A spacecraft placed in

orbit around the earth

which carries on board
microwave receiving
and transmitting
equipment; repeater,
capable of relaying
signals from one point
on earth to other points.
1940’s – 1950’s
- moon was the first
passive satellite used

1945
- Arthur C. Clarke
proposed message
transmissions via
satellite
1954
- the U.S. Navy
conducted the Earth
Moon Earth
experiment

1957
- Russia launched the
SPUTNIK 1 the first
active satellite
1958
- the U.S. launched
the “SCORE”which
rebroadcasted Pres.
Eisenhower’s
Christmas message.
1960
NASA, Bell Labs and
Jet Propulsion Lab
launched the “Echo”;
accomplished the first
transatlantic
transmission
1962
- AT & T launched the
TELSTAR 1 the first
duplex satellite
transmission

1963
- AT & T launched
TELSTAR 2 for
telephone, TV, fax and
data transmission
1965
- COMSAT launched
the EARLY BIRD
which transmitted
messages to five
earth stations with 66
telephone circuits
using FDM techniques
1966
- The National
Development
Company and POTC
established the
DOMSAT ushering
satellite technology
to the Philippines
1967
- PHILCOMSAT;
Philippines, installed
the first earth station
at the foot of Sierra
Madre Mountains,
Mount Pinugay, Baras,
Rizal
1970
- China launched its
first satellite

1972
- USA launched
LANDSAT 1 for
remote sensing
missions
1974
- Western Union
launched the
WESTAR for TV and
data transmission

- Russia launched
RESURS-0 for remote
sensing mission
1976
- Indonesia launched
its first satellite;
PALAPA A-1

1986
- France launched the
SPOT-1 for remote
sensing service
1988
- India launched its first
satellite; INSAT-C

- Russia launched the

OKEAN for remote
sensing
1993
- Thailand launched its
first satellite;
THAICOM 1.

- They also launched

the Microsatellite
Program through
United NASA and GE
1997
- Mabuhay Philippines
Satellite Corporation
launched AGUILA II;
the first Philippine
Satellite
Syncom I
- was the first attempt
to place
geosynchronous
satellite into orbit but
was lost during orbit
injection

Syncom III
- used to broadcast the
1964 Olympic Games
from Tokyo
A radio repeater in
the sky consisting of:
- a transponder
- a ground based
station to control its
operations
- a user network of
earth stations that
provide the facilities
for transmission and
reception of
communication traffic
through the satellite
systems.
A communications path formed between
two or more ground stations transmitting
and receiving radio communications traffic
via satellite
a. Uplink
- that portion of the satellite
communications link involving the
transmission of traffic from the ground
station up to the satellite

b. Downlink
- that portion of a satellite
communications link involving the
transmission of traffic from the satellite to
earth terminal
a. Remote sensing
b. Weather Forecasting / Hazard Detection
c. Agricultural Production Forecasting
d. Intelligence / Surveillance Operations
e. Navigation
f. Search and Rescue
g. Telecommunications / Telebroadcasting
h. Interactive Education
i. Space Research / Scientific Explorations
1. Wideband Capability

2. Wide Area of Coverage

3. Superior Reliability

4. Direct Services to Subscriber’s Premises

5. Point to Point and Point to Multipoint

6. Readily compatible with new technology

7. Uniform access possibilities for all users

8. Allows flexibility / mobility of earth

stations within the footprint

9. Reduced need for ground facilities (R/W,

cable installation etc.
1. High Initial Investment
2. Short Life Span; 7 – 10 years
3. Expensive Maintenance
4. Very Dependent on Reliability of Launch Vehicle
5. Require High Investments on Earth Stations
6. Subject to Interception and Jamming by Enemy
Forces
7. Signal Propagation Delay / Delayed Response Time
8. Risky Launching / Failures in Attaining Proper Orbit
1. Payload – actual user information
conveyed through the system
2. Bus Transmission – includes control
mechanisms that support the payload
operation
According to Function

1.Passive Satellite – a communications

satellite not equipped with electronic
devices to retransmit communications.
Such satellite acts only as a reflector of
radio waves.

2.ActiveSatellite – a satellite equipped

with electronic devices to receive, amplify,
convert, and retransmit signals
Satellite Orbital Pattern
Orientation of Satellite Orbit with
respect to the earth.

Angle of Inclination
angle formed by the Equatorial and
orbital planes.
1. Equatorial Orbit – rotation about the
earth’s equator, usually for geosynchronous
communications satellites. θi = 0˚;
Coverage area: 42.5% (surface area)
2. Polar Orbit – rotation over the North and
South Poles, used for non-communications
mission such as weather and surveillance
observation. θi = 90˚;
Coverage area: 100% (surface area)
3. Inclined Orbit – rotation creating as angle
between the equatorial polar plane. They
are easily launched and have higher
payload capacity but are difficult to track.
0˚<θi<90˚; Coverage area: >42.5%
(surface area)
Based on Orbit

1.Non-Synchronous or Orbital – rotate

around the earth in low altitude
elliptical or circular pattern. (ωs ‡ ωe)
a. Prograde Orbit – when a satellite orbits
in the same direction as that of earth’s
rotation (counterclockwise; ωs > ωe)

b. Retrograde Orbit – when a satellite orbits

in the opposite as the earth’s rotation
but as an angular velocity less than of
the earth. (ωs < ωe; clockwise)
2. Geostationary or Geosynchronous –
orbit in a circular pattern with an
angular velocity equivalent to that of
earth with an orbital time of about 24
hours. (23 hours, 56 mins, 4.091 sec)
2. Geostationary or Geosynchronous
ωs = ωe; orbits eastward, ccw;
orbital pattern: equatorial, θi= 0˚;
coverage area: 42.5% earth surface
According to Elevation:

a. Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

h: 700 – 1100 km
f: 1 – 2.5 GHz
Delay: 10 msec

b. Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

h: 10,000 – 12,000 km
f: 1.2 – 1.66 GHz
Delay: 60 msec
According to Elevation:

c. Geostationary (GEO)
h: 36,000 km (35,786 km
or 22,236 mi.)
f: 2 - 18 GHz
Delay: 250 msec
A satellite remains in orbit because of a
balance between two factors:

a. the satellite’s velocity; speed at which it

would travel in a straight line

b. the gravitational force between the

satellite and the earth

Satellite Attitude – refers to the satellite

orientation with respect to earth.
Orbit – the path of a celestial body or satellite
in unpowered flight.
Ascending Node – point
where the orbit crosses
the equatorial plane going
from South to North

Descending Node – point

where the orbit crosses
the equatorial plane going
from North to South
Apogee – the highest point of the orbit or it
is the point in an earth satellite orbit,
which is the farthest away from the earth;
lowest velocity

Perigee – the point in an earth satellite

orbit, which is the closest in the earth;
fastest velocity
Eccentricity – a number between zero and
one which describe the shape of an ellipse.
A circle has an eccentricity of zero.

e=

where: e = eccentricity
b = half of major axis
a = half of minor axis
Elliptical Orbits

Major Axis – the longer axis of the ellipse,

the line adjoining the perigee and apogee
thru the center of the earth, called the line
of apsides

Minor Axis – the shorter axis of the ellipse,

the line perpendicular to the major axis
and halfway between the perigee and
apogee
Mean Distance – the average distance from
the center of the earth
1. The first passive satellite
a. Telstar
b. Early Bird
c. Sputnik I
d. Moon
2. The first active satellite
a. Sputnik I
b. Telstar
c. INTELSAT I
d. Explorer I
3.The first geostationary satellite
launched in 1965 is
a. Syncom I
b. Sputnik I
c. Explorer I
d. Early Bird
4. The average lifetime of
geosynchronous satellites is
about __________ years.
a. 5
b. 10
c. 15
d. 20
5. A communication satellite is a repeater
between
a. A transmitting station and receiving
station
b. Many transmitting stations and many
receiving stations
c. A transmitting station and many
receiving stations
d. Many transmitting stations and a
receiving station
6. One of the main applications of
satellite communications is
monitoring the ecological situation of
the earth. This is known as
a. Navigation
b. Surveillance
c. Remote control
d. Remote sensing
7. Orbital disturbances of a
geosynchronous satellite are
caused by
a. Moon
b. Sun
c. Earth
d. All of the above
8. Geosynchronous satellites
a. Has the same period as
that of the earth
b. Has a circular obit
c. Rotates in the equatorial
plane
d. All of the above
9. To cover all inhabited regions of the
earth, the number of
geosynchronous satellites required is
a. 5
b. 10
c. 2
d. 3
10. A geostationary satellite is one
which
a. Hangs motionless in space about
36,000 km above the earth
b. Travels around the earth about 24
hrs.
c. Remains stationary above the earth
d. Appears stationary above the earth
11. Geosynchronous Communication
satellites travel around the earth in
circular orbits with forward speed of
about __________km/hr.
a. 100,000
b. 36,000
c. 11,200
d. 22,800
12. The period of the satellite is
a. The amount of time it takes for a
satellite to complete one orbit
b. The point on an orbit where satellite to
complete one orbit
c. The time it takes the satellite to travel
from perigee to apogee
d. An orbital arc that extends from 60
degrees west longitude to 145 degrees
west longitude
13. A satellite, orbiting in a
circular orbit,
a. Has constant velocity
b. Has varying velocity
c. Is not moving at all
d. Both a and b
14. What is a descending pass
for a satellite?
a. A pass from west to east
b. A pass from east to west
c. A pass from south to north
d. A pass from north to south
15. Satellite rotating in an
orbit takes it over the north
and south poles is in
a. Inclined orbit
b. Polar orbit
c. Equatorial orbit
d. Declined orbit
16. The farthest point a
satellite can reach is
a. Apogee
b. Perigee
c. Altitude
d. Attitude
17. Include all earth stations
within line-of-sight path of a
satellite
a. Satellite shadow
b. Earth shadow
c. Zonal
d. Global
18. In selecting a satellite
system, the first determining
factor is
a. Coverage area
b. EIRP
c. Antenna size
d. Antenna gain
19. Satellite radiation pattern
that covers 1/3 of the earth's
surface
a. Earth
b. Zonal
c. Spot
d. Global
20. A satellite equipped with
electronic devices to receive,
amplify, convert, and retransmit
signals.
a. Passive
b. Active
c. Uplink
d. Downlink
21. When a satellite orbits in the
opposite direction as the earth's
rotation with an angular velocity
less than that of the earth
a. Orbital
b. Prograde
c. Retrograde
d. Geostationary
22. The actual user information
conveyed through the satellite
system
a. Bus transmission
b. Payload
c. Prograde
d. Retrograde
23. The first satellite launched for
a geosynchronous orbit but
unfortunately lost during orbit
injection.
a. Syncom I
b. Telstar I
c. Sputnik I
d. Early Bird
24. Geostationary satellites
are located _______ with
respect to the equator.
a. 0 deg longitude
b. 0 deg latitude
c. 90 deg latitude
d. 45 deg latitude
25. Incidentally proposed the
geostationary scheme or orbit
of satellites in 1940's.
a. Clarke
b. Gauss
c. Morse
d. Gray
26. A satellite which simply
reflects the signal without
further amplification.
a. Passive
b. Active
c. Geostationary
d. Posigrade
27. What is the basic function of a
communications satellite?
a. To act as a receiving antenna for
broadcast FM
b. To compensate for the antenna
limitations
c. To eliminate aerodynamic drag
d. To act as a receiving antenna for
broadcast AM
A body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in
motion tends to stay in motion in the same
direction and at the same speed unless acted
upon by an outside force.

 The change in the momentum of a body is

proportional to the force acting on the body and
is in the direction of the applied force.

 For
every action, there is always an equal and
opposite reaction.
Kepler’s First Law – the orbit of any planet
is an ellipse with the sun at one focus
Kepler’s Second Law; Law of Areas – every
planet moves so that its radius sector
sweeps over equal areas in equal intervals
of time.
Kepler’s Third Law; Law of Periods – the
square of the periods of revolution of any
two planets is to each other as the cubes
of their respective mean distances from
the sun.

(t/to)2 = (a/ao)3
 Space shuttles carry some
satellites into space
 Many satellites require
minor adjustments of their
orbit before they begin to
perform their function.
Built-in rockets called
thrusters, some as small
as a propelling pencil,
make these adjustments.
 Once a satellite is placed
into a stable orbit, it can
remain there for a long
time without further
adjustment.
Rocket Motors
- Communications satellites are lifted into
orbit by space vehicles, which are
launched vertically for structural and
aerodynamic reasons. Rocket motors
provide the power for these vehicles.
Rocket motors do not depend on the
atmosphere for oxidizing or burning fuel.
They may classify as solid or liquid
propellant motors
Solid Propellant Rockets

- Works on the principle similar

to small gunpowder rockets
used for fireworks displays. It
contains grain fuel, a
combination of combustible
material and oxidizer. Fuel is
burned in a restricted
combustion space with nozzles
to direct and accelerate the They are usually used for
outgoing gas flow. Directional upper stages of multiple
control is achieved by placing stage vehicles such as
restructures or deflectors to the Polaris.
change the direction of thrust.
Liquid Propellant Rockets

- Carries two tanks

outside the combustion
chamber, one for fuel
and the other for the
oxidizer.
1. Earth Station and
Uplink Components

- Earth Station is
that portion of
satellite link which
receives, processes
and transmits
communications
between the earth
and a satellite
Components of Earth Station

a. IF
Modulator – converts input baseband signal to
FM, QAM IF

b. IF-RFMicrowave Up Converter – converts IF to

RF carrier frequencies

c. HighPower Amplifier (HPA) – provides adequate

input sensitivity and output power to propagate
signal transponder using a Klystron.

d. Output Band Pass Filter – limits bandwidth

 Up
Converter

IF RF
Modulator BPF Mixer BPF HPA
Base Band in FDM or
PCM/TDM

Microwave
Generator
2. Transponder Components

- microwave repeaters
carried by communication
satellites. Transponders
have the following function:
receiving, amplification,
frequency conversion and
retransmission.
Components of a Transponder
a. Input Band Limiting Device – limits total noise applied
to LNA input.
b. Input Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) – amplifies signals,
usually a tunnel diode
c. Frequency Translator – shift oscillator, which converts
highband uplink frequency to lowband downlink
frequency
d. Low-Level Power Amplifier – amplifies (TWT) RF signal
for transmission through the downlink to station
receiver.
e. Output Bandpass Filter – limits output bandwidth
 Frequency
Translator

BPF LNA Mixer BPF LNA

Microwave
Shift Oscillator
2 GHz
3. Downlink Components

a. Bandpass Filter (BPF) – limits input noise

power to LNA

b. Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) – highly

sensitive, low noise device usually a tunnel
diode or parametric amplifier

c. RF-to-IF Down Converter – mixer /

bandpass filter combination which converts
the received RF signal to an IF frequency
 Down
Converter

BPF LNA Mixer BPF Demodulator

Microwave
Generator
- C band is the most commonly used band.
- Ku band is immune to terrestrial jamming but sensitive to
atmospheric conditions such as transient noise
- The Ka-band has the strongest signal and higher data rate
capability. It is highly directional and has a spot coverage
- X band – military
- L band
Spatial Separation
- Geosynchronous satellites share a limited space and
frequency spectrum within a given area of geostationary
orbit. Each is assigned a longitude spaced between 3 to 6
degrees in the arc approximately 22,300 miles above the
equator
Uplink and downlink frequency bands

- The uplink frequency is always higher than

the downlink by 2225 MHz because higher
frequency offers greater spreading or Free
Space Loss than lower frequencies.

Frequency Reuse Methods

- Frequency reuse is a technique employed in

order to conserve electromagnetic
frequencies resources, they can be
implemented by the following methods:
Multiple Coverage Areas
- the use of the same
frequency beamed towards
different geographic areas
on earth multiple spot
beam antennas.

Dual polarization – sending

different information signals
using vertical or horizontal
electromagnetic
polarization. This is similar
to Polarization Diversity in
order to improve system
stability
- a geographic representation
of a satellite’s radiation
pattern, with contour lines
representing limits of equal
receive power density.

1. Spot Coverage – beams concentrate the radiated power

in a very small geographic area

2. Zonal Coverage – covers less than one-third of earth’s

surface

3. Earth Coverage – covers approximately one-third of

earth's surface (42.5 %) using a 17-degree beamwidth
1. Global – covers the whole world

2. Regional – covers selected regions such

as Pacific, Atlantic, etc.

3. National / Domestic – covers domestic or

national territory
 Look Angle – the angle
measure from the horizontal
to the point on the center of
the main beam of the
antenna when the antenna is
pointed directly at the
satellite
 Angle of Elevation – angle
formed between the plane of
a wave from an earth station
antenna and the horizon, or
the angle subtended at the
earth station antenna
between the satellite and the
earth’s horizon
 Azimuth – the horizontal
pointing angle of an antenna
measured in degrees in a
clockwise direction from true
North
28. What vacuum tube used to
amplify RF signal for transmission
through the downlink to station
receiver?
a. Magnetron
b. Klystron
c. Twystron
d. TWT
29. A high power tube used in
transmission of RF signal uplink
a. Magnetron
b. Klystron
c. BWO
d. TWT
30. A stage in transponder and
downlink system which amplifies
the signal and ensuring that
noise is suppressed as possible
a. Mixer
b. Demodulator
c. LNA
d. IF amplifier
31. A transponder is a satellite
equipment which
a. Receives a signal from earth
station and amplifies it
b. Changes the frequency of the
received signal
c. Retransmit the received signal
d. All of the above
32. Multiple repeaters in
communications satellites are
known as
a. Transponders
b. Detectors
c. Modulators
d. Transceivers
33. Satellite-to-satellite link
is also called
a. Uplink
b. Downlink
c. Crosslink
d. Weakest link
34. The expression for satellite link
frequencies such as 14/12 GHz denotes
that
a. 12 GHz is the uplink frequency and 14 GHz
is the downlink frequency
b. the system is operating at a mean
frequency of 13 GHz
c. 14 GHz is the uplink frequency and 12 GHz
is the downlink frequency
d. the 14 GHz frequency is backup for 12
GHz frequency or vice versa
35. The most widely used
microwave bands for
commercial applications are
a. C band and X band
b. X band and S band
c. C band and Ku band
d. S band and Ku band
36. At present, the RF band
mainly used by most
satellites is
a. EHF
b. UHF
c. SHF
d. VHF
37. The required antenna size
__________ as the operating
frequency of a system increases,
assuming that antenna gain remains
unchanged.
a. Remains the same
b. Increases
c. Decreases
d. All of the above
38. A 20-m antenna gives a certain
up-link gain at frequencies of 4/6
GHz. For getting the same gain in
20/30 GHz band, antenna size
requires __________ meters.
a. 100
b. 4
c. 1
d. 10
39. The use of the same
frequency on the same
geographical area
a. Frequency reuse
b. Roaming
c. Homing
d. Cellular
40. The earth's area or region
that the satellite can receive
from or transmit to
a. Footprint
b. Skip zone
c. Primary area
d. Finger print
41. A satellite communication link between
Pinugay Earth Station, Philippines and Mt.
Fucino Earth Station, Italy is to be
established. If the assigned uplink
frequency at Pinugay Earth Station is 6175
MHz, what is the downlink frequency at Mt.
Fucino Earth Station, in MHz?
a. 4545
b. 3950
c. 3789
d. 4200
42. "The orbit of any planet is an
ellipse with the sun at one
focus". This is
a. Kepler's First Law
b. Kepler's Second Law
c. Kepler's Third Law
d. Law of universal Gravitation
43. The spatial separation
between geosynchronous
satellites
a. 1-3 degrees
b. 3-6 degrees
c. 6-8 degrees
d. 8-10 degrees
44. The footprint which covers
a very small geographical
area.
a. Spot coverage
b. Zonal coverage
c. Earth coverage
d. Regional coverage
45. The satellite frequency reuse method
which sends different information
signals using vertical or horizontal
electromagnetic polarization
a. Multiple coverage areas
b. Dual polarization
c. Spatial separation
d. Spread spectrum
46. __________ detects the satellite
signal relayed from the feed and
converts it to an electric current,
amplifies and lower its frequency.
a. Feedhorn
b. Satellite dish
c. Satellite receiver
d. LNA
47. The most common device
used as an LNA is
a. Zener diode
b. Tunnel diode
c. IMPATT diode
d. Shockley diode
48. What do you call of a satellite
used to provide satellite services
within a single country?
a. Orbital satellite
b. Geostationary satellite
c. Non-synchronous satellite
d. Domestic satellite
The rate of change of radial speed of a
satellite with respect to its parent is
proportional to the difference between the
gravitational force and the centripetal
force.

F = mv2/r
 F = mv2/r
F = Gm1m2/r2
where v – transverse velocity
G – Universal gravitation constant
(6.67 x 10-11 N-m2/kg2)
m1 – mass of earth
(5.98 x 1024 kg)
m2 – mass of the satellite
 4 x 1011
Vs = ; m/s
6400 + hkm

Siderial Period
T = 2π (6400 + hkm)/Vs
Ex. Determine the satellite’s velocity and
sidereal period for an elevation equal to 1000
km.
Satellite Control

– involves actions necessary to position,

track, monitor, and command the satellite
during the course of its operational life.

It involves supervising and monitoring the

establishment, configuration and control of
each required of link through satellite
transponder in accordance with desired
parameters. The two main aspects of satellite
control are orientation and position control.
Orientation – is required in a communications
satellite for initial orientation and for all subsequent
adjustment so the antenna will constantly view the
earth and the solar cells will view the sun
 Position Control – is required for initial satellite
emplacement and to compensate for forces which
tends to divert the satellite from its orbit. Such
forces include lunar and solar gravitational action.
 Orientation Control - attitude control of a vehicle
about any or all of its axes (roll, pitch and yaw)
projects for axial, radial axis and corrections.
Access Techniques
- refers to the way a communications system uses a
satellite transponder.
Multiple Access
- in communications satellites, those satellites so
equipped that they may function as a portion of a
communications link between more than one pair of
ground stations simultaneously.
Multiple Access Back-Off – refers to the satellite output
power that is lost due to the necessity for backing off
on earth station radiated power to avoid generating
excessively high intermodulation products in the
satellite. It ranges from 1 to 2 dB
1. Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

– a satellite transponder is divided into smaller

frequencies hand segments where each
segment is assigned to use for his uplink or
downlink frequency.
a. Pre-assigned – a given number of
available voice hand channels from each
earth station are assigned dedicated
destinations. This method is only
economically feasible in situations where
sources / destination locations have very
low traffic density during the busy hour.
b. Demand Assigned (DAMA) – voice band
channels are assigned on “as-needed”
basis. It provides more versatility and
more efficient use of the frequency
spectrum.
Three Methods of Controlling DAMA Systems

a.Polling – a master station “polls” other

stations sequentially. When a positive
reply is received, a channel is assigned
accordingly. As the polling interval
becomes longer and the system tends to
become unwieldy because of excessive
post dial delay as a call attempt waits for
the pulling interval to run its course
b. Random Access Central Control – a
central computer located at the master
station coordinates the status of the
channels. Call requests are passed to the
central computer and a channel is
assigned if available. Once the call is
completed and the subscriber goes on
the hook, the speech path is taken down
and the channel used is returned to the
demand access pull of ideal channels.
c. Random Access Distributed Control –
uses a processor controller at each earth
station accessing the system. All earth
stations in the network monitor the
status information by means of the
digital order wire circuit. When an idle
channel is seized, all users are informed
to the fact and the circuit is removed
from the poll
2. Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

- works in the time domain and is applicable

to digital systems because information
storage is required. In this method, stations
are restricted to precise time slot. It has no
restrictions on frequency or bandwidth.
Presently, it is the most dominant method
used of providing the most efficient method
of transmitting digitally modulated carries
(PSK).
- in TDMA, only one user appears on the
transponder at any given time. Each user
is assigned a time slot to the satellite;
transponder power and bandwidth are
shared by several earth stations.
Store and Forward – a technique in which a
message received from earth termed is
held in storage until the satellite is in view
of a second earth terminal, at which time
the message is transmitted.
3. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or
Spread Spectrum Multiple Access (SSMA)

- each station may transmit whenever it

wishes and can use any or all of the
bandwidth allocated. Transmissions are
separated through envelope, encryption,
and decryption techniques. It uses
unique binary words called CHIP CODES
to receive a particular earth station’s
transmission.
- a correlator checks or compares orthogonal codes
with original chip codes to allow access to users
- the transmitted signal is spread over part or all of the
available transponder hand width in a time-frequency
relationship by a code transformation. Typically, the
modulated carrier is ten to hundreds of times greater
than the information bandwidth.
Frequency Hopping – is a form of CDMA
where a digital code is used to continually
change the frequency of the carrier. The
total available bandwidth is partitioned to
smaller frequency bands and total
transmission time is subdivided into
smaller time slots. Each station uses the
entire RF spectrum but never occupies
more than a small portion of that
spectrum at any one time.
INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite
Organization)

- recommended by the panel of experts

commissioned by the Intergovernmental
Maritime Consultative Organization
(IMCO). They consider the introduction of
satellite communications to the maritime
sphere with the aim of improving
communications with ships, particularly for
safety and distress purposes.
International Mobile Satellite
Organization (IMSO)

- is the intergovernmental organization

that oversees certain public satellite safety
and security communication services
provided via the Inmarsat satellites.
Some of these services concern:
 Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS)
established by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO)
 Search and rescue co-ordinating communications
 Maritime safety information (MSI) broadcasts
 Aeronautical mobile satellite (route) service, or
AMS(R)S, through compliance with the Standards
and Recommended Practices (SARPs) established
by the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO)
 General communications
- born in July 1979, very much along the
INTELSAT lines, with COMSAT as the
largest shareholder.
INTELSAT
(International Telecommunications Satellite
Consortium)

- Founded in 1964 at Washington D.C. by

COMSAT (Communication Satellite
Corporation) of the United States,
Overseas Telecommunications
Commission of the Australia and nine
other world communications agencies
ITSO (International
Telecommunications Satellite
Organization)

- is an intergovernmental organization with

the mission to ensure that Intelsat, Ltd.
provides public telecommunications
services, including voice, data and video,
on a global and non-discriminatory basis.
Headquartered in Washington D.C., ITSO
currently has 149 member countries.
MARISAT

- a ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship

communications via a dedicated
geostationary satellite system, providing
high-quality telephony, data and
telex/telegraphy circuits
The Iridium satellite constellation is a
large group of satellites providing voice
and data coverage to satellite phones,
pagers and integrated transceivers over
Earth's entire surface.

IridiumCommunications Inc. owns and

operates the constellation and sells
equipment and access to its services.
It was originally conceived by Bary
Bertiger, Dr. Ray Leopold and Ken
Peterson in late 1987 (and protected by
patents by Motorola in their names in
1988) and then developed by Motorola on
a fixed-price contract from July 29, 1993
to November 1, 1998 when the system
became operational and commercially
available.
The constellation consists of 66 active
satellites in orbit, and additional spare
satellites to serve in case of failure.

Satellitesare in Low Earth orbit at a

height of approximately 485 mi (781 km)
and inclination of 86.4°.
Orbitalvelocity of the satellites is
approximately 17,000 mph
(27,000 km/h).

Satellites communicate with neighboring

satellites via Ka band inter-satellite links.
The original concept was to have 77
satellites, which is where the name
Iridium came from, being the element
with the atomic number 77 and the
satellites evoking the Bohr model image of
electrons orbiting around the Earth as its
nucleus. (The element with the atomic
number 66 is dysprosium.) This reduced
set of 6 planes is sufficient to cover the
entire Earth's surface at every moment.
Teledesic was a
company founded in the
1990s to build a
commercial broadband
satellite constellation for
Internet services.
Using low-earth orbiting satellites
small antennas could be used to
provide uplinks of as much as 100
Mbit/second and downlinks of up to
720 Mbit/second.
The original 1995 proposal was extremely
ambitious, costing over US$9 billion and
originally planning 840 active satellites with
in-orbit spares at an altitude of 700 km.

In 1997, the scheme was scaled back to

288 active satellites at 1400 km and was
later scaled back further in complexity and
number of satellites as the projected market
demand continued to decrease.
The commercial failure of the similar
Iridium and Globalstar ventures
(composed of 66 and 48 operational
satellites, respectively) and other
systems, along with bankruptcy protection
filings, were primary factors in halting the
project, and Teledesic officially suspended
its satellite construction work on October
1, 2002.
Teledesic was notable for gaining early
funding from Microsoft (investing US$30
million for an 8.5% stake), Craig McCaw,
Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Saudi prince
Alwaleed bin Talal, and for achieving
allocation on the Ka-band frequency
spectrum for non-geostationary services.
Teledesic's merger with ICO Global
Communications led to McCaw's companies
taking control of ICO, which successfully
launched one test satellite.
A demonstration satellite for the Teledesic
constellation, originally labeled Broadband
Advanced Technologies Satellite
("BATSAT"),and later renamed "Teledesic
T1", was launched on a Pegasus-XL launch
vehicle in February 1998.
The satellite differed in size and design
from the anticipated satellite for the final
constellation, but was designed to support
two-way communications at speeds up to
E1 rates in the 28.6-to-29.1-GHz band.

The 120 kg satellite was placed in a

580 km × 535 km orbit at 97.7°
inclination.
Globalstar is a low Earth orbit (LEO)
satellite constellation for satellite phone
and low-speed data communications,
somewhat similar to the Iridium satellite
constellation and Orbcomm satellite
systems.
The Globalstar project was launched in 1991
as a joint venture of Loral Corporation and
Qualcomm.

On March 24, 1994, the two sponsors

announced formation of Globalstar LP, a
limited partnership established in the U.S.,
with financial participation from eight other
companies, including Alcatel, AirTouch,
Deutsche Aerospace, Hyundai and Vodafone.
At that time, the company predicted the
system would launch in 1998, based on an
investment of $1.8 billion.

Globalstar received its US spectrum

allocation from the FCC in January 1995,
and continued to negotiate with other
nations for rights to use the same radio
frequencies in their countries.
The first satellites were launched in
February 1998, but system deployment was
delayed due to a launch failure in
September 1998 that resulted in the loss of
12 satellites in a launch by the Russian
Space Agency.
In February 2000, it launched the last of 52
satellites — 48 satellites and four in-orbit
spares. Another eight unlaunched satellites
were maintained as ground spares.
ORBCOMM (NASDAQ: ORBC) is a
company that offers M2M global asset
monitoring and messaging services from
its constellation of 29 LEO communications
satellites orbiting at 775 km.
Machine to machine (M2M) refers to
technologies that allow both wireless and
wired systems to communicate with other
devices of the same type.
Each satellite has a 56 kbit/s backhaul
that utilizes the popular TDMA
multiplexing scheme and QPSK
modulation.

Orbcomm is the only current satellite

licensee operating in the 137-150 MHz
VHF band, which was allocated globally for
"Little LEO" systems.
A total of 35 satellites were launched by
ORBCOMM Global in the mid to late
1990s.

Ofthe original 35, a total of 29 remain

operational today.
On 3 September 2009 a deal was
announced between ORBCOMM and Space
Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to
launch 18 second-generation satellites
with SpaceX launch vehicles between
2010 and 2014.
SpaceX originally planned to use Falcon 1e
rocket, but on March 14, 2011 it was
announced that SpaceX will use Falcon 9
to carry the first two ORBCOMM next-
generation OG2 satellites to orbit in 2011.
On Oct. 7, 2012, the first SpaceX Falcon 9
launch of a prototype OG2 ORBCOMM
communications satellite from Cape
Canaveral failed to achieve proper orbit
and the company filed a $10 million claim
with its insurers.

The ORBCOMM satellite was declared a

total loss and burned up in the atmosphere
upon Re-entry on October 10, 2012.
A very small aperture terminal
(VSAT), is a two-way satellite ground
station or a stabilized maritime Vsat
antenna with a dish antenna that is
smaller than 3 meters.

The majority of VSAT antennas range

from 75 cm to 1.2 m.
Data rates: 4 kbit/s up to 4 Mbit/s
(to a max downlink of up to 16 Mbit/s with
some upgraded modules and enhancements)

VSATs access satellite(s) in geosynchronous

orbit to relay data from small remote earth
stations (terminals) to other terminals (in
mesh topology) or master earth station
"hubs" (in star topology).
Applications:
 to transmit narrowband data
(point of sale transactions such as credit card,
polling or RFID data; or SCADA),

 To transmit broadband data

for the provision of satellite Internet access to
remote locations, VoIP or video).

 VSATs are also used for transportable, on-the-move

(utilizing phased array antennas) or mobile
maritime communications.
SCADA (supervisory control and data
acquisition) is a system operating with
coded signals over communication
channels so as to provide control of
remote equipment (using typically one
communication channel per remote
station).
A star topology, using a central uplink site,
such as a network operations center
(NOC), to transport data back and forth to
each VSAT terminal via satellite,
A mesh topology, where each VSAT
terminal relays data via satellite to another
terminal by acting as a hub, minimizing
the need for a centralized uplink site,
A combination of both star and mesh
topologies.
Antenna
Block upconverter (BUC)
Low-noise block downconverter (LNB)
Orthomode transducer (OMT)
Interfacility link cable (IFL)
Indoor unit (IDU)
A block upconverter (BUC) is used in
the transmission (uplink) of satellite
signals.

It converts a band of frequencies from a

lower frequency to a higher frequency.
Modern BUCs convert from the L band to
Ku band, C band and Ka band. Older BUCs
convert from a 70 MHz intermediate
frequency (IF) to Ku band or C band.
A low-noise block downconverter (or
LNB) is the receiving device mounted on
satellite dishes used for satellite TV
reception, which collects the radio waves
from the dish.

Alsocalled a low-noise block, LNC (for

low-noise converter), or even LND (for
low-noise downconverter), the device is
sometimes wrongly called an LNA (low-noise
amplifier).
The LNB is a combination of low-noise
amplifier, frequency mixer, local oscillator
and IF amplifier.

It receives the microwave signal from the

satellite collected by the dish, amplifies it,
and downconverts the block of frequencies
to a lower block of intermediate
frequencies (IF).
Anorthomode transducer (OMT) is a
waveguide component.

Itis commonly referred to as a

polarisation duplexer.

Orthomode transducers serve either to

combine or to separate two orthogonally
polarized microwave signal paths.
All the outdoor parts on the dish are
collectively called the ODU (Outdoor Unit),
i.e. OMT to split signal between BUC and
LNB.

The IDU is effectively a Modem, usually

with ethernet port and 2 x F-connectors
for the coax to BUC (Transmit) and from
LNB (Receive).
> Global Positioning System

> a space-based
satellite navigation system
that provides location and
time information in all
weather conditions,
anywhere on or near the
Earth where there is an
unobstructed line of sight to
four or more GPS satellites
> NAVSTAR GPS

> the Navigation Satellite

Timing and Ranging Global
Positioning System
(NAVSTAR GPS) is a
worldwide navigation radio
aid which uses satellite
signals to provide accurate
navigation information
> GLONASS GPS

> Globalnaya
navigatsionnaya
sputnikovaya sistema or
Global Navigation Satellite
System, is a space-based
satellite navigation system
operated by the
Russian Aerospace Defence
Forces
.
> provides specially coded satellite signals that can be
processed in a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to
compute position, velocity and time

> four GPS satellite signals are used to compute positions

in three dimensions and the time offset in the receiver
clock

> navigation in three dimensions is the primary function of

GPS
1. Space segment

> composed of a constellation of 24 satellites arranged in

six separate orbital planes of four satellites each on a
circular orbit and have the following characteristics:

a. 550 inclination to the equator

b. an altitude of approximately 20,200 km with an orbital
period of 12 sidereal hours
c. 11 hrs, 58 min orbital period
Satellites give:

a.satellite position

b.constellation data

c.atmospheric corrections
2. Control segment

Monitor stations locations

> Kwajalein
> Hawaii
> Ascension Island
> Diego Garcia
> Colorado Springs (master control station)
3. User segment

Main advantages

-anytime, anywhere, and in any weather

-highly accurate measurements

-GPS has almost endless applications

49. What is the satellite's period
orbiting in a circular pattern with
elevation of 1000 km?
a. 1 hr 45 mins
b. 2 hrs 45 mins
c. 2 hrs 30 mins
d. 3 hrs
50. The different multiple accesses
which permit many satellite users to
operate in parallel through a single
transponder without interfering with
each other are
a. FDMA
b. TDMA
c. CDMA
d. All of the above
51. A digital technology that uses a low
power signal spread across a wide
bandwidth. With this technology, a phone
call is assigned a code instead of a certain
frequency. Using identifying code and a
low power signal, a large number of
channels can used the entire bandwidth
a. TDMA
b. PCDMA
c. PMA
d. CDMA
52. A satellite position is
measured by its _________
angle with respect to the
horizon.
a. Elevation
b. Depression
c. Azimuth
d. Incidence
53. The _________ angle
measures the satellite position
clockwise from the direction of
true North
a. Elevation
b. Depression
c. Azimuth
d. Incidence
54. GPS has a total number
satellites equal to
a. 12
b. 24
c. 36
d. 48
55. How many elliptical orbits
does Navstar GPS have?
a. 5
b. 6
c. 7
d. 8
56. What is the free space
attenuation of a satellite system
operating at 36,000 km above
the earth operating at 5 GHz?
a. 180 dB
b. 190 dB
c. 198 dB
d. 189 dB
57. The FDMA technique wherein
voice band channels are
assigned on “as needed" basis.
a. PAMA
b. DAMA
c. SSMA
d. CDMA
58. An earth station transmits signal to a
satellite 38,500 km, directly overhead
it. What is the propagation delay when
the signal is received back at the same
earth station, in milliseconds?
a. 257
b. 200
c. 285
d. 185
59. Satellites used for intercontinental
communications are known as
a. Comsat
b. Domsat
c. Marisat
d. Intelsat
60. A satellite beam that
covers almost 42.5% of the
earth's surface.
a. Zone beam
b. Hemispheric beam
c. Spot beam
d. Global beam
61. The first Philippine satellite
has how many channels?
a. 30
b. 24
c. 48
d. 50
62. Aguila II has how many
transponders?
a. 36
b. 48
c. 24
d. 12
63. How many satellite orbital
slots were requested by the
Philippine Government from ITU?
a. 2
b. 4
c. 6
d. 8
64. The radiation patterns of
earth coverage antennas have a
beamwidth of approximately
a. 21degrees
b. 5 degrees
c. 17 degrees
d. 35 degrees
65. The main power sources
for satellites are
a. Batteries
b. Solar cells
c. Fuel cells
d. Thermoelectric generators
66. What is the common up-
converter and down-converter IF?
a. 36 MHz
b. 40 MHz
c. 70 MHz
d. 500 MHz
67. When the satellites are spaced 4
degrees of the 360 degrees
complete circle, how many parking
spaces or orbit slots are available?
a. 90
b. 85
c. 95
d. 80
68. The control routine necessary
to keep the satellite in position is
referred to as
a. Station keeping
b. Station tracking
c. Station monitoring
d. Station maintenance
69. What is the line joining the
ascending and descending nodes
through the center of the earth?
a. Line of apsides
b. Line of nodes
c. Line of shoot
d. Line of sight
70. The line joining the
perigee and apogee through
the center of the earth.
a. Line of sight
b. Line of nodes
c. Equatorial belt
d. Line of apsides