EC 723

Satellite Communication
Systems
Mohamed Khedr
http://webmail.aast.edu/~khe
dr

Grades
Load

Percentage

Date

Midterm Exam

30%

Week of 3
December
2007

Final Exam

30%

Participation
Report and
presentation

10%
30%

Starting week
11th

Textbook and website

Textbook: non specific

Website:
http://webmail.aast.edu/~khedr

Week 1

Syllabus

Overview

Week 2

Orbits and constellations: GEO, MEO

and LEO

Week 3

Satellite space segment, Propagation and

satellite links , channel modelling

Tentatively

Week 4

Satellite Communications Techniques

Week 5

Satellite error correction Techniques

Week 6

Multiple Access I

Week 7

Multiple access II

Week 8

Satellite in networks I

Week 9

INTELSAT systems , VSAT networks, GPS

Week 10

GEO, MEO and LEO mobile

communications
INMARSAT systems, Iridium , Globalstar,
Odyssey

Week 11

Presentations

Week 12

Presentations

Week 13

Presentations

Week 14

Presentations

Week 15

Presentations

Satellite Components

Satellite Subsystems
Telemetry, Tracking, and Control
Electrical Power and Thermal Control
Attitude Control
Communication Subsystems

Link Budget

Modulation Techniques

Coding and Error Correction

Networking (service provisioning,

multimedia constraints and QoS)

Multiple Access and On-board Processing

Applications (Internet, Mobile computing)

Classification of Satellite Orbits

Circular or elliptical orbit

Orbit around earth in different planes

Circular with center at earths center

Elliptical with one foci at earths center
Equatorial orbit above earths equator
Polar orbit passes over both poles
Other orbits referred to as inclined orbits

Altitude of satellites

Geostationary orbit (GEO)

Medium earth orbit (MEO)
Low earth orbit (LEO)

Satellite Orbits

Equatorial

Inclined

Polar

Heres the Math

Gravity depends on the mass of the earth, the mass

of the satellite, and the distance between the center
of the earth and the satellite
For a satellite traveling in a circle, the speed of the
satellite and the radius of the circle determine the
force (of gravity) needed to maintain the orbit
The radius of the orbit is also the distance from the
center of the earth.
For each orbit the amount of gravity available is
therefore fixed
That in turn means that the speed at which the
satellite travels is determined by the orbit

Lets look in a Physics

Book

From what we have deduced so far, there has to be an

equation that relates the orbit and the speed of the
satellite:

r3
T 2
4 1014

R^3=mu/n^2
N=2pi/T

T is the time for one full revolution around the orbit, in

seconds
r is the radius of the orbit, in meters, including the radius
of the earth (6.38x106m).

The Most Common

Example

Height of the orbit = 22,300 mile

That is 36,000km = 3.6x107m
The radius of the orbit is
3.6x107m + 6.38x106m = 4.2x107m

Put that into the formula and

The Geosynchronous Orbit

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

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

Assignment

How long does a Low Earth Orbit

Satellite need for one orbit at a height of
200miles = 322km = 3.22x105m
Do this:

Add the radius of the earth, 6.38x106m

Compute T from the formula
Change T to minutes or hours
r3
T 2
4 1014

Classical satellite systems

Inter Satellite Link
(ISL)

Mobile User
Link (MUL)

Gateway Link
(GWL)

MUL
GWL

small cells
(spotbeams)

base station
or gateway

footprint

ISDN
PSTN: Public Switched
Telephone Network

PSTN

User data

GSM

Basics

Satellites in circular orbits

attractive force F = m g (R/r)
g
centrifugal force F = m r
c
m: mass of the satellite
R: radius of the earth (R = 6370 km)
r: distance to the center of the earth
g: acceleration of gravity (g = 9.81 m/s)
: angular velocity ( = 2 f, f: rotation frequency)
Stable orbit
2
F = F
g
c

r3

gR
2
(2 f )

Satellite period and orbits

Velocity
Km/sec
12

satellite
period [h] 24

velocity [ x1000 km/h]

20

10

16

12

synchronous distance
35,786 km
10

20

radius

30

40 x106 m

Basics

elliptical or circular orbits

complete rotation time depends on distance satellite-earth
inclination: angle between orbit and equator
elevation: angle between satellite and horizon
LOS (Line of Sight) to the satellite necessary for connection
high elevation needed, less absorption due to e.g.
buildings
Uplink: connection base station - satellite
Downlink: connection satellite - base station
typically separated frequencies for uplink and downlink
transponder used for sending/receiving and shifting of
frequencies
transparent transponder: only shift of frequencies
regenerative transponder: additionally signal
regeneration

Inclination
plane of satellite orbit

satellite orbit
perigee

inclination
equatorial plane

Elevation
Elevation:
angle between center of satellite beam
and surface

minimal elevation:
elevation needed at least
to communicate with the satellite

int
r
p
t
foo

Orbits I

Four different types of satellite orbits can be

identified depending on the shape and diameter
of the orbit:
GEO: geostationary orbit, ca. 36000 km above
earth surface
LEO (Low Earth Orbit): ca. 500 - 1500 km
MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) or ICO (Intermediate
Circular Orbit): ca. 6000 - 20000 km
HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbit) elliptical orbits

Orbits II
GEO (Inmarsat)
HEO

MEO (ICO)

LEO
(Globalstar,
Irdium)

inner and outer Van

Allen belts
earth

Van-Allen-Belts:
ionized particles
2000 - 6000 km and
15000 - 30000 km
above earth surface

1000
10000

35768
km

Geostationary satellites

Orbit 35,786 km distance to earth surface, orbit in equatorial plane

(inclination 0)
complete rotation exactly one day, satellite is synchronous to earth
rotation
fix antenna positions, no adjusting necessary
satellites typically have a large footprint (up to 34% of earth surface!),
therefore difficult to reuse frequencies
bad elevations in areas with latitude above 60 due to fixed position above
the equator
high transmit power needed
high latency due to long distance (ca. 275 ms)
not useful for global coverage for small mobile phones and data
transmission, typically used for radio and TV transmission

LEO systems

Orbit ca. 500 - 1500 km above earth surface

visibility of a satellite ca. 10 - 40 minutes
global radio coverage possible
latency comparable with terrestrial long distance
connections, ca. 5 - 10 ms
smaller footprints, better frequency reuse
but now handover necessary from one satellite to another
many satellites necessary for global coverage
more complex systems due to moving satellites
Examples:
Iridium (start 1998, 66 satellites)

Bankruptcy in 2000, deal with US DoD (free use,

saving from deorbiting)
Globalstar (start 1999, 48 satellites)

Not many customers (2001: 44000), low stand-by times for mobiles

MEO systems

Orbit ca. 5000 - 12000 km above earth surface

comparison with LEO systems:
slower moving satellites
less satellites needed
simpler system design
for many connections no hand-over needed
higher latency, ca. 70 - 80 ms
higher sending power needed
special antennas for small footprints needed
Example:
ICO (Intermediate Circular Orbit, Inmarsat) start ca. 2000

Bankruptcy, planned joint ventures with Teledesic, Ellipso cancelled again,

start planned for 2003

Routing

One solution: inter satellite links (ISL)

reduced number of gateways needed
forward connections or data packets within the satellite network as long
as possible
only one uplink and one downlink per direction needed for the connection
of two mobile phones
Problems:
more complex focusing of antennas between satellites
high system complexity due to moving routers
higher fuel consumption
thus shorter lifetime
Iridium and Teledesic planned with ISL
Other systems use gateways and additionally terrestrial networks

Localization of mobile
stations

Mechanisms similar to GSM

Gateways maintain registers with user data

HLR (Home Location Register): static user data

VLR (Visitor Location Register): (last known) location of the mobile station

SUMR (Satellite User Mapping Register):

satellite assigned to a mobile station

positions of all satellites

Registration of mobile stations

Localization of the mobile station via the satellites position

requesting user data from HLR

updating VLR and SUMR

Calling a mobile station

localization using HLR/VLR similar to GSM

connection setup using the appropriate satellite

Handover in satellite
systems

Several additional situations for handover in satellite systems compared to

cellular terrestrial mobile phone networks caused by the movement of the
satellites

Intra satellite handover

handover from one spot beam to another
mobile station still in the footprint of the satellite, but in another cell

Inter satellite handover

handover from one satellite to another satellite
mobile station leaves the footprint of one satellite

Gateway handover
Handover from one gateway to another
mobile station still in the footprint of a satellite, but gateway leaves
the footprint

Inter system handover

Handover from the satellite network to a terrestrial cellular network

mobile station can reach a terrestrial network again which might be
cheaper, has a lower latency etc.

Overview of LEO/MEO
systems
# satellites
altitude
(km)
coverage
min.
elevation
frequencies
[GHz
(circa)]
access
method
ISL
bit rate
# channels
Lifetime
[years]
cost
estimation

Iridium
66 + 6
780

Globalstar
48 + 4
1414

ICO
10 + 2
10390

Teledesic
288
ca. 700

global
8

70 latitude
20

global
20

global
40

1.6 MS
29.2
19.5
23.3 ISL
FDMA/TDMA

1.6 MS
2.5 MS
5.1
6.9
CDMA

2 MS
2.2 MS
5.2
7
FDMA/TDMA

19
28.8
62 ISL

yes
2.4 kbit/s

no
9.6 kbit/s

no
4.8 kbit/s

4000
5-8

2700
7.5

4500
12

yes
64 Mbit/s
2/64 Mbit/s
2500
10

4.4 B$

2.9 B$

4.5 B$

9 B$

FDMA/TDMA

Keplers First Law

The path followed by a satellite around the primary will be an

ellipse.
An ellipse has two focal points shown as F1 and F2.
The center of mass of the two-body system, termed the
barycenter, is always centered on one of the foci.
In our specific case, because of the enormous difference
between the masses of the earth and the satellite, the center of
mass coincides with the center of the earth, which is therefore
always at one of the foci.
The semimajor axis of the ellipse is denoted by a, and the
semiminor axis, by b. The eccentricity e is given by

ab
e
ab

Keplers Second Law

For equal time intervals, a satellite will sweep out equal areas in
its orbital plane, focused at the barycenter.

Keplers Third Law

The square of the periodic time of orbit is proportional to the

cube of the mean distance between the two bodies.
The mean distance is equal to the semimajor axis a. For the
satellites orbiting the earth, Keplers third law can be written in
the form

where n is the mean motion of the satellite in radians per

second and is the earths geocentric gravitational constant.
With a in meters, its value is

Definition of terms for earthorbiting satellite

Apogee The point farthest from earth.

Apogee height is shown as ha in Fig
Perigee The point of closest approach to
earth. The perigee height is shown as hp
Line of apsides The line joining the perigee
and apogee through the center of the earth.
Ascending node The point where the orbit
crosses the equatorial plane going from
south to north.
Descending node The point where the
orbit crosses the equatorial plane going from
north to south.
Line of nodes The line joining the
ascending and descending nodes through
the center of the earth.
Inclination The angle between the orbital
plane and the earths equatorial plane. It is
measured at the ascending node from the
equator to the orbit, going from east to
north. The inclination is shown as i in Fig.
Mean anomaly M gives an average value
of the angular position of the satellite with
reference to the perigee.
True anomaly is the angle from perigee to
the satellite position, measured at the
earths center. This gives the true angular
position of the satellite in the orbit as a
function of time.

Definition of terms
for earth-orbiting
satellite

Prograde orbit An orbit in which the satellite

moves in the same direction as the earths rotation.
The inclination of a prograde orbit always lies
between 0 and 90.
Retrograde orbit An orbit in which the satellite
moves in a direction counter to the earths rotation.
The inclination of a retrograde orbit always lies
between 90 and 180.
Argument of perigee The angle from ascending
node to perigee, measured in the orbital plane at the
earths center, in the direction of satellite motion.
Right ascension of the ascending node To define
completely the position of the orbit in space, the
position of the ascending node is specified. However,
because the earth spins, while the orbital plane
remains stationary the longitude of the ascending
node is not fixed, and it cannot be used as an
absolute reference. For the practical determination
of an orbit, the longitude and time of crossing of the
ascending node are frequently used. However, for an
absolute measurement, a fixed reference in space is
required. The reference chosen is the first point of
Aries, otherwise known as the vernal, or spring,
equinox. The vernal equinox occurs when the sun
crosses the equator going from south to north, and
an imaginary line drawn from this equatorial crossing
through the center of the sun points to the first point
of Aries (symbol ). This is the line of Aries.

Six Orbital Elements

Earth-orbiting artificial satellites are defined by six orbital

elements referred to as the keplerian element set.
The semimajor axis a.
The eccentricity e

give the shape of the ellipse.

A third, the mean anomaly M, gives the position of the satellite

in its orbit at a reference time known as the epoch.
A fourth, the argument of perigee , gives the rotation of the
orbits perigee point relative to the orbits line of nodes in the
earths equatorial plane.
The inclination I
The right ascension of the ascending node

Relate the orbital planes position to the earth.

NASA

Forces acting on a satellite in a stable orbit around the

Gravitational force is inversely

proportional to the square of the
distance between the centers of
gravity of the satellite and the planet
the satellite is orbiting, in this case
the earth.
The gravitational force inward (FIN,
the centripetal force) is directed
toward the center of gravity of the
earth.
The kinetic energy of the satellite
(FOUT, the centrifugal force) is
directed opposite to the gravitational
force. Kinetic energy is proportional
to the square of the velocity of the

Cartesian coordinate system

The initial coordinate system that

could be used to describe the
relationship between the earth and
a satellite.
A Cartesian coordinate system with
the geographical axes of the earth
as the principal axis is the simplest
coordinate system to set up.
The rotational axis of the earth is

The orbital plane coordinate system.

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

Polar coordinate system in the plane of the satellites

The plane of the orbit coincides with the plane of the paper. The
axis z0 is straight out of the paper from the center of the earth,
and is normal to the plane of the satellites orbit. The satellites
position is described in terms of the radius from the center of the
earth r0 and the angle this radius makes with the x0 axis, o.

Keplers second law of planetary motion.

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

The orbit is an ellipse with a relatively high eccentricity, that is, it is far
from being circular.
Two shaded portions of the elliptical plane in which the orbit moves,
one is close to the earth and encloses the perigee while the other is far
from the earth and encloses the apogee.
The perigee is the point of closest approach to the earth while the
apogee is the point in the orbit that is furthest from the earth.
While close to perigee, the satellite moves in the orbit between times t1
and t2 and sweeps out an area denoted by A12.
While close to apogee, the satellite moves in the orbit between times t3
and sweeps out an area denoted by A34. If t1 t2 = t3 t4, then A12 = A34.

The orbit as it appears in

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

The circumscribed circle and the eccentric anomaly E

Point O is the center of the

earth and point C is both
the center of the orbital
ellipse and the center of
the circumscribed circle.
The satellite location in the
orbital plane coordinate
system is specified by (x0,
y0). A vertical line through

The geocentric equatorial system.

This geocentric system differs

from that shown in Figure 2.1
only in that the xi axis points to
the first point of Aries. The first
point of Aries is the direction of a
line from the center of the earth
through the center of the sun at
the vernal equinox (about March
21 in the Northern Hemisphere),

Locating the orbit in the

geocentric equatorial system.
The satellite penetrates the
equatorial plane (while

The definition of elevation (EI) and azimuth (Az).

The elevation angle is

measured upward from
the local horizontal at the
earth station and the
azimuth angle is

Zenith and nadir pointing directions.

The line joining the satellite and the center of the earth, C, passes
through the surface of the earth and point Sub, the subsatellite point.

The geometry of
elevation angle
calculation. The plane
of the paper is the
plane defined by the
center of the earth,

The geometry of the visibility calculation.

The satellite is said

to be visible from
the earth station if
the elevation angle
EI is positive. This

During the equinox periods around the March 21 and

September 3, the geostationary plane is in the shadow of the

Dates and duration of eclipses. (Source: Martin,

Communications Satellite Systems, Prentice Hall
1978.)

Schematic of sun outage conditions. During the equinox periods,

not only does the earths shadow cause eclipse periods to occur for
geostationary satellites, during the sunlit portion of the orbit, there
will be periods when the sun appears to be directly behind the
satellite. At the frequencies used by communications satellites (4 to
50 GHz), the sun appears as a hot noise source. The effective
temperature of the sun at these frequencies is on the order of
10,000 K. The precise temperature observed by the earth station

Thank you