SATELLITE: Satellites orbit around the earth. These orbits can be circular or elliptical.

Satellites in circular orbits always keep the same distance to the earths surface following a simple way: The attractive force Fg= m.g.(R/r)2 The centrifugal force Fc = m.r. 2 Where m is the mass of the satellite R is the radius of earth with R=6370km r is the distance of the satellite to the centre of the earth g is the acceleration due to gravity with g=9.81m/s2 is the angular velocity with w=2. .f, f is the frequency of rotation The important parameters in satellite communication are Inclination angle ( : It is the angle between the equatorial plane and the plane described by the satellite orbit. Elevation angle ( It is the angle between the center of the satellite beam and the plane tangential to the earths surface.

APPLICATION OF SATELLITES: Satellites have been used in the following areas: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Weather Forecasting. Radio and TV broadcast satellites. Military satellites. Satellites for navigation. Global telephone backbones. Connections for remote or developing areas. Global mobile communication.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SATELLITE ORBITS: An orbit is the path that a satellite follows as it revolves around Earth. There are four different types of orbits identified. They are GEO-Geostationary earth orbit LEO-Low earth orbit MEO-Medium earth orbit HEO-Highly elliptical orbit

Geostationary earth orbit (GEO):

Geostationary orbit is located directly above the equator. The orbit must have an inclination of zero degrees. The orbit revolves around the earth at the same speed as the earth rotates. This means GEO satellites remain in the same position relative to the surface of earth. The satellite is approximately 35,790 km above the earth.

Eg: TV and radio broadcast satellites.

A GEO satellites distance from earth gives it a large coverage area, almost a fourth of the earths surface. GEO satellites have a 24 hour view of a particular area. Senders and receivers can use fixed antenna positions, no adjusting is needed. Lifetime expectations for GEOs are high, at about 15 years. GEOs do not need a handover due to the large footprint. Disadvantages: A GEO satellites distance causes it to have both a comparatively weak signal and a time delay in the signal. GEO satellites have difficulty broadcasting signals to near Polar Regions. Frequencies cannot be reused due to large footprint. Transferring a GEO into orbit is very expensive.

Low earth orbit (LEO):

LEO satellites are much closer to the earth ranging from 500 to 1,500 km above the surface.LEO satellites dont stay in fixed position relative to the surface, and are only visible for 15 to 20 minutes each pass. A network of LEO satellites is necessary for LEO satellite to be useful. Advantages: A LEO satellites proximity to earth gives it a better signal strength and less of a time delay, which makes it better for point to point communication. A LEO satellites smaller area of coverage is less of a waste of bandwidth. Disadvantages: A network of LEO satellites is needed, which can be costly. LEO needs many satellites for global coverage. LEO has a short lifetime of about 5-8 years due to atmospheric drag and radiation.

MEDIUM EARTH ORBIT (MEO):

A MEO satellite is in the range of 8,000 km and 18,000 km above the earths surface. MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of time, usually between 2 to 8 hours.MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites. Advantages: A MEO satellites longer duration of visibility and wider footprint means fewer satellites are needed in a MEO network than a LEO network.

Disadvantages: A MEO satellites distance gives it a longer time delay and weaker signal than a LEO satellite, though not as bad as a GEO satellite.

HIGHLY ELLIPTICAL ORBIT (HEO):

A satellite in elliptical orbit follows an oval-shaped path. One part of the orbit is closest to the centre of Earth (perigee) and another part is farthest away (apogee). A satellite in this type of orbit generally has an inclination angle of 64 degrees and takes about 12 hours to circle the planet. This type of orbit covers regions of high latitude for a large fraction of its orbital period.