P.E.S.

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Bangalore – 560 085 TE

Session: Aug - Dec 2007

INTERNAL TEST-I
Subject: SATCOM Code : TC 72 Time : 90 min
Class : VII A&B Staff : Mr. RC Marks: 50

Answer any five questions

Each question carries equal marks

1) Explain how a satellite is in orbit and derive the expression for

velocity of a satellite in orbit and period of the orbit.

2) What are Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion? Give

mathematical formulation of Kepler”s third law of planetary
motion.

A satellite in an elliptical orbit around the earth has an

apogee of 39,152 Km and a perigee of 500 Km. What is the
orbital period of this satellite ? Note: Assume the average
radius of the earth is 6378.137 Km and Kepler’s constant has
the value 3.986004418 x 10 5 Km 3 / s 2 .

3) An observation satellite is to be placed into a circular equatorial

Orbit so that it moves in the same direction as the earth’s
rotation. Using a synthetic aperture radar system, the satellite
will store data on surface barometric pressure, and other weather
related parameters, as it flies ahead. These data will later be
played back to a controlling earth station after each trip around
the world. The orbit is to be designed so that the satellite is
directly above the controlling earth station, which is located on the
equator, once every 4h. The controlling earth station’s antenna is
unable to operate below an elevation angle of 10 degree to the
horizontal in any direction. Taking the earth’s rotational period to
be exactly 24 h , find the following quantities :

a) The satellite’s angular velocity in radians per second.

b) The orbital period in hours.
c) The orbital radius in Kilometers.
d) The orbital height in Kilometers.
e) The satellite’s linear velocity in meters per second.

P.T.O
4) A spinner satellite has solar cells wrapped round a cylindrical drum 3.00 m
in diameter, with a height of 5.0 m on station. The drum is rotated at 60
rpm to spin- stabilize the satellite. At the end of life, the solar cells are
required to deliver 4.0 KW of electrical power.

a) Calculate the efficiency of the solar cells at end of life. Assume an

incident solar power of 1.39 KW / m 2 , and that the effective solar radiation
absorbing area of the solar cells is equal to the cross – sectional area of the
drum.
b) If the solar cells degrade by 15 % over the lifetime of the satellite, so
that the end of life output power is 85 % of the beginning of life output power,
what is the output of the solar cells immediately after launch?
c) If the drum covered in solar cells of the spinner design had been
replaced by solar cells that rotated to face the sun at all times, what area of
solar sails would have been needed? Assume that cells on solar sails generate
only 90 % of the power of cells on a spinner due to their higher operating
temperature.

5) A geostationary satellite provides service to a region which can be

covered by the beam of an antenna on the satellite with a beam
width of 1.8 degree. The satellite carries transponders for Ku band
and Ka band, with separate antennas for transmit and receive. For
center frequencies of 14.0/11.5 GHz and 30.0/20.0 GHz, determine
the diameters of the four antennas on the satellite.

a) Find the diameters of the two transmitting antennas. Specify the

Diameter and calculate the gain at each frequency.
b) Find the diameters of the two receiving antennas. Specify the diameter
And calculate the gain at each frequency.

6) Explain the functions of the following satellite subsystems

a) Transponder b) Telemetry tracking and command system

7) Using a geometric figure explain the meaning of visibility

condition ( visibility test) of a satellite from a ground station.
Extend this for a geostationary satellite.

8) What are the six orbital elements to define completely a

Satellite orbit? Draw figures to explain.

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 P.E.S. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
BANGALORE-85.

DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

INTERNAL TEST-I
VII SEM A & B SECTIONS
SUBJECT: SATCOM TIME: 90 MIN
CODE: TC72 MARKS: 50
Staff: Mr. RC

Scheme & solution

Ans 1 : A satellite stays in orbit because the gravitational pull of the

earth is balanced by the centripetal force of the revolving
satellite.
Satellite orbits about the earth are either circular or elliptical.
 (4)

Force acting on a satellite in stable circular orbit

1) Gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between the centers of gravity of the
satellite and the earth.
The gravitational force inward is directed towards the centre of gravity of
the earth. The gravitational force is balanced by the outward centripetal
force .

The acceleration a due to gravity at a distance r from the center of the

earth is
a = µ / r 2 Km/ s 2

where the constant µ is the product of the universal gravitational constant

G and the mass of the earth M E .
The product G M E is called Kepler’s constant and has the value
3.986004418 x 10 5 Km 3 / s 2 .
 Since force = mass X acceleration, the centripetal force acting on the
satellite , F IN , is given by

F IN = m X( µ / r 2 )
= m X( G M E / r 2 )

Similarly a = v2 / r

Hence centrifugal force Fout = m X (v 2 / r)

If the forces are balanced Fin = Fout and

m X( µ / r 2 ) = m X (v 2 / r)

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

v = ( µ / r 2 )1/ 2

If the orbit is circular the distance traveled by a satellite in one orbit

around a planet is 2Π r , where r is the radius of the orbit from the
satellite to the centre of the planet . Since distance divided by the velocity
equals time to travel that distance , the period of the satellite’s orbit , T
will be

T = (2Πr)/v = (2Πr)/ [(µ / r 2 ) 1 / 2 ] (4)

Hence T = (2Πr 3/ 2
) / (µ 1 / 2 )

For a GEO satellite the value of T = 24 h

Hence r = 42,241.095 Km

Hence velocity of satellite = 3.074 Km/sec (2)

Ans 2 :
a)

(3)
(2)
 b)

The major axis of the elliptical orbit is a straight line between the
apogee and perigee.
Hence for a semimajor axis length a, earth
Radius re , perigee height hp and apogee height ha
2a = 2re + ha + hp

Thus semi major axis a = 26204 Km (2)

Using this value of a calculate orbital period T seconds

Where T2 = (4π 2 a 3 )/ μ

T = 42,193 seconds (3)

Ans 3 :

a) Angular velocity = v/r

v = ( µ / r 2 )1/ 2
T 2 = (4π 2 a 3 )/ μ

T = 4h
μ = 3.986 x 10 5 Km 3 /s 2
a= 12792.8 Km = r
v = 5.58 Km/sec
ω = 4.36 x 10 −4 rad/sec (4)

b) T = 4h (1)
c) Orbital radius = 12792.8 Km (2)
d) Orbital height = 12792.8 – 6378 = 6414.8 Km (1)
e) v = 5.58 Km/sec (2)
Ans 4 :

a) Area of solar panel = 2Πr x h

Where r = radius of drum & h = height on station

Area = 2Π x 1.5 x 5.0 = 47.12 sq meters

Solar panel output power = 1.39 Kw /sq meter x 47.12 sq

meters

= 65.5 Kw

Hence efficiency at end of life = (4.0 Kw / 65.5kw) x 100 = 6.1 %

(3)

b) Let ‘X’ Kw be the beginning of life output power of the solar

cells.

Since EOL power = 85% of BOL power

Hence 4.0 Kw = 0.85 x ‘X’

Therefore ‘X’ = 4.705 Kw (3)

c) Since the beginning of life power is 4.705 KW , at 90%

Efficiency the solar power required would be

= 4.705 /.9 = 5.23 KW

Hence area of solar cells = 5.23/1.39 = 3.76 sq meters.

(4)
Ans 5 :

Formula used

θ 3 dB = 75 λ/ D degrees
where θ 3 dB is the beam width between half power points of the
Antenna pattern and D is the aperture dimension in the same units
as the wavelength λ.

Further the gain G = η A (ΠD/λ) 2 where D is the diameter of the

circular aperture in meters and η A is aperture efficiency .

Given θ 3 dB = 1.8 degrees

Diameter of 14.0 GHz antenna = (75 x 3 x 10 8 )/ (14 x 10 9 x 1.8)

= 0.893 meters

Diameter of 11.5 GHz antenna = (75 x 3 x 10 8 )/ (11.5 x 10 9 x 1.8)

= 1.087 meters

Diameter of 30 GHz antenna = (75 x 3 x 10 8 )/ (30 x 10 9 x 1.8)

= 0.417 meters

Diameter of 20 GHz antenna = (75 x 3 x 10 8 )/ (20 x 10 9 x 1.8)

= 0.625 meters (4)

a) Diameters of the two transmitting antennas are 1.087 meter and

0.625 meter respectively.

Gain of 11.5 GHz antenna = 0.6 x (3.14 x 1.087/0.026) 2

= 10340
= 80.3 dB

Gain of 20 GHz antenna = 0.6 x (3.14 x 0.625 / 0.015) 2

= 10270.4
= 80.23 dB (3)
b) Diameters of the two receiving antennas are 0.893 meter and
0.417 meter respectively.

Gain of 14 GHz antenna = 0.6 x ( 3.14 x 0.893/ .0214) 2

= 10301.15

= 80.26 dB

Gain of 30 GHz antenna = 0.6 x (3.14 x 0.417/ .01) 2

= 10286.86
= 80.24 dB

(3)
Ans 6 :

a) Transponder :

A transponder is the series of interconnected units which forms a single

communications channel between the receive and transmit antennas in a
communications satellite. Some of the units utilized by transponder in a
given channel may be common to a number of transponders. Thus,
although reference may be made to a specific transponder, this must be
thought of as an equipment channel rather than a single item of
equipment.
The wideband receiver:

The first stage in the receiver is a low-noise amplifier (LNA). This

amplifier adds little noise to the carrier being amplified, and at the same
time it provides sufficient amplification for the carrier to override the
higher noise level present in following the mixer stage.
The LNA feeds into a mixer stage, which also requires a local oscillator
signal for the frequency-conversion process. The power drive from the
local oscillator to the mixer input is 10 dBm. The oscillator frequency
must be highly stable and have low phase noise. A second amplifier
follows the mixer stage to provide an overall receiver gain of 60 dB.

The input demultiplexer:

The input demultiplexer separates the broadband input, covering the

frequency range 3.7 to 4.2 GHz, into the transponder frequency channels.
The channels are usually arranged in even-numbered and odd-numbered
groups. This provides greater frequency separation between adjacent
channels in a group, which reduces adjacent channel interference. The
output from the receiver is fed to a power splitter, which in turn feeds the
two separate chains of circulators. The full broadband signal is
transmitted along each chain, and the channelizing is achieved by means
of channel filters connected to each circulator.
The power amplifier:

A separate power amplifier provides the output power for each

transponder channel. As shown in the figure, each power amplifier is
preceded by an input attenuator. This is necessary to permit the input
drives to each power amplifier to be adjusted to the desired level. The
attenuator has a fixed section and a variable section. The fixed
attenuation is needed to balance out variations in the input attenuation so
that each transponder channel has the same nominal attenuation, the
necessary adjustments being made during assembly. The variable
attenuation is needed to set the level as required for different types of
service (an example being the requirement for input power backoff
discussed below). Because this variable attenuator adjustment is an
operational requirement, it must be under the control of the ground TT&C
station.

At low input powers, the output-input power relationship is linear; that is,
a given decibel change is input power will produce the same decibel
change in output power. At higher power inputs, the output power
saturates, the point of maximum power output being known as the
saturation point. The saturation point is a very convenient reference
point, and input and output quantities are usually referred to it. The
linear region of the TWT is defined as the region bound by the thermal
noise limit at the low end and by what is termed as the 1-dB compression
point at the upper end.

(5)
b) TTC & M :

The telemetry, tracking and command subsystem performs several

routine functions aboard the spacecraft. The telemetry, or telemetering,
function could be interpreted as measurement at a distance. Specifically,
it refers to the overall operation of generating an electrical signal
proportional to the quantity being measured and encoding and
transmitting this to a distant station, which for the satellite is one of the
earth stations.
Data which are transmitted as telemetry signals include attitude
information such as that obtained from sun and earth sensors;
environmental information such as the magnetic field intensity and
direction, the frequency of meteorite impact, and so on; and spacecraft
information such as temperatures, power supply voltages, and stored fuel
pressure. Certain frequencies have been designated by international
agreement for satellite telemetry transmissions.

Once the satellite is on station, one of the normal communications

transponders may be used along with its directional antenna, unless some
emergency arises which makes it necessary to switch back to the special
channel used during the transfer orbit.
Telemetry and command may be thought of as complementary functions.
The telemetry subsystem transmits information about the command
signals from the earth station, often in response to telemetered
information. The command subsystem demodulates and if necessary,
decodes the command signals and routes these to the appropriate
equipment needed to execute the necessary action. Thus attitude
changes may be made, communication transponders switched in and out
of circuits, antennas redirected, and station-keeping maneuvers carried
out on command. It is clearly important to prevent unauthorized
commands from being received and decoded, and for this reason, the
command signals are often encrypted.

Tracking of the satellite is accomplished by having the satellite transmit

beacon signals which are received at the TT&C earth stations. Tracking is
obviously important during the transfer and drift of a geostationary
satellite will tend to be shifted as a result of the various disturbing forces,
as described previously. Therefore it is necessary to be able to track the
satellite’s movement and send correction signals as required. Tracking
beacons may be transmitted in the telemetry channels, or by special
tracking antennas.

(5)
Ans 7 :

Solar cells SATELLITE Solar cells

re
γ

Centre of earth

(5)
Visibility Test

For a satellite to be visible from an earth station its elevation angle

EL must be above some minimum value, which is at least zero
degree.
A positive or zero elevation angle requires that

r s ≥ r e / cos(γ)

For a nominal geostationary orbit γ reduces to ≤ 81.3 0

.

(5)
ANS 8 :
 (5 + 5)

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