CS302.

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Wireless Technologies and
Network Programming
Lecture 7 – Satellite Communication

Chamara Disanayake
Department of Network and Security
Satellite Communication

• In general terms, a satellite is a smaller object that revolves around a

larger object in space.
• For example, moon is a natural satellite of earth.
• An artificial satellite is a man-made object that launched into orbit
using rockets. There are currently over a thousand active satellites
orbiting the Earth
On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial
satellite, Sputnik 1
It was a polished metal sphere 58 cm (23 in) in diameter with four external radio
antennas to broadcast radio pulses.
Active for 22 days and burned up on 4 January 1958 while reentering Earth's
atmosphere,
The Origins

• In October 1945, Arthur C. Clarke published an article titled

"Extraterrestrial Relays" in the British magazine Wireless World
• The article described the fundamentals behind the deployment of artificial
satellites in geostationary orbits for the purpose of relaying radio signals.
• Because of this, Arthur C. Clarke is often quoted as being the inventor of the
concept of the communications satellite, and the term 'Clarke Belt' is employed
as a description of the orbit

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Why Satellite for Communication
• Two kinds of propagation are used earlier for
communication up to some distance.
• Ground wave propagation − Ground wave
propagation is suitable for frequencies up to 30MHz.
This method of communication makes use of the
troposphere conditions of the earth.
• Sky wave propagation − The suitable bandwidth for
this type of communication is broadly between 30–
40 MHz and it makes use of the ionosphere
properties of the earth.

• The maximum hop or the station distance is limited to 1500KM only in both ground wave
propagation and sky wave propagation.

• Satellite communication overcomes this limitation. In this method, satellites provide

communication for long distances, which is well beyond the line of sight.
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Use of Communication Satellite

• Communication satellite is nothing but a microwave repeater station

in space.
• It is helpful in telecommunications, radio and television along with internet
applications.
• A repeater is a circuit, which increases the strength of the received
signal and then transmits it.
• This repeater works as a transponder. That means, it changes the
frequency band of the transmitted signal from the received one.
• The frequency with which, the signal is sent into the space is called as Uplink
frequency. Similarly, the frequency with which, the signal is sent by the
transponder is called as Downlink frequency.

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Satellite- Terms

• Earth Stations – antenna systems

on or near earth
• Uplink – transmission from an
earth station to a satellite
• Downlink – transmission from a
satellite to an earth station Uplink frequency is the frequency the first earth
station is communicating with satellite. The
• Transponder – electronics in the satellite transponder converts this signal into
satellite that convert uplink another frequency and sends it down to the
signals to downlink signals second earth station. This frequency is called as
Downlink frequency.
In similar way, second earth station can also
communicate with the first one
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Satellite Communication – Terms

• Elevation angle - the angle from the horizontal to the

point on the center of the main beam of the antenna
when the antenna is pointed directly at the satellite
• Minimum elevation is the elevation needed at
least to communicate with the satellite
• Coverage angle - the measure of the portion of the
earth's surface visible to the satellite
• Footprint - The footprint of a communications satellite
is the ground area that its transponders offer
coverage.

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Learn More

• Refer the video in Extra Learning Materials section

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Ways to Categorize Communications Satellites

• Coverage area
• Global, regional, national
• Service type
• Fixed service satellite (FSS)
• Broadcast service satellite (BSS)
• Mobile service satellite (MSS)
• General usage
• Commercial, military, amateur, experimental
Satellite Frequency Bands

• Bands

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Satellite Frequency Bands and Usage

• L band - Global Positioning System (GPS) carriers and also satellite

mobile phones
• S-band (2–4 GHz) - Weather radar, surface ship radar, and some
communications satellites, especially those of NASA for
communication with ISS and Space Shuttle.
• C-band (4–8 GHz) - Primarily used for satellite communications, for
full-time satellite TV networks or raw satellite feeds.
• X-band (8–12 GHz) - Military purposes
• Ku and Ka bands – Satellite Communication (Direct broadcast and
close-range communication)

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Classification of Satellite Orbits
• Circular or elliptical orbit
• Circular with center at earth’s center
• Elliptical with one foci at earth’s center
• Orbit around earth in different planes
• Equatorial orbit above earth’s equator
• Polar orbit passes over both poles
• Other orbits referred to as inclined orbits
• Altitude of satellites
• Geostationary orbit (GEO)
• Medium earth orbit (MEO)
• Low earth orbit (LEO)

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Geostationary Orbit

• To an observer on Earth, a satellite in a geostationary orbit appears

motionless, in a fixed position in the sky.
• This is because it revolves around the Earth at Earth's own angular velocity
(one revolution per sidereal day, in an equatorial orbit).
• A geostationary orbit is useful for communications because ground
antennas can be aimed at the satellite without their having to track
the satellite's motion.
• This is relatively inexpensive.
• In applications that require many ground antennas, such as DirecTV
distribution, the savings in ground equipment can more than outweigh the
cost and complexity of placing a satellite into orbit.

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GEO Obit

• Advantages of the GEO orbit

• No problem with frequency changes
• Tracking of the satellite is simplified
• High coverage area
• Disadvantages of the GEO orbit
• Weak signal after traveling over 35,000 km
• Polar regions are poorly served
• Signal sending delay is substantial

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MEO – Medium Earth Orbit

• Circular orbit at an altitude in the range of 5000 to 12,000 km

• Orbit period of 6 hours
• Diameter of coverage is 10,000 to 15,000 km
• Round trip signal propagation delay less than 50 ms
• Maximum satellite visible time is a few hours
• MEO satellites by contrast are an established and proven solution,
already delivering reliable high-bandwidth communication.

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LEO – Low Earth Orbit

• A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is
relatively close to Earth's surface.
• 200 – 2000km
• Satellites in this orbit travel at a speed of around 7.8 km per second’
• At this speed, a satellite takes approximately 90 minutes to circle Earth,
meaning the ISS travels around Earth about 16 times a day.
• Vast majority of human missions have been to Low Earth Orbit. The
International Space Station also orbits in LEO, between an altitude of 320 and
380 km (200 and 240 mi). And LEO is where the majority of artificial satellites
are deployed and maintained

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Satellite Link Performance Factors

• Distance between earth station antenna and satellite

antenna
• For downlink, terrestrial distance between earth station antenna
and “aim point” of satellite
• Displacement from satellite footprint
• Atmospheric attenuation
• Affected by oxygen, water, angle of elevation, and higher
frequencies

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Advantages of Satellite Communication

• Area of coverage is more than that of terrestrial systems

• Each and every corner of the earth can be covered
• Transmission cost is independent of coverage area
• More bandwidth and broadcasting possibilities
• Many Applications/Services and future opportunities
Disadvantages

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 Applications

• Satellite Telephony
• The first and historically most important application for communication
satellites was in intercontinental long distance telephony.
• Satellite phone or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to other phones
or the telephone network by radio through orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial
cell sites, as cellphones do.
• Used in
• Ships at sea, as well as planes, often use satellite phones.
• Remote islands such as Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Diego Garcia, and Easter Island,
where no submarine cables are in service, need satellite telephones. There are also
regions of some continents and countries where landline telecommunications are rare to
nonexistent, for example large regions of South America, Africa, Canada, China, Russia,
and Australia.

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Satellite Phone in Sri Lanka

• Need Prior Approval

• Satellite phones and devices are illegal or strictly regulated in China, Cuba,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Chad, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan
and Pakistan.

Issues with Satellite Phones

• Time delays (lag) aren’t uncommon.
• Satellite phones can be finicky when used indoors.
• Physically speaking, satellite phones can be very
bulky and unattractive.
• It’s not very cost-effective

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Applications

• Television
• As television became the main market, its demand for simultaneous delivery
of relatively few signals of large bandwidth to many receivers being a more
precise match for the capabilities of geosynchronous comsats.
• Two satellite types are used for North American television and radio: Direct
broadcast satellite (DBS), and Fixed Service Satellite (FSS).
• Fixed Service Satellites use the C band, and the lower portions of the Ku band.
• They are normally used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks and
local affiliate stations (such as program feeds for network and syndicated
programming, live shots, and backhauls), as well as being used for distance
learning by schools and universities, business television (BTV),
Videoconferencing, and general commercial telecommunications.
• FSS satellites are also used to distribute national cable channels to cable
television headends.
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Learn More

• Refer the video in Extra Learning Materials section

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 Applications
• Internet
• After the 1990s, satellite communication technology has been used as a means to
connect to the Internet via broadband data connections.
This can be very useful for users who are located in
remote areas, and cannot access a broadband
connection, or require high availability of services.
• Satellite Internet does uses a
satellite dish for two-way (upload
and download) data
communications.
• Upload speed is about one-tenth of
the 500 kbps download speed.

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Satellite Internet

• Service Providers
• HughesNet – the biggest market share with 1.3 million subscribers in the USA
• Starlink - a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing
satellite Internet access coverage to 50 countries.
• Viasat - satellite internet company that brings fast speeds and unlimited data
options to customers throughout the continental United States.

• Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided

to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer
relatively high data speeds, with newer satellites using Ku band to
achieve downstream data speeds up to 506 Mbit/s.

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Applications

• GPS
• The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based radio-navigation system
consisting of a constellation of satellites broadcasting navigation signals and a
network of ground stations and satellite control stations used for monitoring
and control.
• The GPS provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and
commercial users around the world. The United States government created
the system, maintains and controls it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone
with a GPS receiver
Coverage: Global Operator: US Space Force
Satellites in orbit: 31
Total satellites: 77
First launch: February 22, 1978; 43 years ago
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GPS Works

• Refer the video in Extra Learning Materials section

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Worth Watching

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su9MtcYkzgw

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