SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

Satellite Communication is defined as a type of communication where the exchange of

information takes place between different stations present on the surface of the earth using
artificial satellites in space. And this communication occurs within the electromagnetic spectrum.

So, in simplest terms we can say when communication between two or more ground-based units
is done by making use of satellite is known as satellite communication.

In the field of telecommunications, satellite communication acts as a crucial parameter that

facilitates easy and fast signal transmission and reception, where the signals can be analog or
digital in nature. Through satellite communication, data, voice, audio, video signals can be
transmitted and received by using communication links between various regions of the earth.

Why do we actually need satellite communication?

In early times, mainly there were two kinds of communication technologies that were used for
long-distance signal transmission from an end to another. These are as follows:

• Ground Wave Propagation: This type of radio wave propagation allows signals of
frequency up to 30 MHz to get transmitted from an end to another. It uses the troposphere
layer of the atmosphere to propagate the signals from one end to another.
• Sky Wave Propagation: This type of radio wave propagation is suitable for signal
transmission that falls in the range of 30 to 40 MHz. It is different from ground wave
propagation because, in this type, signals are transmitted by getting refracted from the
ionospheric layer of the atmosphere.
In both the above-discussed propagation techniques, the maximum permissible transmission
distance between stations is nearly 1500 km. To overcome this downside of radio wave
propagation, satellite communication came into existence. As through satellite communication,
even signals that cannot transmit either through LOS, ground wave, or sky wave propagation, can
transmit from an end to another by making use of satellite orbiting in space.
What is a geostationary satellite?

A geostationary satellite is an Earth-orbiting satellite placed at an altitude of approximately

22,300 miles or 35,800 kilometers directly above the equator. These satellites revolve in the
same direction the Earth rotates -- west to east.

The term geostationary comes from the fact that the satellite appears nearly stationary in the sky
to a ground-based observer. These satellites complete one orbit in about 24 hours, which is the
same amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate once on its axis. The satellite appears to be
stationary from the perspective of someone on the ground, as it moves in sync with the Earth's
rotation.

Geostationary satellites are equipped with transponders that receive, amplify and retransmit
radio signals to and from Earth. These signals can be used for a wide range of applications,
including telecommunications, broadcasting, remote sensing and navigation.

Advantages: -

1. The satellite is positioned relative to the earth's antennae, so it doesn't need to be turned
around.
2. Due to their high altitude, these satellites are ideal for meteorological purposes.
3. The satellite is ideal for communications since it is always above the surface of the earth.

Limitations: (2nd part ji likha asse heitu examot likhile besike vhaal hobo niki?)
There are two primary drawbacks of geostationary satellites. For starters, because the orbital
zone is a very narrow ring in the plane of the equator, the number of satellites that can be kept
in geostationary orbits without colliding is limited. Second, an electromagnetic (EM) signal
must travel a minimum of 71,600 kilometers (44,600 miles) to and from a geostationary
satellite. When an EM signal travels at 300,000 kilometers per second (186,000 miles per
second) from the surface to the satellite and back, a lag of at least 240 milliseconds is added.
Geostationary satellites also have two other, less critical issues. First, due to gravitational
interaction between the satellite, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the non-terrestrial planets, the
exact position of a geostationary satellite relative to the surface varies slightly throughout the
course of each 24-hour period. The satellite travels around the sky in a rectangular zone known
as the box, as seen from the ground. Although the box is small, it restricts the sharpness of the
directed pattern and thus the power gain that earth-based antennas may achieve. Second,
because the sun is a major source of EM radiation, there is a dramatic increase in background
EM noise when the satellite approaches the sun as seen from a receiving station on the ground.
Solar fade is a concern only a few days before and after the equinoxes in late March and late
September. Even so, episodes are only a few minutes long and only happen once a day.

Low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite systems have become increasingly common in recent years.
This system uses a fleet or swarm of satellites, each in a polar orbit at a few hundred kilometers
height. Each revolution lasts anything from 90 minutes to several hours. A satellite like this
comes within range of every point on the earth’s surface for a certain amount of time during the
course of a day. A LEO swarm’s satellites are carefully positioned so that at least one satellite is
always visible from any point on the surface. In a worldwide cellular network, the satellites
serve as moving repeaters. A LEO satellite system allows for the use of simple, non-directional
antennas, lower latency, and avoids solar fade. These are cited as LEO systems’ advantages
over geostationary satellites.

Geostationary satellites are positioned at an altitude of approximately 35,800 kilometers (22,300

miles) over the equator and circle the earth in the same direction as the planet 1. Here are some
advantages and disadvantages of geostationary satellites:
Advantages:

• The satellite is positioned relative to the earth’s antennae, so it doesn’t need to be turned around 1.
• Due to their high altitude, these satellites are ideal for meteorological purposes 1.
• The satellite is ideal for communications since it is always above the surface of the earth 1.
• Ground station tracking is not required as it is continuously visible from earth all the time from fixed
location 2.
• Inter-satellite handoff is not needed
• Less number of satellites are needed to cover the entire earth 2.
Disadvantages:

• Geostationary satellites offer a poor spatial resolution near the poles as it easily becomes obscured by
high peaks 3.
• As the orbits in which geostationary satellites circle are higher, they offer a poorer resolution when
compared with polar satellites 3.
• The overall setup of launching geostationary satellites is costlier than other satellites 3.

In other words:

• (Due to the high orbit, the spatial resolution of the data is not as great as for the polar
orbiting satellites
• Poor spatial resolution in the polar regions (parallax). We will talk more about this later.)

Satellite sub-system
Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) Subsystem:

• These systems are partly on the satellite and partly at the control earth station. They
support the functions of the spacecraft management. The main functions of a TTC system
are
• To monitor the performance of all satellite subsystems and transmit the monitored data to
the satellite control center via a separate Telemetry link.
• To support the determination of orbital parameters.
• To provide a source to earth station for tracking.
• To receive commands from the control center for performing various functions of the
satellite.
• Typical functions include:
a) To correct the position and attitude of the satellite.
b) To control the antenna pointing and communication system configuration to suit
current traffic requirements. To operate switches on the spacecraft.
Telemetry:

• It collects data from all sensors on the satellite and send to the controlling earth station.
• The sighting device is used to maintain space craft altitudes are also monitored by
telemetry.
• At a controlling earth station using computer telemetry data can be monitored and
decode.
• And status of any system on satellite can be determined and can be controlled from earth
station

Tracking:

• By using velocity and acceleration sensors, on spacecraft the orbital position of satellite
can be detect from earth station.
• For accurate and precise result number of earth stations can be used

Propulsion sub-system:

• Propulsion sub-system is the reaction control sub-system carried by the satellite in the
geostationary orbit so as to generate forces on it whenever needed.
• It moves satellite to its assigned position in orbit, to maintain in that position (station
keeping) and to maintain the direction of spin axis and attitude control.
• Usually propulsion subsystem has three units. i) Low thrust (10-3 to 20N) actuators
(Reaction control system, RCS) ii) High thrust (400 to 50,000 N) motor (Apogee kick
motor: AKM or Apogee Boost Motor (ABM) which provides velocity increment) to
inject satellite into geostationary orbit from transfer orbit apogee. iii) Perigee kick motor
(PKM) which provides velocity increments required to inject the satellite into the transfer
orbit.
 • Low thrust actuators (RCS) are of much importance as these are responsible for keeping
the satellite in orbit with its perfect attitude till its life end. They are either chemical or
electrical thrusters.

Antenna Sub-system:

• Antenna on board serves as an interface between the earth on the ground and various
satellite subsystems

Power Subsystem:

• This system provides the necessary DC power to the satellite. All communication
satellites derive their electrical power from solar cells. There is also a battery backup
facility used during launch and eclipses.
• The batteries are of sealed Nickel Cadmium type and have good reliability and long life.

Communication Subsystems :

• It is a major component of the communication satellite, and the remainder of the

spacecraft is there solely to support it.
• It consists of:
i. Microwave antennas and
ii. As set of receiver and transmitter units referred to as Transponders
• The antenna system is used to receive signals from and transmit signals to the ground
stations in the coverage area.
• The antenna used range from dipole type antennas where Omni directional characteristics
are required to the highly directional antennas (the paraboloidal reflector being the most
common) required for telecommunication purposes and TV relay and broadcast.
• The transponders amplify and retransmit the incoming signals.

Attitude and Orbit Control System (ACOS) :

• This subsystem provides stabilization of the satellite and controls its orbit. It fires jet
thrusters to perform attitude adjustments and station keeping man oeuvres that keep the
satellite in its original orbital position with correct orientation

How a Satellite Works

A satellite is a body that moves around another body in a particular path. A 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. But, 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. The following
figure illustrates this concept clearly.

The transmission of signal from first earth station to satellite through a channel is called as uplink. Similarly,
the transmission of signal from satellite to second earth station through a channel is called as downlink.

Uplink frequency is the frequency at which, the first earth station is communicating with satellite. The satellite
transponder converts this signal into another frequency and sends it down to the second earth station. This
frequency is called as Downlink frequency. In similar way, second earth station can also communicate with the
first one.

The process of satellite communication begins at an earth station. Here, an installation is designed to transmit
and receive signals from a satellite in an orbit around the earth. Earth stations send the information to satellites
in the form of high powered, high frequency (GHz range) signals.
The satellites receive and retransmit the signals back to earth where they are received by other earth stations in
the coverage area of the satellite. Satellite's footprint is the area which receives a signal of useful strength from
the satellite.

Pros and Cons of Satellite Communication

In this section, let us have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of satellite communication.

Following are the advantages of using 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 possibilites

Following are the disadvantages of using satellite communication −

• Launching of satellites into orbits is a costly process.

• Propagation delay of satellite systems is more than that of conventional terrestrial systems.
• Difficult to provide repairing activities if any problem occurs in a satellite system.
• Free space loss is more
• There can be congestion of frequencies.

Applications of Satellite Communication

Satellite communication plays a vital role in our daily life. Following are the applications of satellite
communication −

• Radio broadcasting and voice communications

• TV broadcasting such as Direct To Home (DTH)
• Internet applications such as providing Internet connection for data transfer, GPS applications, Internet
surfing, etc.
• Military applications and navigations
• Remote sensing applications
• Weather condition monitoring & Forecasting

How do sun outage and eclipses affect communication

satellites?
1. Effects of sun outage for communication satellites
The orbit of the earth rotates with the sun at an inclination angle of 23.5°, so the sun passes over
the earth’s equator on March 21 (spring equinox) and September 23 (autumn equinox) each
year. Every year around the spring equinox and autumnal equinox, when the sun shines directly
on the earth’s equator, the electromagnetic waves emitted by the sun are most intense near the
earth’s equator. Since the electromagnetic wave spectrum generated by the sun is very wide, for
the earth station, the electromagnetic wave is a huge noise source, causing interference to the
satellite signal and seriously deteriorating or even interrupting the receiving line of the satellite.
The sun outage diagram is shown below figure 1.

Fig.1 Diagram of Sun outage

Since communication satellites operate at multiple fixed points over the equator, during this
period, if the sun, communication satellites, and ground satellite receiving antennas happen to
be in a straight line, the electromagnetic waves at this time will have the strongest impact on
artificial satellites, which may cause obstruction of satellite signal transmission. The satellite
receiving system on the earth will also receive a large amount of solar radiation clutter while
receiving satellite signals. Because useful signals cannot be identified, the signal quality will be
degraded or even interrupted. The movement of the moon will also have the same effect on the
satellite, but it is much weaker than the sun, so it will not cause the interruption of the satellite
signal.
It can be seen that the sun outage is an unavoidable natural phenomenon encountered by the
satellite communication system. But the sun outage only affects the downlink of the satellite
earth station, not its uplink. It occurs twice a year, namely during the vernal equinox (March 21)
and autumnal equinox (September 23), and each time lasts about 6 days. Every time it
happens, the satellite earth station will experience the degradation of the received signal
quality or the communication interruption in the same period for several consecutive
days.
Therefore, in order to ensure the stable operation of the satellite communication system,
the date and time of the solar outage should be accurately predicted, so that effective
measures can be taken in time to prevent and reduce the interference of the
solar outage to the satellite communication system. The solution is to prepare a spare
receiving antenna to receive signals from other satellites as a backup when the
sun outage occurs.
The date and time of the solar outage are related to the geographic location of the satellite earth
station and the electrical characteristics of its receiving satellite antenna.

2. Effects of satellite eclipse for communication satellites

Satellite eclipse, refers to the phenomenon that the artificial satellite is blocked by the surrounding
celestial bodies and cannot receive sunlight. There are two types of eclipses: terrestrial eclipses
and lunar eclipses. Like solar eclipse and lunar eclipse, when the earth moves between the sun
and the communication satellite, the satellite is in the shadow of the earth, which is the terrestrial
eclipse; and when the moon moves between the sun and the communication satellite, the same
situation will occur, which is a lunar eclipse. The diagram of eclipse is shown below figure 2.

Fig 2
Diagram of satellite eclipse
Because the communication satellites use solar power, the solar cells cannot get sunlight and
cannot work normally when a satellite eclipse occurs. The on-board battery can only maintain the
rotation of the satellite and cannot support the normal operation of the transponder. Therefore,
measures should be taken to reduce the energy consumption on the satellite when a satellite
eclipse occurs. Generally, some measures are taken to reduce power consumption by shutting
down some equipment on the satellite.
For communication satellites in GEO orbits, eclipses usually occur around the spring and
autumnal equinoxes, and each time they occur continuously for 45 days, a total of 90 days, and
the 2 days of spring and autumnal equinoxes have the longest eclipse duration of 72 minutes. The
capacity of the current satellite battery has been greatly improved. During the period of satellite
eclipse, the satellite can be guaranteed to work normally. Therefore, the problem of satellite
eclipse can be ignored, but the phenomenon of satellite eclipse still exists.
Path loss, or path attenuation, is the reduction in power density (attenuation) of an
electromagnetic wave as it propagates through space.
Earth Station
Definition: Earth Station also known as the ground station is an arrangement of
various equipment on the surface or atmosphere of the earth that is used to transmit or
receive signals in the form of voice, video, or data through single or multiple satellites.
It is sometimes called the earth terminal and is a part of the ground segment of the
satellite network.
The earth station is an earth-based terminal that can be present on a ship or an aircraft
as well. The earth station is not a single equipment entity as various major elements
constitute it. It is to be noted here that the design of the earth station depends on
requirements as well as the quality of service.

Types of Earth Station

The earth station is a crucial part of satellite communication because one earth station
transmits the signal and another earth station receives it.

The three major categories in which an earth station is divided are as follows:
• Transmit type: This type of earth station is the one that is only designed to transmit
the signals towards the satellite and has no arrangement of signal reception.
• Receive type: The type of earth station that simply performs the function of
reception of signals coming from satellite and cannot transmit the signal to the
satellite in space is known as receive type earth station.
• Transmit-Receive type: The earth station unit that solely handles two-way
communication i.e., sends the signal to the satellite and also receives the signal
coming from the satellite is known as transmit-receive type earth station.

Block Diagram of Earth Station

The design and layout of the earth station are not that critical but are crucial. The
reason for this is that the designing must be done in a focussed way so that the station
must be able to receive even very weak signals as well as process them to get the
actual information. So, designing the earth station is an important considerable factor.
• It is to be noted here that the earth station should maintain the required signal
quality and its design must be cost-effective and reliable.
The whole unit of the earth station is divided into two parts, one is the RF terminal and
the other is the baseband terminal. The RF terminal includes an antenna, upconverter,
downconverter, high power amplifier, and low noise amplifier. While the baseband
terminal includes, encoder, decoder, modulator, and demodulator. However, these two
parts are separated by a sufficient distance and are connected via IF lines. The RF
terminal must be present close to the antenna unit to reduce the losses and
attenuation due to the transmission line that connects the antenna with the RF
equipment.

The figure below represents the block diagram representation of the transmit-receive
type earth station:

The
fundamental operation of the earth station during transmission is to receive the signal
coming from the terrestrial network and multiplex them together to link them to the
satellite in order to transmit. While during the reception, it must receive the signals
coming from the satellite and route it to the respective destination with the help of a
terrestrial network.
Initially, the received baseband or message signal from the source is modulated with
an appropriate carrier signal then it is upconverted to the desired frequency level. The
achieved signal is then amplified and transmitted via antenna through feed system.
However, the signal coming from the satellite is received by the receiving antenna and
is provided to the feed system where required polarization is introduced. Also, the feed
system maintains isolation between transmitted and received signals so as to reduce
the chances of signal mixing.

So, the signal received by the feed system is fed to a low noise amplifier then is down-
converted to the IF range and further demodulated and provided to the terrestrial
network.
In the block diagram, we have seen units of the tracking system and drive motors.
The tracking system keeps the track record of the satellite in space and is controlled by
drive motors and the power supply.
The antenna unit mostly used in earth stations is reflector antenna, more
specifically parabolic reflector, due to the reason that these offer high gain and low
sidelobe characteristics.

Other note:
Let us understand the receiving process at the satellite earth station.

• received satellite signals are passed through LNA which amplifies the signal and adds less
noise to it.

• The LNA amplified signal is passed to the power divider which is the RF power divider, the
output is connected to the RF down converters(DC).

• The down converter converts RF frequency(RF IN) to the IF frequency(IF OUT).

This IF frequencies are connected to demodulators(IF IN port of the modem). • Demodulator

converts modulated IF signal and retrieve information which is in the form of multiplexed
signal, hence need to be passed to demultiplexer.

• the demultiplexer separated signals and based on information type passed to EPABX if it is
voice and to the PC/LAN network if it is data.

• If the destination of the information is not that ground station then it need to be relayed
either using terrestrial network, point to point microwave link or fiber optics or back to the
satellite in the case of mesh networks.
Let us understand the transmission process at the satellite earth station.

• Various information signals either voice or data channels originated from exchange or voice
lines or computers are multiplexed using Multiplexer.

• This multiplexed signals are modulated using modem.

• This modulated IF signal is converted to modulated RF signal using RF Up converter(UC).

• All the up converted RF signals from multiple up converters are combined using RF
combiner.

• The output of power combiner is given to power amplifier(PA) before the signal is fed to the
antenna via diplexer.

The carrier to noise power ratio at the ground station depends on G/T of the ground station
antenna. Here G is the antenna gain and T is the system noise temperature.
G/T= G(dB) - 10 Log (T), Where T is the temperature in kelvin
C/N = ((Pr G)/([k Ts B] G)) = (Pr/K Ts B)
Typical Satellite Earth Station Specifications
Generic Specification:
Uplink frequency - 14.437 Ghz
Downlink frequency - 11.637 Ghz

Main earth station:

Diameter of Antenna - 7.5 meter
G/T Ratio - 25.7 dB/K

Remote earth station:

Diameter of Antenna - 4.5 Mtr
G/T Ratio - 19.7 dB/K

1. Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) :

FDMA is the channelization protocol in which bandwidth is divided into various frequency
bands. Each station is allocated with band to send data and that band is reserved for
particular station for all the time which is as follows:
The frequency bands of different stations are separated by small band of unused frequency
and that unused frequency bands are called as guard bands that prevent interference of
stations. It is like access method in data link layer in which data link layer at each station
tells its physical layer to make bandpass signal from data passed to it. The signal is
created in allocated band and there is no physical multiplexer at physical layer.
2. Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) :
TDMA is channelization protocol in which bandwidth of channel is divided into various
stations on time basis. There is time slot given to each station, station can transmit data
during that time slot only which is as follows:

Each station must aware of its beginning of time slot and location of the time slot. TDMA
requires synchronization between different stations. It is type of access method in data link
layer. At each station data link layer tells station to use allocated time slot.

Difference between FDMA and TDMA :

 Sr.
No. FDMA TDMA

FDMA stands for Frequency TDMA stands for Time Division

1.
Division Multiple Access. Multiple Access.

Overall bandwidth is shared Time sharing of satellite

2.
among number of stations. transponder takes place.

Guard bands between adjacent Guard time between adjacent

3.
channels is necessary. slots is necessary.

4. Synchronization is not required. Synchronization is necessary.

5. Power efficiency is less. Power efficiency is high.

It requires stability of high It does not require stability of

6.
carrier efficiency. high carrier efficiency.

It is basically used in GSM and It is basically used in advanced

7.
PDC. mobile phone systems.

Cross link in satellite communication is a method of linking satellites in a constellation to each other
and relay data in space12. Cross link can use lasers or radiofrequency transponders to beam data across
satellites and down to ground stations2. Cross link can improve the speed, bandwidth and throughput of
satellite communication, but it can also be costly and challenging to implement 3.

Global Positioning System

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigation system based on satellite. It
has created the revolution in navigation and position location. It is mainly used
in positioning, navigation, monitoring and surveying applications.

The major advantages of satellite navigation are real time positioning and
timing synchronization. That’s why satellite navigation systems have become
an integral part in most of the applications, where mobility is the key
parameter.

A complete operational GPS space segment contains twenty-four satellites in

MEO. These satellites are made into six groups so that each group contains
four satellites. The group of four satellites is called as one constellation. Any
two adjacent constellations are separated by 60 degrees in longitude.

The orbital period of each satellite is approximately equal to twelve hours.

Hence, all satellites revolve around the earth two times on every day. At any
time, the GPS receivers will get the signals from at least four satellites.

GPS Codes and Services

Each GPS satellite transmits two signals, L1 and L2 are of different

frequencies. Trilateration is a simple method for finding the position (Latitude,
Longitude, Elevation) of GPS receiver. By using this method, the position of an
unknown point can be measured from three known points

GPS Codes

Following are the two types of GPS codes.

• Coarse Acquisition code or C/A code

• Precise code or P code

The signal, L1 is modulated with 1.023 Mbps pseudo random bit sequence. This
code is called as Coarse Acquisition code or C/A code and it is used by the
public.

The signal, L2 is modulated with 10.23 Mbps pseudo random bit sequence. This
code is called as Precise code or P code and it is used in military positioning
systems. Generally, this P code is transmitted in an encrypted format and it is
called as Y code

The P code gives better measurement accuracy when compared to C/A code,
since the bit rate of P code is greater than the bit rate of C/A code.
GPS Services

Following are the two types of services provided by GPS.

• Precise Positioning Service (PPS)

• Standard Positioning Service (SPS)

PPS receivers keep tracking of both C/A code and P code on two signals, L1 and
L2. The Y code is decrypted at the receiver in order to obtain P code.

SPS receivers keep tracking of only C/A code on signal, L1.

GPS Receiver

There exists only one-way transmission from satellite to users in GPS system.
Hence, the individual user does not need the transmitter, but only a GPS
receiver. It is mainly used to find the accurate location of an object. It
performs this task by using the signals received from satellites.

The block diagram of GPS receiver is shown in below figure.

The function of each block present in GPS receiver is mentioned below.

• Receiving Antenna receives the satellite signals. It is mainly, a circularly

polarized antenna.
• Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) amplifies the weak received signal
• Down converter converts the frequency of received signal to an
Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal.
• IF Amplifier amplifies the Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal.
• ADC performs the conversion of analog signal, which is obtained from IF
amplifier to digital. Assume, the sampling & quantization blocks are also
present in ADC (Analog to Digital Converter).
• DSP (Digital Signal Processor) generates the C/A code.
• Microprocessor performs the calculation of position and provides the
timing signals in order to control the operation of other digital blocks. It
 sends the useful information to Display unit in order to display it on the
screen.

How GPS works?

GPS(Global Positioning System) is a satellite-based navigation system. It provides time and location-based information to
a GPS receiver, located anywhere on or near the earth surface. GPS works in all weather conditions, provided there is an
unobstructed line of sight communication with 4 or more GPS satellites. GPS is managed by the US Air Force.

A GPS operates independently of the user’s internet connection or telephone signal. However, their presence increases
the effectiveness of GPS positioning. GPS was initially developed by the US government for military purpose, but
currently, anyone with a GPS receiver can receive radio signals from GPS satellites.

Note:

Initially when GPS was developed for military use, there were 24 GPS satellites orbiting the earth every 12 hours at a
height of 20, 180 km.

4 GPS satellites were located in each of the 6 orbits with 60 degree orientation between each other. These orbital planes
do not rotate with respect to any star.

Later, the number of satellites were increased to 32, to improve location accuracy.

Localization of any GPS receiver is done through time of flight measurement.

The greater the number of satellite in line of sight to a GPS receiver, the greater is the accuracy in determining the
position of the receiver.

How GPS works?

Any instant of time, there are at least 4 GPS satellites in line of sight to a receiver on the earth. Each of these GPS
satellites sends information about its position and the current time to the GPS receiver at fixed regular instants of time.
This information is transmitted to the receiver in the form of signal which is then intercepted by the receiver devices.
These signals are radio signals that travel with the speed of light. The distance between a GPS receiver and the satellite
is calculated by finding the difference between the time the signal was sent from GPS satellite and the time the GPS
receiver received the signal.

Once the receiver receives the signal from at least three satellites, the receiver then points its location using trilateration
process. A GPS requires at least 3 satellites to calculate 2-D position(latitude and longitude on a map). In this case, the
GPS receiver assumes that it is located at mean sea level. However, it requires at least 4 satellites to find receivers 3-D
position(latitude, longitude, and altitude).

What is trilateration?

Trilateration is the process of determining your position based on the intersection of spheres. When a receiver receives
a signal from one of the satellite, it calculates its distance from the satellite considering a 3-D sphere with the satellite
located at the center of the sphere. Once the receiver does the same with 3 other GPS satellites, the receiver then
proceeds to find the intersection point of the 3 spheres to calculate it’s location.

Once the position of a receiver is calculated, the GPS device can then easily calculate:

Time of sunrise and sunset

Speed

Track

distance to destination

of the GPS receiver.

Technical challenges face by GPS:

Time synchronization between individual satellites and the GPS receiver

Real time update of the exact location of the GPS satellite

Precise measurement of time of flight

Interference with other signals

Time synchronization:

Each of the GPS satellites are equipped with an atomic clock to keep the time updated and accurate. In order to update
and provide precise timing on the receiver, the receiver uses the fourth GPS satellite to keeps it’s timing accurate. With
the timing with the receiver and GPS satellites maintained by atomic clocks, the exact time difference can be calculated
by the receiver.

The GPS satellites are constantly managed from ground-based stations to resolve time synchronization.
Significance of ultra precision of time synchronization:

Electromagnetic radiation propagate with the speed of light. The accuracy in position is directly proportional to the time
measurement, as speed * time = distance, therefore, even a slight deviation in time calculation can create huge
difference in distance due to large speed of light.

Real time update of exact location of the satellite.

This is done by monitoring the satellites from a number of widely distributed ground based system.

Master station analyses all the measurements and transmits the actual position of each satellite.

Differential GPS[DGPS]

DGPS is an improvement over GPS that provides enhanced location accuracy

Working:

The GPS receiver also called as the base station must be set up at a precisely known location

The base station receiver calculates it’s position based on the satellite signals and compares it’s location to the known
location

The difference between the two locations is applied to the data recorded by the GPS receiver

Provides position accuracy in sub-meter to cm range

DGPS uses a network of fixed ground-based stations to broadcast the difference between the positions indicated by the
GPS satellite systems and the known fixed positions. These stations broadcast the difference between the measured
satellite pseudo-ranges and actual pseudo-ranges and the receiver stations may correct their pseudo-ranges by the
same amount.

GPS is a satellite-based radio navigation system developed by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS
allows users to determine their location three-dimensionally 24 hours a day in all weather, anywhere
in the world.

Currently, GPS provides two levels of service - a Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for general
civilian use and an encoded Precise Positioning Service (PPS) primarily intended for use by the
Department of Defense.

The SPS signal isn't as accurate as the PPS signal, which is scrambled to prevent enemies from
targeting it. While PPS pinpoints the location of an object to within 3 feet, SPS can only pinpoint an
object to within 110 yards.
SPS and PPS are two levels of service provided by GPS. Here
are some details about them:
• SPS (Standard Positioning Service): This is the general
civilian service that is free and open to anyone with a
GPS receiver. It uses the L1 frequency (1575.42 MHz) of
GPS signals, which carry the coarse/acquisition (C/A)
code and the navigation message. SPS can
provide horizontal accuracy of about 15
meters and vertical accuracy of about 35 meters.
• PPS (Precise Positioning Service): This is
the military service that is restricted and encrypted for
authorized users only. It uses both the L1 and L2
frequencies (1227.60 MHz) of GPS signals, which carry
the precise (P(Y)) code and the navigation message.
PPS can provide horizontal accuracy of about 3
meters and vertical accuracy of about 5 meters. PPS
also has anti-jamming and anti-spoofing features to
protect the signals from interference and deception.

Bortoman 32 gps satellites asse niki not sure.