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Satellite Communications
Unit II: Satellite Subsystems

Dr Yedukondalu Kamatham
B Tech (ECE), M Tech (OELT), Ph D (ECE), PGDTVP
Fellow of IETE, India; Senior Member of IEEE, USA; Life Member of ISTE, India
Professor of ECE, CVR College of Engineering, Vastunagar, Magalpally (V),
Ibrahimpatnam (M), R.R. District, Hyderabad-501 510, India, kyedukondalu@gmail.com
13 September 2021

Unit-II: Satellite Subsystems

CO2: Analyze the satellite subsystems
• Satellite Subsystems
• Attitude and Orbit Control Systems
• Telemetry, Tracking, Command and Monitoring
• Power Systems
• Communication Systems,
• Satellite Antennas
• Equipment Reliability and Space Qualification

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Satellites requirements
• Maintaining a microwave communication system in orbit in space is not easy
• Communications satellites are very complex, extremely expensive to purchase, and expensive
to launch.
• A typical large geostationary satellite, is estimated to cost from US$100M to
US$500M on station
• A constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites that
• can maintain continuous coverage and
• provide capacity that exceeds the capacity of a large GEO satellite and
• It costs over US$2B.
• The cost of the satellites and launches is increased by
• The need to dedicate one or more earth stations to the monitoring and control of the satellite,
• at a cost of several million dollars per year
• The revenue to pay these costs is obtained by selling the communication capacity to users,
• either by way of leasing circuits or transponders, or by charging for circuit use,
• As in direct to home television (DTH-TV), international telephone connections, and data transmission
services
• Communications satellites are designed to
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have an operating lifetime of 10–15 years
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Satellite Subsystems
 Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS)
Correct Attitude – Gas jets
Correct orbit (external forces drift satellite) – Rocket motors
 Telemetry, Tracking, Command and Monitoring (TTC&M)
Telemetry – Satellite sensors data: Satellite's health
Tracking (from earth station) – Range; Elevation and Azimuth of Sat
 Power System
Solar cells – Batteries: Power for transponders and House keeping
 Communication Subsystems
Transponders: Linear or bent pipe
 Satellite Antennas
 Multiple antennas beam shapes tailored to match the coverage areas
 Equipment Reliability and Space Qualification
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Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS)

Attitude Control System
 There are two ways to make a
satellite stable in orbit, when it is
weightless:
1. The body of the satellite can be
rotated (Spinners) A spinner satellite, INTELSAT IV A

2. Satellite can be stabilized by one or

more momentum wheels (Three-axis
stabilized satellite)

A three-axis stabilized satellite, INTELSAT V

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Exploded view of a spinner satellite based on the

Boeing (Hughes) HS 376 design. INTELSAT IVA
(courtesy of Intelsat).

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Forces acting on satellite

1. G fields of the Sun and the moon
2. Irregular Earth's G field
3. Solar pressure from the Sun
4. Variation in the Earth’s H field

Inclination of the Satellite Orbit from the

equatorial plane at 0.860/year.

LEO satellites are less affected by G fields

of the Sun and the moon (LEO closer to
the Earth)

The earth’s H eddy currents in satellite

metallic structures creates H force and
tend to cause rotation of the satellite. Fig. Forces on a synchronous satellite
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 Spinners: Satellite consists of a cylindrical drum covered with solar cells that
contains power systems and the rocket motors
 Communication system located on top of drum, antennas pointing towards earth
 The satellite is spun up by operating small radial gas jets mounted on the drum
 Liquid propulsion mixes: Hydrazine (N2H4) or Xenon (inert gas)-liquid under high P
 Two types of rocket motors are used on satellites:
1. Bipropallant thrusters: Hypogolic (mono-methyl hydrazine and nitrogen
tetroxide) and
2. Arc jets or ion thrusters (used for north-south station keeping)
 The fuel that is stored on a GEO satellite is used for two purposes:
1. to fire the AKM that injects the satellite into its final orbit, and
2. to maintain the satellite in that orbit over its lifetime.
 If the launch is less accurate, more fuel must be used up in maneuvering the
satellite into position, and that reduces the amount left for station keeping.
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3-Axis stabilization
• In 3-axis stabilized satellite, one pair of gas jets/ ion thrusters - each axis to
provide for rotation in pitch, roll, and yaw.
• Additionally one thruster on a given axis - provides for velocity increments in
the X, Y, and Z
• When motion is required along a given axis, the appropriate thruster is
operated for a specified period of time to achieve the desired velocity.
• An opposing thruster must be operated for the same length of time to stop
the motion when the satellite reaches its new position.
• Fuel is saved if the velocity of the satellite is kept small, but progress toward
the destination is slow.
• Since fuel is a finite resource, slow movements are preferred even if this
results in loss of revenue.
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Cartesian axes (XR, YR, ZR) with the satellite at

the origin
• The ZR axis is directed toward the center of
the earth and is in the plane of the satellite
orbit.
• It is aligned along the local vertical at the
satellite’s subsatellite point.
• The XR axis is tangent to the orbital plane and
lies in the orbital plane.
• The YR axis is perpendicular to the orbital
plane.
• For a satellite serving the Northern
Hemisphere, the directions of the XR and YR
axes are nominally east and south.
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• Rotation about the XR, YR, and ZR axes is defined as roll about the XR axis, pitch
about the YR axis, and yaw about the ZR axis, in exactly the same way as for an
aircraft or ship traveling in the X direction.
• The satellite must be stabilized with respect to the reference axes to maintain
accurate pointing of its antenna beams.
• The axes XR, YR, and ZR are defined with respect to the location of the satellite;
• a second set of Cartesian axes, X, Y, Z, define the orientation of the satellite.
• Changes in a satellite’s attitude cause the angles θ, φ, and ψ to vary as the X, Y, Z
axes move relative to the fixed reference axes XR, YR, and ZR.
• The Z axis is usually directed toward a reference point on earth, called the Z-axis
intercept.
• The location of the Z-axis intercept defines the pointing of the satellite
antennas;
• the Z-axis intercept point may be moved to repoint all the antenna beams by
changing the attitude of the satellite with the attitude control system.
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Accurate prediction of the satellite

position a week or two weeks ahead
requires a computer program with up
to 20 force parameters

 When the satellite has narrow beam antennas,

satellite have to be stabilized within ± 0.1° on each axis
 The references for the attitude control system may be
the outer edge of the earth’s disk, as observed with IR
earth sensors, the sun, or one or more stars, Gyros.
 The control system for a 3- axis stabilized satellite
employs an onboard computer to process the sensor
data and command the thrusters and momentum
wheels
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Orbit Control System

 For a geostationary satellite, the inclination changes
are due to the gravitational forces of sun and the
moon.
 If orbit is not circular => linear velocity increase or
decrease will be made along the orbit in X-axis
direction.
 Altitude corrections are made by operating the Z-
axis gas jets.
 Inclination of orbit => increases at an avg. rate of
0.85o per year.
 North-south station-keeping maneuver are made 2 to 4 weeks to keep error small. (more
fuel is required)
 1st two weeks the E-W corrections are made, after 2 more weeks N-S corrections are made.
 E-W station keeping maneuver are made 2 or 3 weeks to counter the drift. (modest amount
of fuel is required).
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• Orbit corrections cannot be done with momentum wheels since linear

accelerations are required.
• Thrusters that can impart velocity changes along the three references axes of the
satellite are required.
• Most GEO satellites are specified to remain within a box of ±0.05° longitude as
seen from earth in azimuth and elevation-corrections called a N–S station
keeping maneuver
• Correcting the inclination of a satellite orbit requires more fuel to be
expended than for any other orbital correction.
• This places a weight penalty and reduces the communications payload they can carry.
• As much as half the total satellite weight at launch may be station keeping fuel when
liquid fuel thrusters are employed and the satellite’s expected lifetime on orbit is 15
years.
• E–W station keeping is effected by use of the X-axis thrusters of the satellite.
• For a satellite located away from the stable points at 75°E and 252°E, a slow drift
toward these points will occur.
• Typically, the X-axis jets are pulsed every two or three weeks to counter the drift and
add a small velocity increment in the opposite
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• LEO and MEO satellites also need AOCS to maintain the

correct orbit and attitude for continuous communication.
• Because of the much stronger gravitational force of the
earth in LEO orbit, attitude stabilization is often done by a
rigid gravity gradient boom.
• This is a long pole that points toward the center of the earth,
providing damping of oscillations about the satellite’s z-axis by
virtue of the difference in gravitational field at the top of the
pole and at the bottom.

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Telemetry, Tracking, Command and Monitoring (TTC&M)

Telemetry and Monitoring system
 The monitoring system collects the data from many sensors (100’s) within the satellite and sends
these data to the controlling earth station
 The sensor data, status of each subsystem and the positions of switches in comm. system are
reported back by telemetry system
 Devices used to maintain attitude are also monitored via telemetry link
 Telemetry data => digitized and transmitted (TDM frame) as low power PSK
 At controlling earth station a computer is used to monitor, store and decode the telemetry data.
 Alarms can be sounded if any vital parameter goes outside allowable limits.
Tracking
1. To determine the correct orbit of the satellite = velocity and acceleration sensors on the satellite
can be used
2. Observation of Doppler shift = to determine rate at which range is changing including orbital
parameters
3. Transmitting RF pulse(s) - Calculate range of Sat by time delay- Traiangulation by 3 spatially
separated earth stations. KYK 16

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 Range can be determined by transmitting a pulse or

sequence of pulses, to the satellite and observing the
time delay before the pulse is received.
 The phase of the sine wave modulation components is
compared at an earth station and number of
wavelengths of each frequency is calculated.
Command
 Command system is used to make changes in attitude
and corrections to orbit and control comm. system.
 Unauthorized attempts => encryption
 Control code is converted to command word, which is
sent in a TDM frame to the satellite. The word is sent
back to control station via telemetry link where it is
checked again in computer.
 If correct => execution instruction will be sent to satellite so the command is
executed. (5 to 10s) KYK 17

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Power Systems
 At GEO altitude- Sun radiation intensity is 1.39 kW/m2
 GaAs Solar cells (33-39% at BOL and 20-29 % at EOL) convert incident sunlight into
electric energy
 Si solar cells of a home solar power installation have efficiencies between 10 - 19%
 About 15% extra area of solar cells is usually provided as an allowance for aging.
 Spinner satellites (6 kW) – 50 % cells are unexposed to sun radiation
 Three axis body stabilized satellite-Solar sails makes better use of solar cells (20 kW)
Cells heat up, typically to 50 to 80o C causes drop in output voltage
 Satellite should carry batteries.
 Longest duration of eclipse (twice per year: 20 March and 22 or 23 September) is 70 min
Batteries are usually of Ni-H (or Li-ion), have good reliability and long life.
It can be safely discharge up to 70% of its capacity.
 Typical battery voltages are 20 to 50 V, 200A
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with capacities of 20 to 1000 Ah 18

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• LEO-International Space Station (ISS), where solar panels were added over a
period of years to generate a maximum power of 120 kW.
• Satellites must carry batteries to power the subsystems during launch and
eclipses.
• Eclipses occur twice per year, around the spring and fall equinoxes, when the earth’s
shadow passes across the satellite
• A power-conditioning unit controls the charging current and dumps excess
current from the solar cells into heaters or load resistors on the cold side of
the satellite.
• Sensors on the batteries, power regulator, and solar cells monitor
temperature, voltage, and current, and supply data to both the onboard
control system and the controlling earth station via the telemetry downlink.

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Question: A large GEO satellite requires a total of 12 kW to operate its

communication systems and 1.5 kW for housekeeping purposes. The solar cells on
the satellite are mounted on two large sails that rotate to always face the sun. The
efficiency of the solar cells is 36% at BOL and 33% at EOL. Using an average incident
solar flux density of 1.36 kW/m2. Calculate the area of each solar sail to meet the
power requirements at the end of the satellite’s life. How much power is generated
at BOL? The solar arrays are 2.0 m wide. How long are they?
• The total power required by the satellite is: 12 kW+1.5 kW = 13.5 kW.
• At EOL the solar cells’ efficiency is 33% = 0.33; At BOL it is= 36 % = 0.36
• With an incident solar flux of 1.36 kW/m2, the total area of solar sail required is
A = 13.5 kW/0.33 × 1.36 kW/m2 = 30.1 m2
• At BOL, the 30.1 m2 of solar cells will generate a power P kW, where
• P = 30.1 × 0.36 × 1.36 = 14.74 kW
• Each solar array must have an area of 15.05m2 and the solar arrays are 2.0 m
wide, so the length of a solar array is 7.53 m
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Q: The large GEO satellite in earlier Example is subject to eclipses that last 70 minutes in
spring and fall. The satellite is required to maintain full communications capacity during
eclipses. Batteries onboard the satellite must supply 13.5 kW for 70minutes. The battery
voltage is 50V and the batteries must not discharge more than 50% during the eclipse.
Calculate the battery capacity required in Ampere Hours (AHs). A battery with a capacity
of one ampere hour can supply one amp for one hour. If lithium-ion batteries with a
capacity of 200-watt hours per kilogram are used, find the weight of the battery.
• First calculate the current required to supply 13.5 kW at 50V.
• I = P/V = 13,500/50 = 270 A
• The energy supplied by the battery over 70 minutes (1.167 hours) is 315 AH,
representing 50% of the battery capacity.
• Hence batteries with a total capacity of 630 AH are needed.
• The total battery capacity is 630 AH at 50V, which is 31.5 kWH.
• Hence the battery weight is 157.5 kg. A large GEO satellite may have mass up to
6000 kg, so the battery accounts for 2.6% of the satellite’s mass in this example.
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Q: Calculate the total power radiated by the sun in watts and in dBW.
Hint: The sun is about 150 million kilometers from the earth. At that
distance, the sun produces a flux density of 1.36 kW/m2. This power
density is present over all a sphere with a radius of 150 million km.
• The surface area A of a sphere with radius R m is given by A = 4 𝜋 R2 m2
• The sun is radiating 1.36 kW/m2 over an area of A = 4 𝜋R2 = 4 × 𝜋 × (150 × 106)2
= 2.83 × 1017 m2
• Hence the power radiated by the sun is P watts where
• P = 2.83 × 1017 × 1.36 × 103 = 3.85 × 1020 W
• Converting to decibels: P = 10 log10 (3.85 × 1020) = 205.9 dBW
• This represents a maximum value for any power system on earth

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Communication Subsystems
 A communication satellite in geostationary orbit is for relaying of voice, video and data
communications.
 These are designed to provide largest traffic possible.
 The received power level at the earth station antennas is very small (rarely exceeds 10-10
W).
 System to perform satisfactorily, Signal power > noise power (5dB and 25dB).
 Early comm. system have the
 transponders with 250 to 500MHz BW
 Low gain antennas
 Transmitters of 1 or 2 W output power.
 Later comm. system have
 Output power 200 W for DBS-TV satellites
 500MHz BW at 6/4 GHz
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 High capacity satellites => spatial frequency reuse.

 Orthogonal polarization at the same freq => Polarization frequency reuse.
 Federal Communication Commission (FCC)
 The bands currently used for majority of services are 6/4 GHz, 14/11 GHz,
30/20 GHz
Transponders
Satellite comm. subsystem for the 6/4 GHz band => 500 MHz BW
=> divided into channels of each 36 MHz.
The communication system has many transponders => typically 12
to 44 active transponders.
INTELSAT I and II => one or two 250 MHz BW transponders.
GEO satellites used up to 44 transponders each with 36, 54 or 72
MHz BW. KYK 24

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xxxxxx

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The earth subtends an angle of 17°

from a GEO satellite, so a phased
array antenna on a GEO satellite
needs to scan only ± 8.5° to point a
beam anywhere on earth.

Simplified block diagram

KYK of an INTELSAT V communication system
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Simplified single conversion transponder for 6/4 GHz band

 BPF after mixer removes unwanted frequencies resulting from down
conversion operation.
 The output power amplifier is usually a solid state power amplifier (SSPA). If
power >50 W is required then TWTA is used.
 LO is at 2225MHz to provide the appropriate shift in the frequency from 6-
GHz uplink frequency to 4-GHz downlink frequency.
 Redundancy is provided for HPA. It is common to have 16 to 10 redundancy.
 The lifetime of HPA is limited and they represent the least reliable component
in the most transponders. KYK 27

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The incoming 14 GHz signal is

translated to an IF of around 1
GHz. And further this frequency
is translated to 11 GHz for
amplification by HPA

Simplified double conversion transponder for 14/11 GHz band

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Satellite Antennas
 Four main types of antennas are used on satellites
1. Wire antennas : Monopoles and dipoles: VHF/UHF: TTC&M: Omni-directional
2. Horn antennas
3. Reflector antennas
4. Array antennas

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• GEO satellite have coverage over the visible earth must have a global beam
• A global beam antenna has low gain and is only used on GEO satellites cover isolated areas such
as islands
• Regional and spot beams are more widely used, often overlaid as with DBS-TV/DTH
satellites
• Regional beams are carefully shaped to direct radiated power to a specific area
• Satellites with phased array antennas can move their beams to track moving earth
stations, (ex aircraft)
• Orthogonal polarizations, either linear or circular, allow beams to be overlapped
• Horn antennas are used when wide beams are required, for global coverage
• A horn is a flared section of waveguide that provides an aperture several wavelengths wide and a
good match between the waveguide impedance and free space
• Horns are also used as feeds for reflectors, either singly or in clusters
• Horns and reflectors are examples of aperture antennas that launch a wave into free
space from a waveguide
• It is difficult to obtain gains much greater than 23 dB or beamwidths narrower than about 10°
with horn antennas
• For higher gains or narrow beamwidths a KYK
reflector antenna or array must be used
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• Reflector antennas are usually illuminated by one or more horns and provide a
larger aperture than can be achieved with a horn alone
• For maximum gain, it is necessary to generate a plane wave in the aperture of the
reflector
• This is achieved by choosing a reflector profile that has equal path lengths from the feed
to the aperture, so that all the energy radiated by the feed and reflected by the reflector
reaches the aperture with the same phase angle and creates a uniform phase front
• One reflector shape that achieves this with a point source of radiation is the paraboloid,
with a feed placed at its focus.
• The paraboloid is the basic shape for most reflector antennas and is commonly
used for earth station antennas
• Satellite antennas often use modified paraboloidal reflector profiles to tailor the beam
pattern to a particular coverage zone
• Phased array antennas are also used on satellites to create multiple beams
from a single aperture, and have been used by Iridium and Globalstar to
generate up to 48 beams from a single aperture for their LEO mobile
telephone systems
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Antenna Parameters
• An antenna pattern is a plot of the field strength in the far field of the antenna
when the antenna is driven by a transmitter
• It is usually measured in decibels (dB) below the maximum field strength
• The gain of an antenna is a measure of the antenna’s capability to direct
energy in one direction, rather than all around
• Reciprocity means that an antenna has the same gain and pattern at any given
frequency whether it transmits or receives.
• An antenna pattern measured when receiving is identical to the pattern when
transmitting
• However, a satellite antenna is used to provide coverage of a certain area,
called the footprint of the satellite or a zone within the footprint, and it is more
useful to have contours of satellite EIRP

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• An aperture antenna has a gain G given by G = 𝜂A4 𝜋 A∕𝜆2

• A is the area of the antenna aperture in m2, λ is the operating wavelength in m, and ηA is
the aperture efficiency of the antenna.
• The aperture efficiency ηA is 55–70% for reflector antennas with single feeds, lower for
antennas with shaped beams.
• Horn antennas tend to have higher efficiencies than reflector antennas (65–80%)
• If the aperture is circular, G = 𝜂A(𝜋D∕𝜆)2; where D is the diameter of the circular aperture. D
and λ must have the same units (typically meters)
• The beamwidth of an antenna is related to the aperture dimension in the plane in which the
pattern is measured.
• A useful approximation is that the 3 dB beamwidth in each plane for an antenna with
dimension D in that plane is 𝜃3dB ≈ 75𝜆∕D degrees
• where 𝜃3dB is the beamwidth between half power points of the antenna pattern and D is
the aperture dimension in the same units as the wavelength λ.
• the gain and beamwidth of an aperture antenna are related, For antennas with ηA ≈ 60%, the
gain is approximately G (dB) ≈ 33,000/(𝜃3 dB)2
• If the beam has different beamwidths in orthogonal planes, 𝜃3 dB should be replaced by
the product of the two 3 dB beamwidths.KYK 33

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Q: Global Beam Antenna: The earth subtends an angle of 17° when viewed from
geostationary orbit. What are the dimensions and gain of a horn antenna that will
provide global coverage at 4 GHz?
• A horn to give a circularly symmetric beam with a 3 dB beamwidth of 17°
• D∕𝜆 = 75∕𝜃3 dB = 4.4
• At 4 GHz, λ = 0.075 m, so D = 0.33m (just over 1 ft)
• If we use a circular horn excited in the TE11 mode, the beamwidths in the E and H
planes will not be equal and we may be forced to make the aperture slightly smaller
to guarantee coverage in the E plane.
• A corrugated horn designed to support the HE hybrid mode has a circularly symmetric beam and
could be used in this application
• Waveguide horns are generally used for global beam coverage
• Reflector antennas are not efficient when the aperture diameter is less than 8 λ
• The gain G (dB) ≈ 33,000/(𝜃3 dB)2 of the horn is approximately 100, or 20 dB, at the
center of the beam.
• However, in designing our communication system we will have to use the edge of beam gain
figure of 17 dB, since those earth stations close to the earth’s horizon, as viewed from the
satellite, are close to the −3 dB contour of theKYKtransmi ed beam. 34

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Q: Regional Coverage Antenna: The continental United States (48 contiguous states) subtends
angles of approximately 5° × 2.5° in the E–Wand N–S directions when viewed from geostationary
orbit. What dimension must a reflector antenna have to illuminate half this area with a circular
beam 2.5° in diameter at 11 GHz? Can a reflector be used to produce a 5° × 2.5° beam?
What is the gain of the antenna?
• For a 2.5° circular beam D∕𝜆 = 75∕2.5 = 30
• And with λ=0.0272 m, the antenna diameter D=0.82m (2.7 ft)
• The gain f this antenna, G (dB) ≈ 33,000/(𝜃3 dB)2 is approximately 34 dB
• To generate a beam with different beamwidths in orthogonal planes we need an aperture
with
• different dimensions in the two planes.
• To produce a beamwith beamwidths of 5° × 2.5° requires a rectangular (or elliptical) aperture
15 λ × 30 λ.
• In order to illuminate such a reflector, a feed horn with unequal beamwidths is required, since the reflector
must interceptmost of the radiation from the feed for it to have an acceptable efficiency.
• Rectangular, or more commonly elliptical outline reflectors are used to generate unequal
beamwidths.
• When orthogonal polarizations are to be transmitted or received, it is better to use a circular
reflector with a distorted profile to broaden the beam in one plane, or a feed cluster to
provide the appropriate amplitude and phaseKYKdistribution across the reflector. 35

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Equipment Reliability and Space Qualification

 Large GEO communications satellites are designed to provide operational
lifetimes of up to 15 years.
 Once a satellite is in geostationary orbit, there is little possibility of repairing
components that fail or adding more fuel for station keeping.
 The components that make up the satellite have very high reliability in the
hostile environment of outer space, and a strategy must be devised that
allows some components to fail without causing the entire communication
capacity of the satellite to be lost.
Two separate approaches are used:
1. Space qualification of every part of the satellite to ensure that it has a long-
life expectancy in orbit.
2. Redundancy of the most critical components to provide continued operation
when one component fails. KYK 36

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Space Qualification
• Outer space, at geostationary orbit distances, is a harsh environment.
• There is a total vacuum and the sun irradiates the satellite with 1.36 kW of heat and light on
each square meter of exposed surface.
• Where surfaces are in shadow, heat is lost and temperature will fall toward absolute zero.
• Electronic equipment cannot operate at such extremes of temperature and must be
housed within the satellite body and heated or cooled so that its temperature stays
within the range 0°–75° C.
• This requires a thermal control system that manages heat flow throughout a GEO
satellite as the sun moves around the satellite once every 24 hours.
• Thermal problems are equally severe for a LEO satellite that moves from sunlight to shadow
every 100 minutes.
• The first stage in ensuring high reliability in a satellite is by selection and screening of
every component used.
• Past operational and test experience to have good reliability components will be selected
• Each component is tested individually (or as a subsystem) to ensure that it meets its
specification. This process is known as Quality control or quality assurance
• Once individual components and subsystems have been space qualified, the
complete satellite must be tested as a system to ensure that its many systems are
reliable. KYK 37

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When a satellite is designed, three prototype models are often built and
tested.
Mechanical model: structural and mechanical parts operate correctly in a
vacuum, over a wide temperature range
• It is also subjected to vibration and shock testing to simulate vibration levels and G
forces likely to be encountered on launch.
Thermal model: contains all the electronic packages and other components
that must be maintained at the correct temperature
Often, the thermal, vacuum, and vibration tests of the entire satellite will be combined
in a thermal vacuum chamber for what is known in the industry as a shake and bake test
The antennas are usually included on the thermal model to check for
distortion of reflectors and displacement or bending of support structures.
In orbit, an antenna may cycle in temperature from 100° C to –100° C as the sun moves
around the satellite
Electrical model: Contains all the electronic parts of the satellite and tested for
correct electrical performance under vacuum and wide range of temperatures
The antennas of the electrical model must provide the correct beamwidth, gain, and
polarization properties. KYK 38

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• Testing carried out on the prototype models is designed to overstress the

system and induce failure in any weak components:
1. temperature cycling can be carried out to 10% beyond expected extremes
2. structural loads and G forces 50% above those expected in flight can be applied
3. Electrical equipment will be subjected to excess voltage and current drain to test for
good electronic and thermal reliability.
• The prototype models used in these tests will not usually be flown.
• A separate flight model (or several models) will be built and subjected to the same tests
as the prototype, but without the extremes of temperature, stress, or voltage.
• Space qualification is an expensive process, and one of the factors that makes
large GEO satellites expensive
• LEO satellites have been built successfully using less expensive techniques and
relying on lower performance in orbit.
• The Iridium LEO system was designed with 66 (+8 spares) operational satellites in its
constellation to provide continuous worldwide coverage
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Reliability
The bathtub curve is familiar
to owners of automobiles

Bathtub curve for probability of failure

The reliability of a subsystem is defined as

The number of components that failed in time t is

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We must know, how the probability of any one of No components failing is

related to Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF)
If we continue testing devices until all of them fail. The ith device fails after time
ti where

The average failure rate λ, is reciprocal of MTBF

The rate of failure is negative of rate of
survival, so

𝑁
𝑅= ⇒ 𝑁 = 𝑅𝑁
𝑁

The solution to above equation is

Failure rate λ is often given as the average
KYK failure rate per 109 hours 41

41

Redundancy
In a satellite, many devices are used, each with a
different MTBF, and failure of one device may cause
catastrophic failure of a complete subsystem.
If we incorporate redundant devices, the subsystem
can continue to function correctly.
1. Series connection, used in solar cells arrays
2. Parallel connection, used to provide redundancy
of the HPAs in transponders.
3. A series/parallel (Hybrid) connection, widely
used in electronic equipment
4. A switched connection (ring redundancy), often
used to provide parallel paths with multiple
transponders
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Redundant TWTA configuration in a 6/4 GHz transponder

The TWTAs are connected in parallel, but at launch TWTA
#2 is switched off. If the first TWTA fails, TWTA #2 is
switched on.

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Conclusions
• Understood
• Attitude and Orbit Control Systems
• Telemetry, Tracking, Command and Monitoring
• Power Systems: Solar Panels and Batteries
• Communication Systems
• Satellite Antennas
• Equipment Reliability and Space Qualification
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Any
Queries?
Thank You for
Attention
KYK 45

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Q1:The telemetry system of a geostationary communications satellite samples 100 sensors on

the spacecraft in sequence. Each sample is transmitted to earth as an eight-bit word in a TDM
frame. An additional 200 bits are added to the frame for synchronization and status information.
The data are then transmitted at a rate of 1 kilobit per second using BPSK modulation of a low-
power carrier.
• a. How long does it take to send a complete set of samples to earth from
the satellite?
• Answer: The TDM frame consists of 8 x 100 = 800 bits of data, plus 200
bits of sync and status information transmitted at 1 kbps. Thus a frame is
1000 bits transmitted in exactly one second.
• B. Including the propagation delay, what is the longest time the earth
station operator must wait between a change in a parameter occurring at
the spacecraft and the new value of that parameter being received via the
telemetry link? (Assume a path length of 40,000 km.)
• Answer: Using velocity of EM waves, c = 3 x 108 m/s and time delay = R / c,
• T = 40 x 106 / 3 x 108 = 0.1333 s.
• Longest delay to receive a complete frame
KYK is 1.0 + 0.133 = 1.1333 s. 46

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Q2. 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/m2, and that the effective solar radiation absorbing
area of the solar cells is equal to the cross-sectional area of the drum.
• Answer: Area of solar cells absorbing sunlight is equivalent to cross sectional
area of drum. A = 3.0 x 5.0 = 15.0 m2.
• At the end of life the solar cells are producing 4000 watts of electrical power.
• Hence efficiency at end of life is ηEoL = 4000 / (15 x 1390) = 19.2%
• b. If the solar cells degrade by 15 percent 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?
• Answer: The beginning of life output of the cells is ηBoL = 4000/0.85 = 4706 w
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• c. If the drum covered in solar cells of the spinner design had been replaced
by solar sails 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%
percent of the power of cells on a spinner due to their higher operating
temperature.
• Answer: Using the end of life output of 4000 W, the efficiency of the solar
cells on the sails is ηss = 0.9 x19.18 = 17.26 %
• The area of solar sails required is A = 4000 / (0.1726 x1390) = 16.67 m2

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3. A Direct Broadcast Television (DBS-TV) satellite is in geostationary orbit. The

electrical power required to operate the satellite and its transmitters is 4 kW. Two
designs of satellite can be used: three axis stabilized with solar cells and a spinner.
• a. A three axis stabilized satellite has two solar sails of equal area that rotate to face
the sun at all times. The efficiency of the solar cells at end of life is predicted to be
15%. Calculate the area of cells required by the GEO satellite, and the length of each
sail if its width is 2.0 m.
• Answer: Ass = 4000 / (0.15 x 1390) = 19.18 m2
• Each sail is 2 m wide so total length needed = 19.18 / 2 = 9.60 m
• Each sail is 4.8 m long.
• b. A spinner design of DBS-TV satellite is made up from a drum coated in solar cells.
The drum has a diameter of 3.5 m. The efficiency of the solar cells is predicted to be
18 % at end of life. Since half the solar cells are in darkness, and some are weakly
illuminated by the sun, the effective area of solar cells on a spinner is equal to the
diameter of the satellite multiplied by the height of the solar cells on the drum.
Calculate the height of the drum to provide the required 4 kW of electrical power.
• Answer: Effective solar cell area for spinner is Aeff = W x H
• Aeff = 4000 / (0.18 x 1390) = 16.0 m2 ; Height of drum = Aeff / W = 16.0 / 3.5 = 4.57 m.
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4. Batteries make up a significant part of the in-orbit weight of a communications satellite but
are needed to keep the communications system operating during eclipses. A direct broadcast
TV satellite requires 500 W of electrical power to operate the housekeeping functions of the
satellite and 5 kW to operate its 16 high power transponders. The longest duration of an
eclipse is 70 minutes, during which time the batteries must provide power to keep the satellite
operating, but the batteries must not discharge below 70% of their capacity. The satellite bus
operates at 48 volts.
• a. What is the current that must be supplied by the power conditioning unit to keep the satellite operating
normally?
• Answer: Satellite power bus operates at 48 v, hence I=P/V = 5500/48=114.6 A
• b. Battery capacity is rated in ampere hours, the product of the current (in amps) that the battery can supply
multiplied by the length of time that this current can be supplied before the battery is fully discharged. The satellite
batteries must not discharge beyond 70% of their rated capacity during eclipse. Find the battery capacity required
for this DBS-TV satellite.
• Answer: Duration of eclipse = 70 min = 1.167 hours.
• Battery capacity required = 114.6 A x 1.167 h / 0.7 = 191 AH
• c. If batteries weigh 1.25 kg per ampere-hour of capacity, how much weight on this satellite is devoted to batteries?
• Answer: Weight of batteries = 191 x 1.25 = 238.8 kg.
• d. If half of the transponders are shut down during eclipse, what saving in battery weight is achieved?
• Answer: Current demand with half transponders off is 114.6 A x 3.0/5.5 = 62.5 A
• Battery capacity required = 1.167 x 62.5 / 0.7 = 104.2 A. Weight = 130.2 kg.
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Q5. A geostationary satellite provides service to a region which can be covered by the beam of
an antenna on the satellite with a beamwidth of 1.80. 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.
• Answer: Use the approximate relationship for beamwidth: θ3dB = 75 λ/ D.
• Hence D = 75 λ / θ3dB ; Gain is approximately 33,000 / (θ3dB)2
• The transmitting antennas on the satellite operate at the lower frequency (downlink) in each band.
• For 11.5 GHz: λ = 0.02609 m, D = 75 x 0.02609 / 1.8 = 1.087 m
• For 20 GHz: λ = 0.015 m, D = 75 x 0.015 / 1.8 = 0.625 m
• G = 33,000 / 1.8 = 10.185 or 40.1 dB
2

• b. Find the diameters of the two receiving antennas. Specify the diameter and calculate the gain at
each frequency.
• The receiving antennas on the satellite operate at the higher frequency (uplink) in each band.
• For 14.0 GHz: λ = 0.02143 m, D = 75 x 0.02413/ 1.8 = 0.893 m
• For 30.0 GHz: λ = 0.010 m, D = 75 x 0.010 / 1.8 = 0.417 m
• Because the beamwidth of each antenna is the same,
KYK
the gains are all the same: G = 40.1 dB 51

51

Q6. A geostationary satellite provides communications within the United States at

Ku band. The antennas on the satellite have beamwidths of 60 in the E-W
direction and 30 in the N-S direction. A separate antenna is used for transmitting
in the 11 GHz band and receiving in the 14 GHz band.
• a. Find the dimensions and estimate the gain of the transmitting antenna in
the N-S and E-W directions.
• Answer: Using the approximations θ3dB = 75 λ/ D and G (dB) = 33,000 / (θ3dB )2
• N-S dimension = 75 λ / 3.0 = 25 λ E-W dimension = 75 λ / 6.0 = 12.5 λ
• For transmit antenna at 11.0 GHz, λ = 0.02727 m
• DN-S = 25 x 0.02727 = 0.681 m DE-W = 12.3 x 0.02727 = 0.341 m
• b. Find the dimensions and estimate the gain of the receiving antenna in the
N-S and E-W directions.
• Answer: For receiving antenna at 14.0 GHz, λ = 0.02143 m
• DN-S = 25 x 0.02143 = 0.536 m DKYK
E-W = 12.5 x 0.02143 = 0.268 m 52

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Q8. The state of Pennsylvania is approximately one degree wide (E-W) by one half
degree high (N-S) when viewed from geostationary orbit at a longitude of 750
west Calculate:
a. The dimensions of a downlink Ku-band antenna on a geostationary satellite with 3
dB beamwidths equal to the width and height of Pennsylvania. Use a frequency of
11.0 GHz. Identify the dimensions as E-W and N-S.
• Answer: The wavelength for 11.0 GHz is 0.02727 m, so the antenna dimensions are:
θ3dB = 75 λ/ D and G (dB) = 33,000 / (θ3dB-NS . θ3dB-EW )
• DN-S = 75 x 0.02727 / 0.50 = 4.010 m; DE-W = 75 x 0.02727 / 1.00 = 2.005 m
• The gain of the antenna is G (dB) = 33,000 / (0.50 x 1.0) = 66,000 or 48.2 dB
b. The dimensions of an uplink Ka-band antenna on a geostationary satellite with 3 dB
beamwidths equal to the width and height of Pennsylvania. Use a frequency of 30.0
GHz. Identify the dimensions as E-W and N-S.
• Answer: The wavelength for 30.0 GHz is 0.010 m, so the antenna dimensions are
• DN-S = 75 x 0.010 / 0.50 = 1.500 m; DE-W = 75 x 0.010 / 1.00 = 0.750 m
• The gain of the antenna does not change since beamwidths are same as for 11 GHz
• G (dB) = 33,000 / (0.50 x 1.0) = 66,000 or 48.2 dB
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Q10. A geostationary satellite carries a C-band transponder which

transmits 15 watts into an antenna with an on-axis gain of 32 dB. An
earth station is in the center of the antenna beam from the satellite, at
a distance of 38,500 km. For a frequency of 4.2 GHz:
• a. Calculate the incident flux density at the earth station in watts per square
meter and in dBW/m
• F = Pt Gt / 4 π R2 W/m2 = 15 + 32 - 11 – 20 log 38.50 x 106 = -115.7 dBW / m2
• Converting to ratios: F = 10-11.57 = 2.69 x 10-12 W / m2
• b. The earth station has an antenna with a circular aperture 3 m in diameter
and an aperture efficiency of 62%. Calculate the received power level in watts
and in dBW at the antenna output port.
• Received power is F x Aeff = F x η x πr2 = 2.69 x 10-12 x 0.62 x π x 1.52
= 1.179 x 10-11 W or -109.3 dBW
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• c. Calculate the on-axis gain of the antenna in decibels.

• At 4.2 GHz, λ = 0.07143: G=η(πD/λ)2 = 0.62 x (π x 3.0 / 0.07143)2 = 10,793 or
40.3 dB.
• d. Calculate the free space path loss between the satellite and the earth
station. Calculate the power received, Pr, at the earth station using the link
equation: Pr = Pt Gt Gr / Lp where Pt Gt is the EIRP of the satellite transponder
and Lp is the path loss. Make your calculation in dB units and give your answer
in dBW.
• Path loss = 20 log ( 4 p R / l) = 20 log ( 4 p 38.5 ´ 106 / 0.07143) = 196.6 dB
• The received power at the earth station is calculated from Pr = Pt Gt Gr / Lp
Ignoring any losses.
• In dB units: Pr = EIRP + Gr - path loss = 15 + 32 + 40.3 – 196.6 = -109.3 dBW
• This is the same answer as obtained in part (b) using flux density.

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Q11. Calculate the total power radiated by the sun in watts and in dBW. Hint: The
sun is 93 million miles (about 150 million kilometers) from the earth. At that
distance, the sun produces a flux density of 1.39 kW/m2. This power density is
present over all of a sphere with a radius of 150 million km.
• The entire light output of the sun passes through the surface of an imaginary
sphere with a radius of 150 x 106 km.
• At that distance, the flux density crossing the sphere is 1.39 x 103 W/m2.
• Hence the output of the sun is 1.39 x 103 x 4 π R2 where R = 1.5 x 1011 m.
• Hence P = 1.39 x 103 x 4 π x (1.5 x 1011) 2 = 3.93 x 1026 watts or 266 dBW.
• If calculations show any transmitter power to approach 266 dBW, the
calculations are wrong.

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