SATELLITE COMMUNICATION: THE ORIGIN 2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY0Number one fiction best seller on the top charts world

over from past number of weeks-1945; who could have predicted that it would pave the way for an industry which would make waves in the minds of the then readers of the fiction best seller and the innumerable coming generations all together, it was a novel by British author Arthur C.Clarke. Most authorities credit this man as the originator of the idea of a synchronous communications satellite. In 1945 Clarke noted that a satellite in a circular equatorial orbit with a radius of about 42,242 Km would have an angular velocity that matched the earths velocity. Thus it would

always remain above the same spot on the ground, and it could receive and relay signals from most of a hemisphere. Three satellites spaced 120 degrees apart could cover the whole world (with some overlap); provided that message could be relayed between satellites, reliable communication between any two points in the world would be possible. As is appropriate for a science fiction writer, Clarke had the ideas which were ahead of their times. It was not until the USSR launched SPUTNIK I on October 4, 1957, that rocket technology was available to put a satellite into even a low orbit; synchronous orbit was not achieved until 1963.

A FEW LANDMARKS IN SATELLITE COMMUNICATION: 1957: USSR launched SPUTNIK I on October 4, 1957 A month later SPUTNIK II with dog LAIKA

The first US satellite Jan 31 1958 SCORE (Signal Communicating by Orbiting Relay Equipment) launched by US air force Dec 1958 First man in the space

A communication satellite is a spacecraft that carries aboard communications equipment, enabling a communications link to be established between distant points. An all-embracing definition of a spacecraft would include deep-space probes such as the voyager series, but in this we will limit our discussion to earth orbiting satellites. Satellites that orbit earth do so as a balance between centrifugal and gravitational forces. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) discovered the laws that govern satellite motion. Although Kepler was investigating the motion of planets and their moons (so called heavenly bodies), the same laws apply to the artificial satellite as well which are

launched for communication purposes. Before examining the role these satellites play in telecommunications and in various walks of our lives, a little glance at these laws will help understand them better. Infact Keplers laws apply to any two bodies in space that interact through gravitation. The more massive of the bodies is called the primary and the other the secondary or satellite. KEPLERS LAWS Keplers First Law: -

This law states that the satellite will follow an elliptical path in its orbit around the primary body. An ellipse has two focal points (or foci) shown as F1 and F2 in the following fig.

The center of mass of the two-body system, termed the barycenter, is always centered on one of the foci. In our case, because of the enormous difference between masses of the earth and the satellite, the center of mass will always coincide with the center of the earth, which is therefore at one of the foci. This is an important point because the geometric properties of the ellipse are normally made with reference to one of the foci, which can be selected to be the one centered in the earth.

e = (a2 b2) / a The semi major axis is shown as a and semi minor axis is shown as b. The eccentricity of the ellipse is defined as

Keplers Second Law: Keplers second law states that for equal time intervals the satellite sweeps out equal areas in the orbital plane, focused at the barycenter. Referring to the fig. Below, assuming that the satellite travels distances S1 and S2 meters in 1 s, the areas A1 and A2 will be equal. The average velocities are S1 and S2 m/s. Because of the equal area law, it is obvious that distance S1 is greater than distance S2, and hence the velocity S1 is greater than velocity S2. Generalizing, it can be said that the velocity will be greatest at the point of closest approach to the earth (termed the perigee) and will be least at the farthest point from the earth (termed as apogee). This also has fundamental significance in the selection of orbits for communication satellites.

Keplers Third Law: Keplers third law states that the square of the periodic time of orbit is proportional to the cube of the mean distance between the two bodies. The mean distance as used by Kepler can be shown to be equal to the semi major axis, and the third law can be stated in mathematical form as: -

a = APo2/3

A = 42241.0979 Where A is a constant. With a in kilometers and Po in mean solar days, the constant A for the earth evaluates to

These equations apply for the ideal case of a satellite orbiting a perfectly spherical earth, with no disturbing forces. In reality, the earths equatorial bulge and external disturbing forces will result in deviation in the satellite motion from the ideal. Fortunately, the major deviation can be calculated and allowed for. Satellites that orbit close to the earth (coming within several hundred kilometers) will be affected by atmospheric drag and by the earths magnetic field. For the more distant satellite, the main disturbing forces are the gravitational fields of the sun and the moon.

ORBITS: Although an infinite number of orbits are possible, only a very limited number of these are of use for satellite communications. Some of the terms used in describing an orbit are: Apogee The point farthest from the earth. Perigee The point closest approach to the earth.

Ascending node The point where the orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from south to north. Inclination The angle from the earths equatorial plane to the orbital plane measured counterclockwise at the ascending node.

Above figure Shows three satellite orbits, the Polar orbiting satellite follows an orbit that is close to the earth and passes over, or very close to, the poles; that is, the inclination is close to 90o. The average height of these orbits is typically 800 to 1000 Km. above the earth, and they are used mainly for earth observations and surveillance (weather, pollution monitoring, and the like), and for search and rescue work. More recently, trials have been conducted using small satellites for data communications and position determinations.

The inclined highly elliptical orbit is used where communication is desired to regions of high latitude. Keplers second law shows that the orbital velocity is least at the apogee, and hence by placing the apogee above the high latitude regions the satellite remains visible for a longer period from these regions. The Russian Molniya series of satellites use highly inclined orbits. One effect of the earths equatorial bulge is to cause the orbit to rotate, such that apogee and perigee move around the earth, this being referred to as rotation of the line of apsides. However, at one particular value of inclination, I = 63.4o, the rotation of the line of apside is zero, and

satellites that are required to have the apogee remain fixed over a particular region are launched into orbits with this value of inclination. These orbits are referred to as being in the 63o slot. A recently introduced service that uses near-circular, non-geostationary orbits is the Global Positioning Satellite (or GPS) service. The GPS system utilizes 6 orbits with 4 satellites in each. The ascending modes of the orbits are separated by 60o and the inclination of each orbit is 55o. GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT: A geostationary satellite is one that appears to be stationary relative to the earth. There is only one geostationary orbit, but this is occupied by a large number of satellites. It is the most widely used orbit by far, for the very practical reason that earth station antennas do not need to track geostationary satellites (except for certain very high gain earth station antennas that require a limited range of tracking).

The first & obvious requirement for a geostationary satellite is that it must have zero inclination. Any other inclination would carry the satellite over some range of latitudes and hence would not be geostationary satellite is that it must have zero inclination. Any other inclination would carry the satellite over some range of latitudes and hence would not be geostationary. Thus the geostationary orbit must lie in the earths equatorial plane. The second obvious requirement is that geostationary satellites should travel eastward at the same rotational velocity as the earth. Since this velocity is constant, then from Keplers second law it can be deduced that

the orbit must be circular, since as previously shown the velocity in an elliptical orbit varies from a maximum at perigee to a minimum at apogee and hence is not constant. The earth makes one complete rotation, relative to the fixed stars, in approximately 23hrs 56min. This is slightly less than the time required for one complete rotation about its own axis, which is 24hrs. Substituting Po = 23hrs 56mon in equation for Keplers third law, along with the value for A, results into agso = 42,164Km

The subscript gso is included to remind us that this is the value for the geostationary orbit. It will be recalled that because the orbit is circular this is also the radius of the orbit measured from the center of the earth. The earths equatorial radius is approximately6378Km and hence the height of the geostationary orbit above the earth is h = 42,164 6378 = 35,786 Km The value is often rounded up to 36,000Km for use in calculations. It was noted that there is only the one value of a that satisfies Keplers third law for the periodic time of 25hrs 56min, and hence there can only be one geostationary orbit. POWER SYSTEM: A satellite stays in orbit essentially as a result of natural forces and in the absence of external disturbances orbit the earth indefinitely without having to carry fuel for propulsion. In practice, disturbance torques and forces exist. As a result of these disturbances, satellite must carry fuel on board so that corrective forces can be applied from time to time, usually through thruster jets. The need to carry necessary fuel imposes one of the major limitations on the useful life of a satellite. In addition, the satellite must receive energy to power the electronic equipments on the board. This is invariably supplied by solar cells. With cylindrical shaped satellites, these are arranged around the body of the satellite. The advantage of the cylindrical arrangement is that the satellite can be set spinning to maintain its position through the gyroscopic effect, but with this arrangement only about one-third of the satellite body is illuminated by the sun at any given point of time, and so the power available is limited. For an example: - Intelsat VI satellite employs the cylindrical arrangement that is designed to provide at least 2 kW throughout the expected 10-year life of the satellite. An alternative arrangement can be to employ solar sails. With this type of construction, spin stabilization cannot be used. The orientation of the solar sails can be adjusted automatically for maximum solar illumination, so high power outputs can be obtained. For example, European Olympus satellite employs solar sails that are capable of generating 7kW throughout the 10-year projected lifetime of the satellite. For a period of about 45 days around each equinox, the satellite is eclipsed by the earth, the eclipse lasting for a maximum period of around 70 min at its peak during each eclipse. Battery backup supplies must be provided during these periods, and long-life batteries have been especially developed for this purpose.

ATTITUDE CONTROL: -

By attitude is meant the satellites orientation in space. Attitude control is necessary to keep the directional antennas aboard the satellite pointing to desired regions of the earth. The antennas will also have specific footprints to maximize the coverage of certain areas, and, again, attitude control is necessary to maintain the proper orientation and positioning of the footprint. A satellites attitude can be altered along one or more of three axes, termed as the roll, pitch, and yaw axis. These are as shown above. Geostationary satellites are stabilized in one of the two ways. Spin stabilization can be utilized with satellites that are cylindrical. The satellite is set spinning with axis parallel to the N S axis of the earth as above. Spin rates are typically in the range from 50 to 100 rpm. Since the antennas are oriented to point to the fixed regions on earth, the antennas are oriented to point to fixed regions on earth, the antenna platform must be despun at the same rate as satellite spins.

In the absence of disturbance torques, the spinning satellite would maintain its correct attitude relative to the earth. Disturbance torques, notable those produced by the gravitational fields of the sun and the moon, can alter the satellites attitude. Also, movement aboard the satellite, for example that experienced by redirecting antennas, and bearing friction can decrease the spin rate. Corrections must be applied periodically using impulse thrusters or jets. Spin stabilization is obviously not possible where solar sails are used. In this case, stabilization is achieved through the use of momentum wheels inside the satellite. A number of arrangements are in use, in one of them, the satellite is stabilized through the gyroscopic effect of the spinning wheels.

SATELLITE STATION KEEPING: -

Left to it, a geostationary satellite would Infact drift from the initial position as a result of perturbing disturbances/forces. The gravitational field of the moon, and to a lesser extent to that of the sun, causes a drift in the angle of inclination, which amounts to about 0.85o/year. The drift is cyclic, the angle of inclination increasing from zero to a maximum of 14.67o in a period of about 26.6 years, therefore drifting back to zero inclination again in about the same period. Far satellites operating in the C band (6/4 GHz), the drift must be kept within 0.1o, and for Ku band (14/12 GHz) satellites, within 0.5o, so that north south station keeping maneuvers are required. These are carried out by means of thruster jets once every few weeks. The extra weight added by the fuel needed for the north south corrections is a major factor in the cost of the launch. Keplers laws apply for bodies that are perfectly spherical. The earth departs from a true spherical shape, a flattening occurring at the poles, and the equatorial circumference is quite not circular. Overall, the nonsphericity of the earth results in geostationary satellites during eastward towards one of the two gravitational nodes separated by 180o. These are located at longitudes 105o W and 75o E and are sometimes referred to as satellite graveyards because satellite that are out of commission tend to drift towards these as their final resting place. The longitudinal tolerance is also 0.1o for C band and 0.5o for Ku band satellites, so that east west station keeping maneuvers are required in addition to the north south maneuvers. These are also carried out once every few weeks, but require considerably less fuel than the north south maneuvers. Typical satellite motion is as shown above.

ANTENNA LOOK ANGLES: To maximize transmission and reception, the direction of maximum gain of the earth station

antenna, referred to as antenna boresight, must point directly at the satellite. To align the antenna in this way, two angles must be known. These are the azimuths, or angle measured from the true north, and the elevation, or angle measured up from the local horizontal plane. The azimuth or elevation angles are usually referred to as the look angles. In addition to the look angles, it is often necessary to know the range or distance from the earth station to the satellite. The earths constants needed in these calculations are: MEAN RADIUS: R = 6387 KM. RADIUS OF GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT: agso = 42,164Km

Some of the other information is also required for determining the look angles and the ranges are: Satellite longitude

Earth station longitude Earth station latitude TRANSPONDERS: The word transponder is coined from transmitter-responder and it refers to the equipment channel through the satellite that connects the receive antenna with the transmit antenna. The transponder itself is not a single unit of equipment, but consist of some units that are common to all transponder channels and other that can be identified with a particular channel. TYPES OF EARTH SATELLITES: What is a satellite anyway? A satellite is any object that orbits or revolves around another object. For example, the Moon is a satellite of Earth, and Earth is a satellite of the Sun.

Orbiting Machines In this exhibit we'll look at the man-made satellites that orbit Earth and the Sun -- highly specialized tools that do thousands of tasks every day. Each of these satellites has many parts, but two parts common to all satellites are called the payload and the bus.

Satellite Elements The payload is all the equipment a satellite needs to do its job. This can include antennas, cameras, radar, and electronics. The payload is different for every satellite. For example, the payload for a weather satellite includes cameras to take pictures of cloud formations, while the payload for a communications satellite includes large antennas to transmit TV or telephone signals to Earth. The bus is the part of the satellite that carries the payload and all its equipment into space. It holds all the satellite's parts together and provides electrical power, computers, and propulsion to the spacecraft. The bus also contains equipment that allows the satellite to communicate with Earth.

Elliptical Orbit A satellite in elliptical orbit follows an oval-shaped path. One part of the orbit is closest to the center of Earth (perigee) and the other part is farthest away (apogee). A satellite in this orbit takes about 12 hours to circle the planet. Like polar orbits, elliptical orbits move in a north-south direction.

Polar Coverage While most communications satellites are in Geo synchronous orbit, the footprints of GEO satellites do not cover the polar regions of Earth. So communications satellites in elliptical orbits cover the areas in the high northern and southern hemispheres that are not covered by GEO satellites.

Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit

(From geo = Earth + synchronous = moving at the same rate).

A satellite in

geosychonous equatorial orbit (GEO) is located directly above the equator, exactly 22,300 miles out in space. At that distance, it takes the satellite a full 24 hours to circle the planet. Since it takes Earth 24 hours to spin on in its axis, the satellite and Earth move together. So, a satellite in GEO always stays directly over the same spot on Earth. (A Geosynchronous orbit can also be called a GeoSTATIONARY Orbit.)

Footprints And, since they stay over the same spot on Earth, we always know where GEO satellites are. If our antenna points in the right direction, we'll always have direct contact with the satellite. Many communications satellites travel in geosynchronous orbits, including those that relay TV signals into our homes. Low Earth Orbit When a satellite circles close to Earth we say it's in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Satellites in LEO are just 200 - 500 miles (320 - 800 kilometers) high. Because they orbit so close to Earth, they must travel very fast so gravity won't pull them back into the atmosphere. Satellites in LEO speed along at 17,000 miles per hour (27,359 kilometers per hour)! They can circle Earth in about 90 minutes.

What a view!
A Low Earth Orbit is useful because its nearness to Earth gives it spectacular views. The crew in a Space Shuttle traveling in low earth orbit took this picture. Satellites that observe our planet, like Remote Sensing and Weather satellites, often travel in LEOs because from this height they can capture very detailed images of Earth's surface.

Space Junk
The LEO environment is getting very crowded. The United States Space Command keeps track of the number of satellites in orbit. This is a graphic display of the objects in low earth orbit. According to the USSC, there are more than 8,000 objects larger than a softball now circling the globe. Some people worry about the number of items now in low earth orbit. Not all of these things are working satellites. There are pieces of metal from old rockets, broken satellites, even frozen sewage. At 17,000 mph, even a small bolt can hit a space shuttle with the impact of a hand grenade. Which is exactly why the US Space Command keeps track of these things!

Polar Orbit

A Polar orbit is a particular type of Low Earth Orbit. The only difference is that a satellite in polar orbit travels a north-south direction, rather than the more common east-west direction.

Why use a Polar Orbit?

Polar orbits are useful for viewing the planet's surface. As a satellite orbits in a north-south direction, Earth spins beneath it in an east-west direction. As a result, a satellite in polar orbit can eventually scan the entire surface. Its like pealing an orange in one piece. Around and around, one strip at a time, and finally you've got it all. For this reason, satellites that monitor the global environment, like remote sensing satellites and certain weather satellites, are almost always in polar orbit. No other orbit gives such thorough coverage of Earth.

Inclinations
We say that a polar orbit has an inclination, or angle, of 90 degrees. It is perpendicular to an imaginary line that slices through Earth at the equator.

Weather Satellites
This satellite is called TIROS (Television Infrared Observational Satellite). It records weather patterns around the world. Many countries use TIROS data to forecast weather, track storms, and do scientific research.

NOAA System
A TIRO is part of a system of weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There are two TIROS satellites circling Earth over the poles. They work with another set of satellites in geosynchronous orbit called Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). Using this group of satellites, meteorologists study weather and climate patterns around the world.

Examples of what weather satellites do

Earth Remote

Volcanos Sensing

Hurricanes

Rescue

Remote-sensing satellites, like the one shown on the left, study Earth's surface. From 300 miles (480 km) up, this satellite uses powerful cameras to scan the planet. The satellite then sends back valuable data about global environments.

How we use

Satellite Imaging
The instruments on remotesensing satellites study Earth's plant cover, chemical composition, and surface water, among many other features. People who work in farming, fishing, mining, and many other industries find this information very useful. We can also use remote sensing satellites to study changes in the earth's surface that are caused by people. Examples of this include the parts of West Africa that are turning into desert (desertification), and the destruction of the rainforest in South America (deforestation).

Uses of Weather Satellite

Science Research Satellites

Many satellites in orbit conduct Great Salt Lake Eastern Seaboard Brazilian Rainforest West Africa scientific experiments and observations. This is SOHO (SOlar and Heliospheric Observation). It's studying the Sun.

What is SOHO?
SOHO is an international project managed by Europe and the United States. Its very sophisticated instruments can measure activity inside the Sun, look at its atmosphere or corona, and study its surface. Some examples of SOHO's images

The SOHO satellite is different from the others in this exhibit. First, SOHO does not orbit Earth. In fact it orbits the Sun, about a million miles away from Earth. From there the Moon or Earth never blocks its clear view of the Sun. The SOHO satellite is also the only one in this exhibit that is isn't looking at Earth.

Communications
This is a communications satellite called EchoStar 3. It's used to send TV signals to homes in North America. Today, there are more than 100 communications satellites orbiting Earth.

Relay Stations
Communications satellites act as relay stations in space. People use them to bounce messages

from one part of the world to another. These messages can be telephone calls, TV pictures, or even Internet connections like the one we're using now.

Footprints Communications satellites like EchoStar are in geosynchronous orbit (from geo = Earth + synchronous = moving at the same rate). That means that the satellite always stays over one spot on Earth. The area on Earth that it can "see" is called the satellite's "footprint. Here is one footprint that covers all of Africa.
A person in Africa can use this satellite to communicate with anyone else in Africa. We can also use

satellites as a relay system to send signals anywhere on Earth. Here you can see the

satellites as a relay system to send signals anywhere on Earth. Here you can see the overlapping footprints of four different satellites. If you wanted to send a signal from Africa to Southeast Asia, you could bounce, or relay, the signal using more than one satellite.

Global Positioning System

This satellite is part of a group of satellites that can tell you your exact latitude, longitude, and altitude. The military developed the Global Positioning System (GPS), but now people everywhere can use these satellites to determine where in the world they are.

Other Uses for GPS Satellites

GPS satellites are used for navigation almost everywhere on Earth -- in an airplane, boat, or car, on foot, in a remote wilderness, or in a big city. Wherever you are, if you have a GPS receiver, you'll never be lost again!

Satellite Anatomy

A satellite is a complex machine. All satellites are made up of several sub-systems that work together as one large system to help the satellite achieve its mission. This simplified illustration shows the key parts of a remote sensing satellite. There are certain subsystems in a satellite while launching the satellite and most general of them are: ATTITUDE AND ORBIT CONTROL SYSTEM (AOCS) The subsystem consist of rocket motors that are used to move the satellite back to the correct orbit when external forces causes it to drift off station and gas jets or inertial devices that control the attitude of the spacecraft. TELEMETRY, TRACKING, AND COMMAND (TT & C) These systems are partly on the satellite and partly at the controlling earth station. The telemetry system sends data derived from many sensors on the spacecraft, which monitor the spacecrafts health, via a telemetry link to the controlling earth station. The tracking system is located at this earth station and provides information on the range and the elevation and azimuth angles of the satellite. Repeated measurement of these three parameters permits computation of orbital elements, from which changes in the orbit of the satellite can be detected. Based on telemetry data received from the satellite and orbital data obtained from the tracking system, the control system is used to correct the position and attitude of the spacecraft. It is also used to control the antenna pointing and communication system configuration to suit current traffic requirements and to operate switches on the spacecraft. POWER SYSTEM: All communication satellites derive their electrical power from solar cells. The power is used by the communication system, mainly in its transmitters, and also by all other electrical system on the spacecraft. The latter use is termed housekeeping, since these subsystems serve to support the communication system. COMMUNICATION SUBSYSTEM: The communication subsystem is the major component of a communication satellite, and the reminder of the spacecraft is there solely to support it. Frequently, the communication equipment is only a small part of the weight and volume of the whole spacecraft. It is usually composed of one or more antennas, which receive and transmit over wide bandwidths at microwave frequencies, and a set of receivers and transmitters that amplify and retransmit the incoming signal. The receiver-transmitter units are known as transponders. SPACECRAFT ANTENNAS: Although these form a part of complete communication system, they can be considered separately from the transponders. On advanced satellites such as INTELSAT V, the antenna system are very complex and produce beams with shapes carefully tailored to match the areas on the earths surface served by the spacecraft.