Satellite Subsystems

2/9/2010

SATELLITE SUBSYSTEMS
A satellite communications system can be broadly
divided into two segments

1.space segment
2.ground segment
The space segment - include the satellites and the
ground facilities needed to keep the satellites
operational (tracking, telemetry, and command (TT&C)).

In

many networks common practice is to employ a

ground station solely for the purpose of TT&C.

Classification of equipment
carried aboard the satellite

1.

The payload - the equipment used to provide the service for

which the satellite has been launched.

2.

The bus- the vehicle which carries the payload but also to
the various Subsystems.

3.

The transponder - the equipment which provides the

connecting link between the satellites transmit and receive
antennas. one of the main sections of the payload.

4.

The antenna subsystem

The various subsystems are

1)power
2)thermal control
3)attitude control
4)orbital control---- Station Keeping
5)command and telemetry functions

Power supply
The

primary electrical power -solar cells

Individual
arrays

power.

cells can generate only small amounts of power

of cells in series-parallel connection-large amount of

For

Example : HS 376 satellite, HS601 satellite (manufactured by

Hughes Space and Communications Company)

During

launch phase outer cylinder generates electrical power

At the beginning of life- 940 W dc power
At the end of 10 years- may drop to 760 W
During

eclipse, power ->two nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd)

long-life batteries-830 W
At the end of life, battery recharge time < 16 h

The HS 376 spacecraft is a spin-stabilized spacecraft (the

gyroscopic effect of the spin is used for mechanical orientational
stability)
Limitation:
arrays are only partially in sunshine at any given time

solar sails
Solar

panels arranged in the form of rectangle

Solar

sails folded during the launch phase & extended when in

geostationary orbit.
arranged
capable

to rotate to track the sun

of greater power output than cylindrical arrays having

a comparable number of cells

The solar-sail type is more economical than the cylindrical

type

To maintain service during an eclipse ->storage batteries

Ni-Cd batteries continue to be used as in the Hughes HS

376 satellite

nickel-hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries offer significant

improvement in power-weight ratio.

Ni-H2 batteries are used in the Hughes HS 601 (e.g., the

SATMEX-5 and Anik-F2 satellites), the Intelsat series with
INTELSAT VI , INTELSAT VII satellites.

Thermal Control
Satellites are subject to large thermal gradients
1.receiving the suns radiation on one side while the other side faces
into space
2.Thermal radiation from the earth and the earths albedo
Albedo the fraction of the radiation falling on earth which is reflected
Albedo can be significant for LEO satellites & negligible for GEO
satellites.
3.Equipment in the satellite
The

most important consideration is that the satellites equipment

should operate as nearly as possible in a stable temperature
environment.

Methods to provide stable temperature environment

1.Thermal blankets and shields - to provide insulation.
2.Radiation mirrors - to remove heat from the communications payload.
The

mirrored drums surround the communications equipment

Provide

space.

good radiation paths- the generated heat to escape into the surrounding

advantage

of spinning satellites compared with body-stabilized - the spinning

body provides an averaging of the temperature extremes experienced from solar
flux and the cold background of deep space

To

maintain constant temperature conditions, heaters may be switched on

(usually on command from ground) to make up for the heat reduction which
occurs when transponders are switched off.

The

INTELSAT VI satellite used heaters to maintain propulsion thrusters

and line temperatures

Attitude Control

1.What is attitude ?
attitude satellite orientation in space
2.Why it is necessary?
Attitude

control is necessary to ensure that directional antennas point in

the proper directions

For

example, In the case of earth environmental satellites, the earthsensing instruments must cover the required regions of the earth, which
also requires attitude control

3.What are the forces affect attitude?

A number of forces referred to as disturbance torques
some

examples are the gravitational fields of the earth and the moon,
solar radiation, and meteorite impacts.

6. Where this attitude control takes place?

Usually, the attitude-control process takes place aboard
the satellite.

control signals can also be transmitted from earth based

on attitude data obtained from the satellite.

7. What is an attitude maneuver?

It is a task performed when a shift in attitude is desired

The control signals needed to achieve this maneuver may

be transmitted from an ES

8. What are the types of attitude maneuver?

Passive and active

Passive attitude control

The use of mechanisms which stabilize the satellite

without putting a drain on the satellites energy supplies

at most, infrequent use is made of the energy supplies

example: thruster jets are impulsed to provide corrective

torque

Examples of passive attitude control :

spin stabilization and gravity gradient stabilization

Active attitude control

No overall stabilizing torque present to resist the

disturbance torques

Instead, corrective torques are applied as required in

response to disturbance torques.

Methods :
momentum wheels, electromagnetic coils, and mass
expulsion devices, such as gas jets and ion thrusters.

Spin Stabilization

Spin stabilization may be achieved with cylindrical

satellites

The satellite is constructed so that it is mechanically

balanced about one particular axis and is then set
spinning around this axis.

For geostationary satellites, the spin axis is adjusted to be

parallel to the N-S axis of the earth.

Spin rate is typically in the range of 50 to 100 rev/min

Spin is initiated during the launch phase by means of

small gas jets.

Due to disturbance torque

1) reduction in spin rate
2) change in the direction of spin axis

Nutation- a form of wobbling, can occur due to

disturbance torques and/or from misalignment or
unbalance of the control jets

Nutation dampers- energy absorbers to damp out

nutation

If an omni directional antenna used(INTELSAT I and II

satellites ) then the antenna, which points along the pitch
axis, also rotates with the satellite.

If a directional antenna used(communications satellites)

the antenna must be despun, giving rise to a dual-spin
construction.

An electric motor drive is used for despinning the antenna

subsystem.

Momentum Wheel Stabilization

Utilize the gyroscopic effect of a spinning flywheel

Used in satellites with cube-like bodies (INTELSAT V
type satellites)- body-stabilized satellites.

The complete unit- called as a momentum wheel

It consists of a flywheel, the bearing assembly,

the casing, and an electric drive motor with
associated electronic control circuitry.

The flywheel is attached to the rotor, which consists

of a permanent magnet providing the magnetic field
for motor action. The stator of the motor is attached
to the body of the satellite. Thus the motor provides
the coupling between the flywheel and the satellite
structure.

Speed and torque control of the motor is exercised

through the currents fed to the stator.

TELDIX manufactures momentum wheels ranging in

size from 20, 26,35, 50, to 60 cm in diameter that
are used in a wide variety of satellites.

The term momentum wheel is usually reserved for

wheels that operate at nonzero momentum. This is
termed a momentum bias.

Momentum wheel provides passive stabilization for

the yaw and roll axes when the axis of rotation of the
wheel lies along the pitch axis. Control about the
pitch axis is achieved by changing the speed of the
wheel.

STATION KEEPING

1. What is Station Keeping?

maintaining a satellite in its correct orbital position
2. Why Station Keeping is required?
The orbit of the satellite is changed due to
i) Effects of a nonspherical earth
* Earth is of shape oblate spheroid
* affects mean motion of satellite
ii ) The oblateness of the earth
produces two rotations of the orbital plane.
a) regression of the nodes- the nodes appear to slide
along the equator. i.e , the right ascension of the
ascending node, shifts its position.

b) rotation of apsides in the orbital plane

,w changes

3) the equatorial ellipticity of the earth geostationary

satellites to drift slowly along the orbit, to one of two
stable points, at 75E and 105W. (longitude change)
4) the main perturbing forces as gravitational pull of the sun
and the moon will cause a drift in satellite latitude
(latitude change). Inclination changes at a rate of about
0.85/year

I) East-west station-keeping maneuvers

To prevent shift in longitude change

an oppositely directed velocity component is imparted to the

satellite -jets pulsed once every 2 or 3 weeks

Ex: Satellites in the 6/4-GHz band must be kept within +_0.1

of the designated longitude, and in the 14/12-GHz band,
+_within 0.05.

Orbital correction - by command from the TT&C earth station

EW and NS station-keeping maneuvers are usually carried out

using the same thrusters as are used for attitude control

II) north-south station-keeping maneuvers

To prevent shift in latitude change

Pulse the jets at the appropriate time to make the

inclination to zero

Counteracting jets must be pulsed when the inclination is

at zero to halt the change in inclination

much more expensive in fuel

The north-south station-keeping tolerances are the same

as those for east-west station keeping

Satellite altitude show variations of about +-0.1 percent

of the nominal geostationary height.
For Geo orbits , a rectangle box limits of 147 km is
produced.