Satellite Communication

Introductory Lecture
http://web.uettaxila.edu.pk/CM
S/teSCms/

Overview

Satellite technology has progressed tremendously

over the last 50 years since Arthur C. Clarke first
proposed its idea in 1945 in his article in Wireless
World.
Today, satellite systems can provide a variety of
services including broadband communications,
audio/video distribution networks, maritime
navigation, worldwide customer service and
support as well as military command and control.
Satellite systems are also expected to play an
important role in the emerging 4G global
infrastructure providing the wide area coverage
necessary for the realization of the Optimally
Connected Anywhere, Anytime vision that drives
the growth of modern telecom industry.

Course Objectives
This course aims to:
Provide a broad overview of the status of digital
satellite communications.
Discuss main physical, architectural and
networking issues of satellite systems.
Provide in-depth understanding of modern
modulation, coding and multiple access schemes.
Review the state of the art in open research areas
such as speech and video coding, satellite
networking, internet over satellite and satellite
personal communications.
Highlight trends and future directions of satellite
communication

Course Pre-requisites

Principles of digital communications

Telecom systems design

Section 1: The SATCOM Industry

System Design Issues

An Overview of Satellite Communications

Examples of current military and commercial systems.

Satellite orbits and transponder characteristics (LEO, MEO,
GEO)
Traffic Connectivity: Mesh, Hub-Spoke, Point-to-Point,
Broadcast

Basic satellite transmission theory

Impairments of the Satellite Channel: Weather and Doppler

effects, Channel models.
Communications Link Calculations: Definition of EIRP, Noise
temperature and G/T ratio, Eb/No. Transponder gain and SFD.
Link Budget Calculations. Down-link requirements. Design of
satellite links to achieve a specified performance.
Earth Station Antenna types: Pointing/Tracking. Small
antennas at Ku band. FCC-Intelsat-ITU antenna requirements
and EIRP density limitations.
Brief introduction to implementation issues: LNA, Up/down
converters, oscillator phase noise.

Section 2: Elements of Transponder

Design The Baseband

Physical Layer of the Transponder The Baseband

System
Introduction to the theory of Digital
Communications: Modulation, Equalization and FEC
Digital Modulation Techniques: BPSK, QPSK, Nyquist
signal shaping.
Overview of Bandwidth Efficient Modulation (BEM)
Techniques: M-ary PSK, Trellis Coded 8PSK, QAM.
PSK Receiver Implementation issues: Carrier recovery,
phase slips, differential coding.

Overview of Forward Error Correction (FEC):

Standard FEC types (Block and Convolution Coding
schemes, Viterbi Decoding), Coding Gain,
Concatenated coding, Turbo coding.

Section 3: Multiple Access Issues

Spread Spectrum Techniques: Military and

commercial use of spread-spectrum. DirectSequence PN, Frequency-Hop and CDMA
systems.
Principles of Multiple Access Communications
Multiplexing & Multiple Access FDD/TDD, FDMA, TDMA
Concepts of Random Access: ALOHA, CSMA

Multiple Access Techniques: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA.

DAMA and Bandwidth-on-Demand (BoD).
TDMA Networks: Time Slots, Preambles,
Suitability for DAMA and BoD.

Section 4: SATCOM Networks and

Services

Satellite Communication Systems &

Networks

Characteristics of IP and TCP/UDP over

satellite: Unicast and Multicast. Need for
Performance

Enhancing Proxy (PEP) techniques.

VSAT Networks and their system
characteristics.
DVB standards and MF-TDMA

The Future of SATCOM

SATCOMs role in the emerging 4G Information

and Communications (ICT) infrastructure.

Text Book

Title: The Satellite Communication Applications

Handbook
Author: Bruce R. Elbert
ISBN: 1580534902
EAN: 9781580534901
Publisher:
Artech House Publishers

Reference Books
Title: Satellite Communications
Author: Dennis Roddy
ISBN: 0071371761
EAN: 9780071371766
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Professional

Reference Books

Title: Satellite Communication Engineering

Author: Michael O. Kolawole
ISBN: 082470777X
EAN: 9780071371766
Publisher:
Marcel Dekker, Inc.

Pioneers in Satellite
Communication

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 - 1935)

Russian visionary of space flight First described the multistage rocket as means of achieving orbit.
Link: The life of Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky

Hermann Noordung (1892 - 1929)

Postulated the geostationary orbit.

Link: The Problem of Space Travel: The Rocket Motor

Arthur C. Clarke (1917 19 March 2008)

Postulated the entire concept of international satellite
telecommunications from geostationary satellite orbit
including coverage, power, services, solar eclipse.
Link: "Wireless World" (1945)

Satellite History Calendar

1957
October 4, 1957: - First satellite - the Russian Sputnik 01
First living creature in space: Sputnik 02
1958
First American satellite: Explorer 01
First telecommunication satellite: This satellite broadcast a taped message: Score
1959
First meteorology satellite: Explorer 07
1960
First successful passive satellite: Echo 1
First successful active satellite: Courier 1B
First NASA satellite: Explorer 08
April 12, 1961: - First man in space
1962
First telephone communication & TV broadcast via satellite: Echo 1
First telecommunication satellite, first real-time active, AT&T: Telstar 1
First Canadian satellite: Alouette 1
On 7th June 1962 at 7:53p the two-stage rocket; Rehbar-I was successfully launched from Sonmiani Rocket
Range. It carried a payload of 80 pounds of sodium and soared to about 130 km into the atmosphere. With the
launching of Rehbar-I, Pakistan had the honour of becoming the third country in Asia and the tenth in the world
to conduct such a launching after USA, USSR, UK, France, Sweden, Italy, Canada, Japan and Israel.
Rehbar-II followed a successful launch on 9 th June 1962
1963
Real-time active: Telstar 2
1964
Creation of Intelsat
First geostationary satellite, second satellite in stationary orbit: Syncom 3
First Italian satellite: San Marco 1

Satellite History Calendar

1965
Intelsat 1 becomes first commercial comsat: Early Bird
First real-time active for USSR: Molniya 1A
1967
First geostationary meteorology payload: ATS 3
1968
First European satellite: ESRO 2B
July 21, 1969: - First man on the moon
1970
First Japanese satellite: Ohsumi
First Chinese satellite: Dong Fang Hong 01
1971
First UK launched satellite: Prospero
ITU-WARC for Space Telecommunications
INTELSAT IV Launched
INTERSPUTNIK - Soviet Union equivalent of INTELSAT formed
1974
First direct broadcasting satellite: ATS 6
1976
MARISAT - First civil maritime communications satellite service started
1977
EUTELSAT - European regional satellite
ITU-WARC for Space Telecommunications in the Satellite Service
1979
Creation of Inmarsat

Satellite History Calendar

1980
INTELSAT V launched - 3 axis stabilized satellite built by Ford Aerospace
1983
ECS (EUTELSAT 1) launched - built by European consortium supervised by ESA
1984
UK's UNISAT TV DBS satellite project abandoned
First satellite repaired in orbit by the shuttle: SMM
1985
First Brazilian satellite: Brazilsat A1
First Mexican satellite: Morelos 1
1988
First Luxemburg satellite: Astra 1A
1989
INTELSAT VI - one of the last big "spinners" built by Hughes
Creation of Panamsat - Begins Service
On 16 July 1990, Pakistan launched its first experimental satellite, BADR-I from China
1990
IRIDIUM, TRITIUM, ODYSSEY and GLOBALSTAR S-PCN projects proposed - CDMA designs more
popular
EUTELSAT II
1992
OLYMPUS finally launched - large European development satellite with Ka-band, DBTV and Kuband SS/TDMA payloads - fails within 3 years
1993
INMARSAT II - 39 dBW EIRP global beam mobile satellite - built by Hughes/British Aerospace
1994
INTELSAT VIII launched - first INTELSAT satellite built to a contractor's design
Hughes describe SPACEWAY design
DirecTV begins Direct Broadcast to Home
1995
Panamsat - First private company to provide global satellite services.

Satellite History Calendar

1996
INMARSAT III launched - first of the multibeam mobile satellites (built by GE/Marconi)
Echostar begins Diresct Broadcast Service
1997
IRIDIUM launches first test satellites
ITU-WRC'97
1999
AceS launch first of the L-band MSS Super-GSOs - built by Lockheed Martin
Iridium Bankruptcy - the first major failure?
2000
Globalstar begins service
Thuraya launch L-band MSS Super-GSO
2001
XM Satellite Radio begins service
Pakistans 2nd Satellite, BADR-B was launched on 10 Dec 2001 at 9:15a from Baikonour
Cosmodrome, Kazakistan
2002
Sirius Satellite Radio begins service
Paksat-1, was deployed at 38 degrees E orbital slot in December 2002, Paksat-1, was deployed
at 38 degrees E orbital slot in December 2002
2004
Teledesic network planned to start operation
2005
Intelsat and Panamsat Merge

2006

VUSat OSCAR-52 (HAMSAT) Launched

CubeSat-OSCAR 56 (Cute-1.7) Launched

K7RR-Sat launched by California Politechnic University

2007
Prism was launched by University of Tokyo
2008
COMPASS-1; a project of Aachen University was launched from Satish Dawan Space Center,
India. It failed to achieve orbit.

Intelsat

INTELSAT is the original "Inter-governmental Satellite

organization". It once owned and operated most of the
World's satellites used for international communications,
and still maintains a substantial fleet of satellites.
INTELSAT is moving towards "privatization", with increasing
competition from commercial operators (e.g. Panamsat,
Loral Skynet, etc.).
INTELSAT Timeline:
Interim organization formed in 1964 by 11 countries

Permanent structure formed in 1973

Commercial "spin-off", New Skies Satellites in 1998

Full "privatization" by April 2001

INTELSAT has 143 members and signatories listed here.

Intelsat Structure

Eutelsat

Permanent General Secretariat opened September 1978

Intergovernmental Conference adopted definitive statutes with 26
members on 14 May 1982
Definitive organization entered into force on 1 September 1985

General Secretariat -> Executive Organ

Executive Council -> EUTELSAT Board of Signatories

Secretary General -> Director General

Current DG is Giuliano Berretta

Currently almost 50 members
Moving towards "privatization"
Limited company owning and controlling of all assets and activities
Also a "residual" intergovernmental organization which will ensure that
basic principles of pan-European coverage, universal service, nondiscrimination and fair competition are observed by the company

Eutelsat Structure

Communication Satellite

A Communication Satellite can be

looked upon as a large microwave
repeater
It contains several transponders
which listens to some portion of
spectrum, amplifies the incoming
signal and broadcasts it in another
frequency to avoid interference with
incoming signals.

Motivation to use Satellites

Satellite Missions

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists [www.ucsusa.org]

Satellite Microwave Transmission

Satellites can relay signals over a

long distance
Geostationary Satellites
Remain above the equator at a height of
about 22300 miles (geosynchronous
orbits)
Travel around the earth in exactly the
same time, the earth takes to rotate

Satellite System Elements

Space Segment

Satellite Launching Phase

Transfer Orbit Phase
Deployment
Operation
TT&C - Tracking Telemetry and Command
Station
SSC - Satellite Control Center, a.k.a.:

OCC - Operations Control Center

SCF - Satellite Control Facility

Retirement Phase

Ground Segment

Collection of facilities, Users and Applications

Earth Station = Satellite Communication Station

(Fixed or Mobile)

Satellite Uplink and Downlink

Downlink
The link from a satellite down to one or more
ground stations or receivers

Uplink
The link from a ground station up to a satellite.

Some companies sell uplink and downlink

services to
television stations, corporations, and to other
telecommunication carriers.
A company can specialize in providing uplinks,
downlinks, or both.

Satellite Uplink and Downlink

Satellite Communication

Source: Cryptome [Cryptome.org]

When using a satellite for long

distance communications, the
satellite acts as a repeater.
An earth station transmits the
signal up to the satellite
(uplink), which in turn
retransmits it to the receiving
earth station (downlink).
Different frequencies are used
for uplink/downlink.

Satellite Transmission Links

Earth stations Communicate by

sending signals to the satellite on an
uplink
The satellite then repeats those
signals on a downlink
The broadcast nature of downlink
makes it attractive for services such
as the distribution of TV programs

Direct to User Services

One way Service (Broadcasting)

Two way Service (Communication)

Satellite Signals

Used to transmit signals and data

over long distances
Weather forecasting
Television broadcasting
Internet communication
Global Positioning Systems

Satellite Transmission Bands

Frequency Band

Downlink

Uplink

3,700-4,200 MHz 5,925-6,425 MHz

Ku

11.7-12.2 GHz

14.0-14.5 GHz

Ka

17.7-21.2 GHz

27.5-31.0 GHz

The C band is the most frequently used. The Ka and Ku bands are reserved
exclusively for satellite communication but are subject to rain attenuation

Types of Satellite Orbits

Based on the inclination, i, over the equatorial

plane:

Equatorial Orbits above Earths equator (i=0)

Polar Orbits pass over both poles (i=90)
Other orbits called inclined orbits (0<i<90)

Based on Eccentricity
Circular with centre at the earths centre
Elliptical with one foci at earths centre

Types of Satellite based Networks

Based on the Satellite Altitude

GEO Geostationary Orbits

36000 Km = 22300 Miles, equatorial, High latency

MEO Medium Earth Orbits

High bandwidth, High power, High latency

LEO Low Earth Orbits

Low power, Low latency, More Satellites, Small

Footprint

VSAT

Very Small Aperture Satellites

Private WANs

Satellite Orbits

Source: Federation of American Scientists [www.fas.org]

Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO):

36,000 km above Earth,
includes commercial and
military communications
satellites, satellites providing
early warning of ballistic
missile launch.
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO):
from 5000 to 15000 km, they
include navigation satellites
(GPS, Galileo, Glonass).
Low Earth Orbit (LEO): from
500 to 1000 km above Earth,
includes military intelligence
satellites, weather satellites.

Satellite Orbits

GEO - Geostationary Orbit

In the equatorial plane

Orbital Period = 23 h 56 m 4.091 s
= 1 sidereal day*
Satellite appears to be stationary over any point
on equator:

Earth Rotates at same speed as Satellite

Radius of Orbit r = Orbital Height + Radius of Earth
Avg. Radius of Earth = 6378.14 Km

3 Satellites can cover the earth (120 apart)

NGSO - Non Geostationary Orbits

Orbit should avoid

Van Allen radiation
belts:
Region of charged
particles that can
cause damage to
satellite
Occur at

~2000-4000 km and
~13000-25000 km

LEO - Low Earth Orbits

Circular or inclined orbit with < 1400 km

altitude
Satellite travels across sky from horizon to
horizon in 5 - 15 minutes => needs handoff
Earth stations must track satellite or have
Omni directional antennas
Large constellation of satellites is needed for
continuous communication (66 satellites
needed to cover earth)
Requires complex architecture
Requires tracking at ground

HEO - Highly Elliptical Orbits

HEOs (i = 63.4) are suitable to

provide coverage at high latitudes
(including North Pole in the
northern hemisphere)
Depending on selected orbit (e.g.
Molniya, Tundra, etc.) two or
three satellites are sufficient for
continuous time coverage of the
service area.
All traffic must be periodically
transferred from the setting
satellite to the rising satellite
(Satellite Handover)

Satellite Orbits

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists [www.ucsusa.org]

Why Satellites remain in Orbits

Advantages of Satellite
Communication

Can reach over large geographical area

Flexible (if transparent transponders)
Easy to install new circuits
Circuit costs independent of distance
Broadcast possibilities
Temporary applications (restoration)
Niche applications
Mobile applications (especially "fill-in")
Terrestrial network "by-pass"
Provision of service to remote or underdeveloped
areas
User has control over own network
1-for-N multipoint standby possibilities

Disadvantages of Satellite
Communication

Large up front capital costs (space

segment and launch)
Terrestrial break even distance
expanding (now approx. size of
Europe)
Interference and propagation delay
Congestion of frequencies and orbits

When to use Satellites

When the unique features of satellite communications

make it attractive
When the costs are lower than terrestrial routing
When it is the only solution
Examples:

Communications to ships and aircraft (especially safety

communications)
TV services - contribution links, direct to cable head, direct
to home
Data services - private networks
Overload traffic
Delaying terrestrial investments
1 for N diversity
Special events

When to use Terrestrial

PSTN - satellite is becoming increasingly

uneconomic for most trunk telephony routes
but, there are still good reasons to use satellites
for telephony such as: thin routes, diversity,
very long distance traffic and remote locations.
Land mobile/personal communications - in
urban areas of developed countries new
terrestrial infrastructure is likely to dominate
(e.g. GSM, etc.)
but, satellite can provide fill-in as terrestrial
networks are implemented, also provide similar
services in rural areas and underdeveloped
countries

Frequency Bands Allocated to the

FSS

Frequency bands are allocated to different services at World

Radio-communication Conferences (WRCs).
Allocations are set out in Article S5 of the ITU Radio
Regulations.
It is important to note that (with a few exceptions) bands
are generally allocated to more than one radio services.
CONSTRAINTS
Bands have traditionally been divided into commercial" and
"government/military" bands, although this is not reflected in
the Radio Regulations and is becoming less clear-cut as
"commercial" operators move to utilize "government" bands.

Earths atmosphere

Source: All about GPS [www.kowoma.de]

Atmospheric Losses

Different types of atmospheric losses can

disturb radio wave transmission in satellite
systems:

Atmospheric absorption
Atmospheric attenuation
Traveling ionospheric disturbances

Atmospheric Absorption

Energy absorption by atmospheric

gases, which varies with the frequency
of the radio waves.
Two absorption peaks are observed (for
90 elevation angle):
22.3 GHz from resonance absorption in
water vapour (H2O)
60 GHz from resonance absorption in
oxygen (O2)

For other elevation angles:

[AA] = [AA]90 cosec

Source: Satellite Communications, Dennis Roddy, McGraw-Hill

Atmospheric Attenuation

Rain is the main cause of atmospheric attenuation

(hail, ice and snow have little effect on attenuation
because of their low water content).
Total attenuation from rain can be determined by:
A = L [dB]
where [dB/km] is called the specific attenuation, and
can be calculated from specific attenuation coefficients in
tabular form that can be found in a number of
publications
where L [km] is the effective path length of the signal
through the rain; note that this differs from the geometric
path length due to fluctuations in the rain density.

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances

Traveling ionospheric disturbances are clouds

of electrons in the ionosphere that provoke
radio signal fluctuations which can only be
determined on a statistical basis.
The disturbances of major concern are:
Scintillation;
Polarisation rotation.

Scintillations are variations in the amplitude,

phase, polarisation, or angle of arrival of radio
waves, caused by irregularities in the
ionosphere which change over time.
The main effect of scintillations is fading of the
signal.

What is Polarisation?

Polarisation is the property of electromagnetic

waves that describes the direction of the
transverse electric field.
Since electromagnetic waves consist of an
electric and a magnetic field vibrating at right
angles to each other.
it is necessary to adopt a convention to
determine the polarisation of the signal.
Conventionally, the magnetic field is ignored and
the plane of the electric field is used.

Types of Polarisation

Linear Polarisation
(horizontal or vertical):
the two orthogonal
components of the
electric field are in phase;
The direction of the line in
the plane depends on the
relative amplitudes of the
two components.

Circular Polarisation:
The two components are
exactly 90 out of phase
and have exactly the
same amplitude.

Linear Polarisation Circular Polarisation

Elliptical Polarisation

Elliptical Polarisation:
All other cases.

Satellite Communications

Alternating vertical and

horizontal polarisation is
widely used on satellite
communications
This reduces interference
between programs on the
same frequency band
transmitted from adjacent
satellites (One uses vertical,
the next horizontal, and so
on)
Allows for reduced angular
separation between the
satellites.

Information Resources for Telecommunication Professionals

[www.mlesat.com]

Related Information

http://web.uettaxila.edu.pk/uet/narc
/flvplay.htm

Q&A

????

Assignment #1

Read the paper of Arthur C. Clark and

summarize his suggestions to support
Satellite for Communication purposes
Visit
http://web.uettaxila.edu.pk/cms/teSCms
and visit JTrack-3D Link under Important
Links section to complete the assignment
You need to find out the satellite name of
PakSat-1 in JTrack-3D and send a snapshot of
JTrack-3D with PakSat-1 in it