm).

Johnson noise problems addressed


Some of its detectors operate at minus 273.05C
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

57

Path Losses
The loss of a radiated signal with distance
Losses increase with frequency
Satellites typically require long path lengths
( Path lengths can be over 42,000 km )

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

58

Causes of Path Loss


Dispersion with distance
Atmospheric absorption (Calculated in
Lecture 11)
Rain, snow, ice, & cloud attenuation
(Calculated in Lecture 12)
Atmospheric noise effects resulting in
increased Bit Error Rate (BER) (Calculated
in Lecture 6)
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

Lect 01 - 59

Simple Path Loss Model


Free-space power loss = (4d / )2
In dB this becomes,

LossdB
where:
disthepathdistancein
km
fisthefrequencyinMHz
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

60

Calculation of Sample Path Loss Model


Ku band geosynchronous satellite:
f = 15,000 MHz
d = 42,000 km
LossdB = 32.44 +
20 log10(40,000) +
20 log10(15,000) = 208 dB
Atmospheric losses must be added to this
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

61

Atmospheric Attenuation (Loss)


O2
53.5
65.2GHz

H2O
22.2GHz

Microwave Attenuation [dB/km] vs Frequency [GHz], Wikipedia

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

62

H2O vs Dry Air Absorption (Loss)

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

63

Remedies for Path Loss

High gain antennas


High transmitter power
Low-noise receivers
Tracking of steered antennas
Modulation techniques
Error correcting codes
Frequency selection
Beam shaping to focus energy

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

64

Constraints Limiting Path Loss Remedies


Maximal antenna sizes push satellite radio
wavelengths below 2m.
Requirements for antenna gain, due to
communication path losses, reduce the
practical wavelengths to below 20cm.
(Diameter, d, of many wavelengths, )
Dish-Antenna Power Gain = (d/2
(where is antenna efficiency)
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

65

Antenna Gain Calculation


Ku-Band antenna
Diameter 80 cm (d/ = 40), = 0.6
(about 40 wavelengths at 15GHz)
Power Gain = 0.6*(3.14*40)2 = 15775
GdB = 10 log10[Power Gain ] = 40 dB
Note: Losses and sidelobe effects can reduce
this gain to 60% or less of its possible value.

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

66

Antenna Gain Efficiency Loss


From text, p115
d / = 5.6 (4GHz), = 0.35
GaindB = 10 log10(d/)2 = 20.9 dB
From text, p116
d = 9m, = 0.075m (4GHz),
GaindB = 10 log10 (d/)2 = 49.3 dB
Note: Smaller antenna has lower efficiency.
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

67

Beam Shaping through Antenna Design


Antenna radiation patterns (the beam) can be
shaped to redistribute the radiated energy, by
antenna design
Shaping radiation patterns can increase signal
strength in selected areas
Allows for more signal energy where higher
noise levels are expected
Allows energy to be conserved for areas of low
noise or low economic concern
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

68

Intelsat Galaxy-11 Example


Location:
Power:
Antennas:
C-Band:
Ku-Band:
Transponders:
24 channels C-Band:
24 channels Ku-Band:
16 channels Ku-Band:
Lect 01

91W
Solar, 10.4 KW
2.4m
1.8m
20W each
75W (data)
140W (TV video)

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

69

Intelsat Galaxy-11 C-Band Coverage

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

70

Intelsat Galaxy-11 Ku-Band Coverage

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

71

Conclusions
Design constraints limit the power avaiable
to satellite communications equipment
Path losses limit communication capacity
High gain antennas can overcome some
limitations
Antenna patterns can be shaped to favor
desired locations on the earth
Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

72

Questions?

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

73

Reminders
Check access to a math package
(Mathematica or MATLAB)
Do homework

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

74

End

Lect 01

2012 Raymond P. Jefferis III

75

You might also like