Satellite Communication Systems

Laws Governing Satellite Motion

Dr. ALI KAREEM NAHAR

Orbit Classification

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

 Equatorial

 Inclined

 Polar
SATELLITE ORBITS
 Kepler’s First Law
 The path followed by a satellite around the primary will be an ellipse.
 An ellipse has two focal points shown as F1 and F2.
 The center of mass of the two-body system, termed the barycenter, is
always centered on one of the foci.
 In our specific case, because of the enormous difference between the
masses of the earth and the satellite, the center of mass coincides with
the center of the earth, which is therefore always at one of the foci.
 The semimajor axis of the ellipse is denoted by a, and the semiminor
axis, by b. The eccentricity e is given by
ab
e
ab
 Kepler’s Second Law
 For equal time intervals, a satellite will sweep out equal areas in its
orbital plane, focused at the barycenter.
 Kepler’s second law of planetary motion.

A satellite is in orbit about the planet earth, E.

The orbit is an ellipse with a relatively high
eccentricity, that is, it is far from being
circular.
Two shaded portions of the elliptical plane in
which the orbit moves, one is close to the
earth and encloses the perigee while the other
is far from the earth and encloses the apogee.

The perigee is the point of closest approach to

the earth while the apogee is the point in the
orbit that is furthest from the earth.
While close to perigee, the satellite moves in
the orbit between times t1 and t2 and sweeps
out an area denoted by A12.
While close to apogee, the satellite moves in
the orbit between times t3 and sweeps out an
area denoted by A34. If t1 – t2 = t3 – t4, then
A12 = A34.
 Kepler’s Third Law

  
Example 2.1
 Let’s look in a Physics Book…

 From what we have deduced so far, there

has to be an equation that relates the orbit
and the speed of the satellite:
r3  
T  2
4 1014
N=2*pi/T

T is the time for one full revolution around the orbit, in seconds
r is the radius of the orbit, in meters, including the radius of the
earth (6.38x106m).
 The Most Common Example

 “Height” of the orbit = 22,300 mile

 That is 36,000km = 3.6x107m
 The radius of the orbit is
3.6x107m + 6.38x106m = 4.2x107m
 Put that into the formula and …
 The Geosynchronous Orbit

 The answer is T = 86,000 sec (rounded)

 86,000 sec = 1,433 min = 24hours (rounded)
 The satellite needs 1 day to complete an
orbit
 Since the earth turns once per day, the
satellite moves with the surface of the earth.
 Assignment 1

 How long does a Low Earth Orbit Satellite

need for one orbit at a height of 200miles =
322km = 3.22x105m
 Do this:
 Add the radius of the earth, 6.38x106m
 Compute T from the formula
 Change T to minutes or hours
r3
T  2
4 1014
 Newton’s laws of motion characterised the
forces that give rise to Kepler’s laws.

• First Law
 Every body continues in its state of rest or uniform
motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change
that state by forces impressed on it.
G is the gravitational constant = 6.67 x 10-8 dyn.cm2/g2

Newtons & Kepler’s laws completely explain the motion

of planets around the sun (and satellites around the
earth).
 Six Orbital Elements
Earth-orbiting artificial satellites are defined by six orbital elements referred
to as the keplerian element set. :
I. The semi-major axis a.
II. The eccentricity e
 give the shape of the ellipse.

III. A third, the mean anomaly M, gives the position of the

satellite in its orbit at a reference time known as the epoch.
IV. A fourth, the argument of perigee  , gives the rotation of
the orbit’s perigee point relative to the orbit’s line of nodes
in the earth’s equatorial plane.
V. The inclination I angle (δ)
VI. The right ascension of the ascending node ()
 Relate the orbital plane’s position to the earth.
 Definition of terms for earth-
orbiting satellite
 Apogee The point farthest from earth.
Apogee height is shown as ha in Fig
 Perigee The point of closest approach to
earth. The perigee height is shown as hp
 Line of apsides The line joining the perigee
and apogee through the center of the earth.
 Ascending node The point where the orbit
crosses the equatorial plane going from south
to north.
 Descending node The point where the orbit
crosses the equatorial plane going from north
to south.
 Line of nodes The line joining the ascending
and descending nodes through the center of
the earth.
 Inclination The angle between the orbital
plane and the earth’s equatorial plane. It is
measured at the ascending node from the
equator to the orbit, going from east to north.
The inclination is shown as i in Fig.
 Mean anomaly M gives an average value of
the angular position of the satellite with
reference to the perigee.
 True anomaly is the angle from perigee to
the satellite position, measured at the earth’s
center. This gives the true angular position of
the satellite in the orbit as a function of time.
 Definition of terms for
earth-orbiting satellite
 Prograde orbit An orbit in which the satellite moves in
the same direction as the earth’s rotation. The
inclination of a prograde orbit always lies between 0
and 90°.
 Retrograde orbit An orbit in which the satellite moves
in a direction counter to the earth’s rotation. The
inclination of a retrograde orbit always lies between 90
and 180°.
 Argument of perigee The angle from ascending node
to perigee, measured in the orbital plane at the earth’s
center, in the direction of satellite motion.
 Right ascension of the ascending node To define
completely the position of the orbit in space, the
position of the ascending node is specified. However,
because the earth spins, while the orbital plane remains
stationary the longitude of the ascending node is not
fixed, and it cannot be used as an absolute reference.
For the practical determination of an orbit, the
longitude and time of crossing of the ascending node
are frequently used. However, for an absolute
measurement, a fixed reference in space is required.
The reference chosen is the first point of Aries,
otherwise known as the vernal, or spring, equinox. The
vernal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the
equator going from south to north, and an imaginary
line drawn from this equatorial crossing through the
center of the sun points to the first point of Aries
(symbol ). This is the line of Aries.
NASA

Table 2.1
 Apogee and Perigee Heights

The orbit as it appears in the

orbital plane.
The point O is the center of
the earth and the point C is
the center of the ellipse.
The two centers do not
coincide unless the
eccentricity, e, of the ellipse is
zero (i.e., the ellipse becomes
a circle and a = b).
The dimensions a and b are
the semimajor and semiminor
axes of the orbital ellipse,
respectively.
 Forces acting on a satellite in a stable orbit around the earth.

Gravitational force is inversely

proportional to the square of the distance
between the centers of gravity of the
satellite and the planet the satellite is
orbiting, in this case the earth.
The gravitational force inward (FIN, the
centripetal force) is directed toward the
center of gravity of the earth.
The kinetic energy of the satellite (FOUT,
the centrifugal force) is directed opposite
to the gravitational force. Kinetic energy is
proportional to the square of the velocity
of the satellite. When these inward and
outward forces are balanced, the satellite
moves around the earth in a “free fall”
trajectory: the satellite’s orbit.
 Cartesian coordinate system

The initial coordinate system that could

be used to describe the relationship
between the earth and a satellite.
A Cartesian coordinate system with the
geographical axes of the earth as the
principal axis is the simplest coordinate
system to set up.
The rotational axis of the earth is about
the axis cz, where c is the center of the
earth and cz passes through the
geographic north pole.
Axes cx, cy, and cz are mutually
orthogonal axes, with cx and cy passing
through the earth’s geographic equator.
The vector r locates the moving satellite
with respect to the center of the earth.
 The orbital plane coordinate system.

In this coordinate system, the

orbital plane of the satellite is
used as the reference plane.
The orthogonal axes, x0 and y0
lie in the orbital plane. The
third axis, z0, is perpendicular
to the orbital plane. The
geographical z-axis of the
earth (which passes through
the true North Pole and the
center of the earth, c) does
not lie in the same direction as
the z0 axis except for satellite
orbits that are exactly in the
plane of the geographical
equator.
 Polar coordinate system in the plane of the satellite’s orbit.

The plane of the orbit coincides with the plane of the paper. The axis z0 is
straight out of the paper from the center of the earth, and is normal to the
plane of the satellite’s orbit. The satellite’s position is described in terms of
the radius from the center of the earth r0 and the angle this radius makes
with the x0 axis, Φo.
 The circumscribed circle and the eccentric anomaly E.

Point O is the center of the

earth and point C is both
the center of the orbital
ellipse and the center of the
circumscribed circle.
The satellite location in the
orbital plane coordinate
system is specified by (x0,
y0). A vertical line through
the satellite intersects the
circumscribed circle at point
A. The eccentric anomaly E
is the angle from the x0 axis
to the line joining C and A.
 The geocentric equatorial system.

This geocentric system differs from

that shown in Figure only in that the
xi axis points to the first point of
Aries. The first point of Aries is the
direction of a line from the center of
the earth through the center of the
sun at the vernal equinox (about
March 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere), the instant when the
subsolar point crosses the equator
from south to north. In the above
system, an object may be located by
its right ascension RA and its
declination .
 The geocentric equatorial system.

Locating the orbit in the

geocentric equatorial system.
The satellite penetrates the
equatorial plane (while moving in
the positive z direction) at the
ascending node.
The right ascension of the
ascending node is  and the
inclination i is the angle between
the equatorial plane and the
orbital plane.
Angle , measured in the orbital
plane, locates the perigee with
respect to the equatorial plane.
 The definition of elevation (EI) and azimuth (Az).

The elevation angle is

measured upward from the
local horizontal at the earth
station and the azimuth
angle is measured from the
true north in an eastward
direction to the projection of
the satellite path onto the
local horizontal plane.
The geometry of
elevation angle
calculation. The plane of
the paper is the plane
defined by the center of
the earth, the satellite,
and the earth station.
The central angle is .
The elevation angle EI is
measured upward from
the local horizontal at the
earth station.
 Zenith and nadir pointing directions.

The line joining the satellite and the center of the earth, C, passes through the
surface of the earth and point Sub, the subsatellite point.
The satellite is directly overhead at this point and so an observer at the subsatellite
point would see the satellite at zenith (i.e., at an elevation angle of 90°).
The pointing direction from the satellite to the subsatellite point is the nadir
direction from the satellite.
If the beam from the satellite antenna is to be pointed at a location on the earth
that is not at the subsatellite point, the pointing direction is defined by the angle
away from nadir.
In general, two off-nadir angles are given: the number of degrees north (or south)
from nadir; and the number of degrees east (or west) from nadir. East, west,
north, and south directions are those defined by the geography of the earth.
 The geometry of the visibility calculation.

The satellite is said to

be visible from the
earth station if the
elevation angle EI is
positive. This requires
that the orbital radius rs
be greater than the
ratio re/cos(), where re
is the radius of the
earth and  is the
central angle.
During the equinox periods around the March 21 and September 3, the
geostationary plane is in the shadow of the earth on the far side of the
earth from the sun. As the satellite moves around the geostationary
orbit, it will pass through the shadow and undergo an eclipse period.
The length of the eclipse period will vary from a few minutes to over an
hour (see Figure 2.22), depending on how close the plane of the
geostationary orbit is with respect to the center of the shadow thrown
by the earth.
Schematic of sun outage conditions. During the equinox periods, not only
does the earth’s shadow cause eclipse periods to occur for geostationary
satellites, during the sunlit portion of the orbit, there will be periods when the
sun appears to be directly behind the satellite. At the frequencies used by
communications satellites (4 to 50 GHz), the sun appears as a hot noise
source. The effective temperature of the sun at these frequencies is on the
order of 10,000 K. The precise temperature observed by the earth station
antenna will depend on whether the beamwidth partially, or completely,
encloses the sun.
Dates and duration of eclipses.‫لخسوف‬--‫(ا‬Source: Martin,
Communications Satellite Systems, Prentice Hall 1978.)