Satellite Transmission &

Communication
 Assalamu Walaikum

I am Md. Nazmus Sakib

I am here because I love to give presentations on Satellite Transmission &
Communication .
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 Introduction
A satellite is an object in space that orbits or circles around a
bigger object. There are two kinds of satellites: natural (such as the
moon orbiting the Earth) or artificial (such as the International
Space Station orbiting the Earth).

Satellite transmission consists of a line-of-sight propagation path

from a ground station to a communications satellite (up link) and back
to an earth station (down link). The ground station includes the
antennas, buildings, and electronics necessary to transmit, receive,
multiplex, and demultiplex signals.

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 Satellite Communication
satellite is a smaller object that revolves around a larger object in
space

Communication refers to the exchange (sharing) of information

between two or more entities, through any medium or channel. In other
words, it is nothing but sending, receiving and processing of
information.

If communication takes place between any two earth stations through a

satellite, then it is called as satellite communication. In this
communication, electromagnetic waves are used as carrier signals.
These signals carry the information such as voice, audio, video or any
other data between ground and space 4 and vice-versa.
 Why we need satellite communication ?

▹ satellites provide communication for long distances, which is well

beyond the line of sight.
▹ Two kinds of propagation are used earlier for communication up to
some distance.
• Ground wave propagation − Ground wave propagation is suitable
for frequencies up to 30MHz. This method of communication makes
use of the troposphere conditions of the earth.
• Sky wave propagation − The suitable bandwidth for this type of
communication is broadly between 30–40 MHz and it makes use of
the ionosphere properties of the earth

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 How it 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.
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.
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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
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.
 How satellite works ?

Ground Station Satellite Station

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Ground Station
How satellite works ?

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How satellite works ?

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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

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 How satellite works ?

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 Pros and Cons of Satellite Communication
▹ 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 possibilities.
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▹ 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. 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

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 Types of Satellites and Applications

▹ Communications Satellite
▹ Remote Sensing Satellite
▹ Navigation Satellite
▹ Geocentric Orbit type satellites - LEO, MEO, HEO
▹ Global Positioning System (GPS)
▹ Geostationary Satellites (GEOs)
▹ Drone Satellite
▹ Ground Satellite
▹ Polar Satellite
▹ Nano Satellites, CubeSats and SmallSats

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Types of Satellites and Applications

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 Launching of Satellites
▹ The process of placing the satellite in a proper orbit is known as launching process. During this process,
from earth stations we can control the operation of satellite. Mainly, there are four stages in launching a
satellite.

▹ First Stage − The first stage of launch vehicle contains rockets and fuel for lifting the satellite along with
launch vehicle from ground.

▹ Second Stage − The second stage of launch vehicle contains smaller rockets. These are ignited after
completion of first stage. They have their own fuel tanks in order to send the satellite into space.

▹ Third Stage − The third (upper) stage of the launch vehicle is connected to the satellite fairing. This fairing
is a metal shield, which contains the satellite and it protects the satellite.

▹ Fourth Stage − Satellite gets separated from the upper stage of launch vehicle, when it has been reached to
out of Earth's atmosphere. Then, the satellite will go to a “transfer orbit”. This orbit sends the satellite
higher into space.
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 Satellite Communication - Subsystems
▹ A satellite communication consists of mainly two segments. Those are space segment and
earth segment. So, accordingly there will be two types of subsystems namely, space
segment subsystems and earth segment subsystems. .

▹ Space Segment Subsystems

▹ The subsystems present in space segment are called as space segment
subsystems.
▹ AOC Subsystem {Altitude and Orbit Control (AOC) }
▹ TTCM Subsystem {Telemetry, Tracking, Commanding and Monitoring
(TTCM) }
▹ Power and Antenna Subsystems
▹ Transponders

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 Satellite Communication - Subsystems

▹ Earth Segment Subsystems

▹ The subsystems present in the ground segment have the ability to access
the satellite repeater in order to provide the communication between the
users. Earth segment is also called as ground segment.

▹ Earth segment performs mainly two functions. Those are transmission

of a signal to the satellite and reception of signal from the satellite.
Earth stations are the major subsystems that are present in earth
segment.

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Block Diagram of Earth Station

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 Multiple Access Techniques

▹ we do multiple access to enable satellite to take or give

signals from different stations at time without any interference
between them. Following are the three types of multiple
access techniques.

▹ FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access)

▹ TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
▹ CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)

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 Satellite Communication - Services

▹ The services of satellite communication can be classified into

the following two categories.

▹ One-way satellite communication link service

▹ Two-way satellite communication link service

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One-way Satellite Communication
Link Service

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Two-way Satellite Communication
Link Service

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know

▹ 1. The Basics
▹ At its simplest, space communications relies on two things: a transmitter and a receiver. A
transmitter encodes a message onto electromagnetic waves through modulation, which changes
properties of the wave to represent the data. These waves flow through space toward the
receiver. The receiver collects the electromagnetic waves and demodulates them, decoding the
sender’s message.

EX:- Consider a Wi-Fi router and networked devices around the home. Each device receives
signals from the router, which transmits data from the internet. At its heart, the complex task
of communicating with space resembles wireless communications in the home – only on an
enormous scale and at incredible distances.

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know

▹ 2. Ground Networks
▹ Communicating from space involves more than pointing a spacecraft’s antenna at the Earth.
NASA has an extensive network of antennas around the globe — over all seven continents — to
receive transmissions from spacecraft. Network engineers carefully plan communications
between ground stations and missions, ensuring that antennas are ready to receive data as
spacecraft pass overhead.

▹ Ground station antennas range from the small very high frequency antennas that provide
backup communications to the space station to a massive, 230-foot antenna that can
communicate with far-off missions like the Voyager spacecraft, over 11 billion miles away.

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know
▹ 3. Space Relays
▹ In addition to direct-to-Earth communications, many NASA missions rely on relay satellites in
order to get their data to the ground. For example, the space station communicates through
Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which transmit data to ground stations in New
Mexico and Guam. The recently launched Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will send data
through orbiters around Mars, which forward the data to Earth.

▹ Relays offer unique advantages in terms of communications availability. For example, the
placement of TDRS at three different regions above Earth offers global coverage and near-
continuous communications between low-Earth orbit missions and the ground. Rather than
waiting to pass over a ground station, TDRS users can relay data 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know
▹ 4. Bandwidth
▹ NASA encodes data on various bands of electromagnetic frequencies. These bandwidths —
ranges of frequencies — have different capabilities. Higher bandwidths can carry more data
per second, allowing spacecraft to downlink data more quickly.

▹ Currently, NASA relies primarily on radio waves for communications, but the agency is
developing ways to communicate with infrared lasers. This type of transmission — dubbed
optical communications — will offer missions higher data rates than ever before.

▹ NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will showcase the benefits of
optical communications. The mission will relay data between ground stations in California and
Hawaii over optical links, testing their capabilities. NASA will also furnish the space station
with an optical terminal that can relay data to the ground via LCRD.

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know
▹ 5. Data Rates
▹ Higher bandwidths can mean higher data rates for missions. Apollo radios sent grainy black
and white video from the Moon. An upcoming optical terminal on the Artemis II mission will
send 4K, ultra-high definition video from lunar orbit.

▹ But bandwidth isn’t the only constraint on data rates. Other factors that can affect data rates
include the distance between the transmitter and receiver, the size of the antennas or optical
terminals they use, and the power available on either end. NASA communications engineers
must balance these variables in order to maximize data rates.

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know
▹ 6. Latency
▹ Communications don’t occur instantaneously. They’re bound by a universal speed limit: the speed of light, about
186,000 miles per second. For spacecraft close to Earth, this time delay — or communications latency — is almost
negligible.

However, farther from Earth, latency can become a challenge. At Mars’ closest approach — about 35 million miles
away — the delay is about four minutes. When the planets are at their greatest distance — about 250 million miles
away — the delay is around 24 minutes. This means that astronauts would need to wait between four and 24
minutes for their messages to reach mission control, and another four to 24 minutes to receive a response.

As NASA prepares to send humans to the Red Planet, communications engineers are developing ways for
astronauts to stay connected with Earth while recognizing delays will be a part of the conversation.

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 Space Communications: 7 Things You Need to Know
▹ 7. Interference
▹ As communications transmissions travel over long distances or through the atmosphere,
the quality of their data can deteriorate, garbling the message. Radiation from other
missions, the Sun, or other celestial bodies can also interfere with the quality of
transmissions.

To make sure that mission operations centers receive accurate data, NASA uses methods
of error detection and correction. Methods of error correction include computer
algorithms that interpret noisy transmissions as usable data.

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 Number of satellite and Main purpose
▹ 1832 satellites Communications purpose
▹ 906 satellites Earth Observation
▹ 350 satellites Technology development and demonstration
▹ 150 satellites Navigation and positioning
▹ 104 satellites Space science and observation
▹ 20 satellites Earth science
▹ 10 satellites Other purposes

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Satellites around the Earth

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Satellite Station

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Silicon Republic
Magnetic space tug and
gravitational wave
hunters revealed by
ESA

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 MAPS

Ground Station

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International graound Station MAPS

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THANKS!

Any questions?

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