Lecture 1

An Introduction to Satellite
Communication
1
Muhammad Saadi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of Central Punjab
2 About me …

 Personal Website
https://sites.google.com/site/muhammadsaadi
 Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com.pk/citations?user=rfoHcHoAAAAJ&hl=en
3 Outline

 Motivation to use sky

 Advantages and disadvantages of satellite communication
 Active and passive satellites
 Satellite orbits and bands
 General structure of satellite communication
 Satellite applications
 History of satellite communication
4 Motivation to Use Sky

750 km
high tower

Trans-Atlantic link
5 How Satellite Works?

 Two stations on Earth want to communicate through radio broadcast

but are too far away to use conventional means
 The two stations can use a satellite as a relay station for their
communication
 One Earth Station sends the transmission to the satellite. This is
called a Uplink.
 The satellite Transponder converts the signal and sends it down to
the second earth station. This is called a Downlink.
6 Advantages of Satellite Communication

 Capable of transmitting signal long distance

 Point to multipoint communication
 Satellite circuits can be installed rapidly
 Satellite costs are independent of distance
 Higher bandwidths are available for use
7 Disadvantages of Satellite Communication

 Delay due to long propagation path

 Repairing of any part after launching is very difficult
 High free space loss
 High cost powerful launch vehicles for geo-stationary satellites
8 Digital Satellite Communication

 Extremely low bit error rate (BER), high fidelity through error
detection and correction.
 Easy to multiplex multiple signals.
 Use of microprocessor, digital integrated circuits and digital
switching make communication system compact and small.
 Communication privacy.
9 Active and Passive Satellites

 Passive Satellites:
 Transmitter requires large power and receiver receivers a fraction.
 Amplified by active electronic devices.

 Active Satellites:
 On board transponder is used.
 Received signal is amplified, down converted and re-transmitted
10 Satellite Orbits
11 Geo-stationary Earth Orbit … (1)

 These satellites are in orbit 35,863 km above the earth’s surface

along the equator.
 Objects in Geostationary orbit revolve 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.
12 Geo-stationary Earth Orbit … (2)

Advantages:
 A GEO satellite’s distance from earth gives it a large coverage area, almost a third of
the earth’s surface.
 GEO satellites have a 24 hour view of a particular area.
 These factors make it ideal for satellite broadcast and other multipoint applications.
Disadvantages:
 A GEO satellite’s distance also cause it to have both a comparatively weak signal and a
time delay in the signal, which is bad for point to point communication.
 GEO satellites, centered above the equator, have difficulty broadcasting signals to near
polar regions
13 Low Earth Orbit … (1)

 LEO satellites are much closer to the earth than GEO satellites,
ranging from 500 to 1,500 km above the surface.
 LEO satellites don’t 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 satellites to be
useful
14 Low Earth Orbit … (2)

Advantages:
 A LEO satellite’s proximity to earth compared to a GEO satellite gives it a
better signal strength and less of a time delay, which makes it better for point to
point communication
 A LEO satellite’s smaller area of coverage
Disadvantages:
 A network of LEO satellites is needed, which can be costly
 LEO satellites have to compensate for Doppler shifts cause by their relative
movement
 Atmospheric drag effects LEO satellites, causing gradual orbital deterioration
15 Medium Earth Orbit … (1)

 A MEO satellite is in orbit somewhere between 8,000 km and

18,000 km above the earth’s surface.
 MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in functionality.
 MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of time than LEO
satellites, usually between 2 to 8 hours.
 MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites.
16 Medium Earth Orbit … (2)

Advantages:
 A MEO satellite’s longer duration of visibility and wider footprint
means fewer satellites are needed in a MEO network than a LEO
network
Disadvantages:
 A MEO satellite’s distance gives it a longer time delay and weaker
signal than a LEO satellite, though not as bad as a GEO satellite
17 Van Allen Radiation Belts … (1)
18 Van Allen Radiation Belts … (2)

Impact on Space Travel

 Solar cells, integrated circuits, and
sensors can be damaged by radiation. In
1962, the Van Allen belts were
temporarily amplified by a high-altitude
nuclear explosion and several satellites
ceased operation.
 Satellites, often has its sensors turned
off when passing through regions of
intense radiation
19 Frequency Spectrum … (1)

Frequency: Rate at which an electromagnetic wave reverts its polarity (oscillates) in

cycles per second or Hertz (Hz).
Wavelength: distance between wavefronts in space.
c

f
c  speed of light
f  frequency
Frequency band: range of frequencies.
Bandwidth: Size or “width” (in Hertz) or a frequency band.
Electromagnetic Spectrum: full extent of all frequencies from zero to infinity.
20 Electromagnetic Spectrum
21 Frequency Spectrum … (2)

RF Frequencies:
Part of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.
Interesting properties:
• Efficient generation of signal power
• Radiates into free space
• Efficient reception at a different point.

Microwave Frequency:
Sub-range of the RF frequencies approximately from 1GHz to 30GHz. Main
properties:
• Line of sight propagation (space and atmosphere).
• Blockage by dense media (hills, buildings, rain)
• Wide bandwidths compared to lower frequency bands.
• Compact antennas, directionality possible.
22 Spectrum Regulation

 International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Members from practically all countries

around the world.
• Allocates frequency bands for different purposes and distribute them around the
planet.
• Creates rules to limit RF Interference (RFI) between countries that reuse same RF
bands.
• Mediates disputes and creates rules to deal with harmful interference when it
occurs.
• Meets bi-annually with its members, to review rules and allocations: World Radio
Communication Conference (WRC).
• There are also the Regional Radio Communication Conferences (RCC), which
happen less often.
23 Satellite Communication Bands

Aeronautical maritime 0.8 to 2.65 GHz

Meteorological Satellites 1.66 to 1.71 GHz
24 General Structure of Satellite
Communication … (1)
25 General Structure of Satellite
Communication … (2)
26 System Block Diagram
27 Satellite Applications

 In communication such as TV, telephony data transfer, internet

etc.(Direct Broadcast Satellite TV, Satellite Mobile, Satellite based
Internet and ATM services, GPS).
 Remote sensing and earth observations.
 Meteorological applications such as weather survey, ionosphere
studies.
 Military applications.
28 History … (1)

1600 Tycho Brache’s experimental observations on planetary motion.

1609-1619 Kepler’s laws on planetary motion

1926 First liquid propellant rocket launched by R.H. Goddard in the US.
1927 First transatlantic radio link communication
1942 First successful launch of a V-2 rocket in Germany.

1945 Arthur Clarke publishes his ideas on geostationary satellites for worldwide
communications (GEO concept).
29 V2 Rocket
30 History … (2)

1956 - Trans-Atlantic cable opened (about 12 telephone channels –

operator).
1957 First man-made satellite launched by former USSR (Sputnik, LEO).
1958 First US satellite launched (SCORE). First voice communication
established via satellite (LEO, lasted 35 days in orbit after batteries failed).
31 Sputnik - I
32 Explorer -I
33 History … (3)

1960 First passive communication satellite launched into space (Large balloons,
Echo I and II).
1962: First non-government active communication satellite launched Telstar I
(MEO).
1963: First satellite launched into geostationary orbit Syncom 1 (comms. failed).
1964: International Telecomm. Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) created.
1965 First communications satellite launched into geostationary orbit for
commercial use Early Bird (re-named INTELSAT 1).
34 Echo - I
35 Telstar - I
36 History … (4)
First satellite communication
1972 First domestic satellite system operational (Canada). INTERSPUTNIK
founded.
1975 First successful direct broadcast experiment (one year duration; USA-India).

1977 A plan for direct-to-home satellite broadcasting assigned by the ITU in

regions 1 and 3 (most of the world except the Americas).
1979 International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) established.
37 History … (5)
GEO applications expanded
1981 First reusable launch vehicle flight.
1982 International maritime communications made operational.

1983 ITU direct broadcast plan extended to region 2.

1984 First direct-to-home broadcast system operational (Japan).
1987 Successful trials of land-mobile communications (Inmarsat).

1989-90 Global mobile communication service extended to land mobile and

aeronautical use (Inmarsat)
38 History … (6)

1990-95:
 - Several organizations propose the use of non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite systems for mobile
communications.
 - Continuing growth of VSATs around the world.
 - Spectrum allocation for non-GEO systems.
 - Continuing growth of direct broadcast systems. DirectTV created.
1997:
 - Launch of first batch of LEO for hand-held terminals (Iridium).
 - Voice service telephone-sized desktop and paging service pocket size mobile terminals launched
(Inmarsat).
1998: Iridium initiates services.
1999: Globalstar Initiates Service.
2000: ICO initiates Service. Iridium fails and system is sold to Boeing.
39 Recommended Reading

Chapter 1

Satellite Communications by Timothy Pratt, Charles Bostian, Jeremy

Allnutt, 2nd Edition, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 2003