Satellite Communications

Introduction and Historical Background

What is a Satellite?
Satellite: In astronomical terms, a satellite
is a celestial body that orbits around a
planet.
Example: The moon is a satellite of Earth.
What is a satellite system?
A satellite system consists of one or more
satellites, a ground-based station to control
the operation of the system, and a user
network earth stations that provides the
interface facilities for the transmission and
reception of terrestrial communications
traffic.
 How a satellite works?
A satellite stays in orbit because the gravitational pull
(centripetal) of the earth is balanced
by the centrifugal force of the revolving
satellite.
One Earth station transmits the signals to the satellite at
Up link frequency. Up link frequency is the frequency
at which Earth station is communicating with a satellite.
The satellite transponder process the signal and sends it
to the second Earth station at another frequency called
downlink frequency.
Advantages of Satellite Communications over
Terrestrial Communications

The coverage area greatly exceeds.

Transmission cost of a satellite is independent of
the distance from the center of the coverage area.
Satellite-to-satellite communication is very
precise.
Higher bandwidths are available for use.
Disadvantages of Satellite
Communications

Launching satellites into orbits is costly.

The propagation delay is larger.
Expensive ground stations required
Constant ground monitoring required for
positioning and operational control
Application Examples
Telecommunications
Military communications
Navigation systems
Remote sensing
Radio / Television Broadcasting
Astronomical research
Weather observation
Basic Elements
Satellite(s)
Ground station(s)
Antennas
Frequency links
Keplers Laws
&
Satellite Motion
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
ORIGINS
Johannes Kepler

Derived 3 laws based upon his observations

of planetary motion
PHYSICAL LAWS
Keplers 1st Law: Law of Ellipses

The orbit of the any smaller body about a

larger body is always an ellipse with the
center of mass of the larger body as one of
the two foci.
 PHYSICAL LAWS
Ellipses
Period (T)
Semi-Minor
Axis (b)

Semi-Major Axis (a)

FOCI
 PHYSICAL LAWS
Keplers 2nd Law: Law of Equal Areas

The orbit of the smaller body sweeps out equal

areas in equal time.
 PHYSICAL LAWS
Keplers 2nd Law: Law of Equal Areas

t2
t1

Area 2 Area 1
t0
t3

t1-t0 = t3-t2
Area 1 = Area 2
 PHYSICAL LAWS
Keplers 3rd Law: Law of Harmonics

The square of the period of

revolution of the smaller
body about the larger body
equals a constant multiplied
by the third power of the
semi-major axis of the
orbital ellipse.
Sir Issac Newton (1642 1727)
Although Kepler discovered what
is now known theThree Laws of
Planetary Motion, he could not
explain why they were true, until
Issac Newton formulated the laws
of motion that are the basis of
mechanicsthat are still valid
today!
Newtons First Law:

Every object in a state of uniform

motion tends to remain in that state
of motion unless an external force
is applied to it.
Newtons Second Law

Change in momentum is
proportional to and in the
direction of the force applied
Newtons Third Law

For every action, there is an

equal and opposite reaction
 Newtons Law of Universal
Gravitation
Between any two objects there exists a force of
attraction that is proportional to the product
of their masses and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance between them

M1m2
Fg = G D 2 ( )
Definition of terms for the Earth
orbiting Satellites
 Apogee and Perigee
Apogee
Perigee
Apogee altitude altitude

Perigee

Apogee defines the point in an orbit that is farthest from earth.

Perigee describes the point in an orbit that is closest to earth.
Apogee altitude is the distance between the surface of the
earth and apogee.
Perigee altitude is the distance between the surface of the
earth and perigee.
 Line of apsides: The line joining the perigee
and apogee through the center of the earth.
Ascending node: The point where the orbit
crosses the equatorial plane going from
South to North (upwards)
Descending node: The point where the orbit
crosses the equatorial plane going from
North to South (downwards)
 Line of Nodes : The line joining the
Ascending and Descending nodes through
the center of the earth.
v = True anomaly The angle between
perigee and satellite in the orbital plane
at a specific time
The Six Keplerian Elements
w = Argument of perigee The angle
measured between the ascending node
and perigee
= Right Ascension (longitude) of
the ascending node The angle
measured eastward in the equatorial
plane from the line of axis to the
ascending node.
 Inclination(i) : The angle between the
orbit plane and the earth equatorial
plane.
Mean Anomaly(M) : Gives the
position of the satellite in its orbit at a
reference time .
a = Semi-major axis (usually in
kilometers ) fixes the size of the orbit.
e = Eccentricity (of the elliptical orbit)
Gives the shape of the orbit.
Solar Day & Sidereal Day