CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter dealt with the review of related literature and studies

pertinent to the design of a satellite communications system which were

gathered from published and unpublished materials and online publications.

Review of Related Literature

History of Satellite Communications

History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union

successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about

the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6

kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its

elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and

scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it

marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

Figure 1. Sputnik 1

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 The story begins in 1952, when the International Council of Scientific

Unions decided to establish July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, as

the International Geophysical Year (IGY)because the scientists knew that the

cycles of solar activity would be at a high point then. In October 1954, the

council adopted a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be launched

during the IGY to map the Earth's surface.

In July 1955, the White House announced plans to launch an Earth-

orbiting satellite for the IGY and solicited proposals from various Government

research agencies to undertake development. In September 1955, the Naval

Research Laboratory's Vanguard proposal was chosen to represent the U.S.

during the IGY.

The Sputnik launch changed everything. As a technical achievement,

Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard. Its

size was more impressive than Vanguard's intended 3.5-pound payload. In

addition, the public feared that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites also

translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry

nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S. Then the Soviets struck again; on

November 3, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload,

including a dog named Laika.

Immediately after the Sputnik I launch in October, the U.S. Defense

Department responded to the political furor by approving funding for another

U.S. satellite project. As a simultaneous alternative to Vanguard, Wernher von

Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on

the Explorer project.

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 On January 31, 1958, the tide changed, when the United States

successfully launched Explorer I. This satellite carried a small scientific

payload that eventually discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the

Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Explorer

program continued as a successful ongoing series of lightweight, scientifically

useful spacecraft.

The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress

passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the "Space

Act"), which created NASA as of October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory

Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies.

In the fall of 1960, AT&T began development of a satellite

communications system called Telstar. The operational system would consist

of between 50 and 120 simple active satellites in orbits about 7,000 miles

high. Using large launch vehicles that were then being developed, it was

envisioned that a dozen or more of these satellites could be placed in orbit in

a single launching. With the satellites in random orbits, Bell Labs figured that

a system of 40 satellites in polar orbits and 15 in equatorial orbits would

provide service 99.9% of the time between any two points on earth. AT&T has

proposed that the system contain about 25 ground stations so placed as to

provide global coverage."

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 Figure 2. Telstar 1

Telstar 1 operated normally from launch until November 1962, when

the command channel began to behave erratically. The satellite was turned

on continuously to circumvent this problem. On 23 November 1962, the

command channel ceased to respond. On December 20, the satellite was

successfully reactivated, and intermittent data were obtained until February

21, 1963, when the transmitter failed.

The cost of such a system would be high (estimated it at $500 million in

1961), but that was not a detriment from AT&T's standpoint. As a monopoly at

the time, AT&T's rates were regulated. These rates included an amount that

allowed AT&T to recover its costs as well as make a profit. The costs of the

satellite system would be passed on to consumers just as the high costs of

undersea cables were. Higher cost investments by the monopoly allow higher

profits, so the complex Telstar system was attractive to AT&T.

Bell Telephone Laboratories designed and built the Telstar spacecraft with

AT&T corporate funds. The first Telstars were prototypes that would prove the

concepts behind the large constellation system that was being planned.

NASA's contribution to the project was to launch the satellites and provide

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some tracking and telemetry functions, but AT&T bore all the costs of the

project reimbursing NASA $6 million. Although Telstar was not really a NASA

project, NASA was able to negotiate an excellent deal with AT&T because

NASA held a monopoly on launch services. NASA was able to claim Telstar

as a NASA supported project and even publish the report on the results of

experimentation as a NASA publication, as well as getting rights to any

patentable inventions arising from the experiments.

Fundamental Satellite Communication System

What is a satellite ?

In a satellite communication, the satellite which is stationed in the

space system for transmission of signals plays a significant role. The

scientists after a lot of hard work launch the satellite in the space after

undergoing a lot of tests for the satellite to survive in the hostile conditions of

the space. Satellite launching involves a lot of investment and hard labour by

scientists. The satellites ought to be light weight and durable. The satellites

are generally equipped with an antenna and transponder to facilitate the

communication process. The satellite majorly works on the solar power which

is continuously received by the satellites solar panels.

There are broadly three major types of satellite system.

1. Fixed Satellite System - The fixed satellite system helps in the transfer

of numerous data and information across the countries through fixed point on

the earths surface.

2. Mobile Satellite System - It is helpful in connecting ships, aircrafts at

distant and remote places.

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Research Satellite System - Research Satellite System is primarily helpful in

various research processes for the scientists. The scientists can gather all the

necessary and useful data through the research satellite system.

How does Satellite communication work ?

It works on two main components:

Ground base or the Earth

Space component

In this mode of communication, the satellite stationed at the space receives

signals from the earth with the aid of an antenna. The signals are amplified to

an optimum level and then with the help of transponders they are

retransmitted back to the earth. The earth station then receives the signal

from the satellite, and re amplifies it and helps in the communication. Hence in

this mode of communication, it was the satellite which helped in the

transmission of signals from the earth and then back to the earth, thus

justifying the name.

Where is it used ?

In ships, where generally mobile phones fail to operate, satellite phones are

helpful in communication. Satellite phones work on the above principle.

Satellite radio, satellite television as well as Satellite internet also operate on

the principle of satellite communication. Satellite mode of communication is

primarily helpful in remote areas where broadband facilities fail to operate.

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Satellite Orbit

There are many different satellite orbits that can be used. The ones

that receive the most attention are the geostationary orbit used as they are

stationary above a particular point on the Earth.

The closer the satellite to the earth, the stronger is the effect of earths

gravitational pull. So, in low orbits, the satellite must travel faster to avoid

falling back to the earth. The farther the satellite from the earth, the lower is its

orbital speed. The lowest practical earth orbit is approximately 168.3 km. At

this height, the satellite speed must be approximately 29,452.5 km/hr in order

to stay in orbit. With this speed, the satellite orbits the earth in approximately

one and half hours. Communication satellites are usually much farther from

the earth, for example, 36,000 km. At this distance, a satellite need to travel

only about 11,444.4 km/hr in order to stay in the orbit with a rotation speed of

24 hours.

A satellite revolves in an orbit that forms a plane, which passes through

the centre of gravity of the earth or geocenter. The direction of the satellites

revolution may be either in same the direction as earths rotation or against

the direction of the earths rotation. In the former case, the orbit is said to be

posigrade and in the latter case, the retrograde. Most orbits are posigrade. In

circular orbit, the speed of revolution is constant. However, in an elliptical

orbit, the speed changes depending upon the height of the satellite above the

earth.

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 In an elliptical orbit, the highest point is generally referred to as apogee

and the lowest point is called perigee. These are measured typically from the

geocentre of the earth and therefore include the earths radius.

The time that it takes for a satellite to complete an orbit is called

sidereal period. Some fixed or apparently motionless external object, such as

the sun or a star, is used for reference in determining a sidereal period. The

reason for this is that while the satellite is revolving around the earth, earth

itself is rotating.

Another method of expressing the time for one orbit is revolution or

synodic period. One revolution is a period of time that elapses between the

successive passes of the satellite over a given meridian of earths longitude.

Synodic and sidereal periods differ from one another because of the earths

rotation. The time difference is determined by the height of the orbit, angle of

plane of orbit and whether the satellite is posigrade or retrograde orbit.

The angle of inclination of a satellite orbit is the angle formed between

the line that passes through the centre of the earth and the north pole which is

also perpendicular to the orbital plane. It can be from 0 to 180.

Another definition of inclination is the angle between equatorial plane

and the satellite orbital plane as satellite enters northern hemisphere. When

angle of inclination is 0 or 180, the satellite will be directly above the equator.

When it is 90, it will pass over north and south poles. Orbits with 0 inclination

are called equatorial, while orbits with 90 are referred to as polar.

The angle of elevation of a satellite is that angle which appears

between the line from the earth stations antenna to the satellite and line

between the earth stations antennas the earths horizon. If angle of elevation

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is too small, signals between the earth station and satellite have to pass

through much more of the earths atmosphere.

To use a satellite for communication relay or repeater purpose, the

ground stations antenna must be able to follow or track the satellite as it

passes overhead. Depending upon the height and speed of satellite, earth

station will only be able to use it for communication purposes for that short

period of time when it is visible. The earth station antenna will track the

satellite from horizon, but at the same point the satellite will disappear around

the other side of the earth.

One solution to this problem is launching a satellite with a very long

elliptical orbit where the station can see the apogee. In this way, the satellite

stays in view for a longer time and is useful. Eclipse of geostationary satellite

occurs on the autumnal and vernal (spring) equinoxes, the forty-fourth day of

fall and spring respectively and lasts from a minute to over an hour.

Orbital drift is caused by a variety of forces. The gravitational pull

of sun and moon affects the satellite position. Earths gravitational field is not

perfectly consistent at all points on the earth. This is due to the fact that the

earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate spheroid. Due to this drift, the orbit

of the satellite must be periodically adjusted. The adjustments is called station

keeping.

Positioning of the satellite for optimum performance is called attitude

control. Location of satellites is generally specified in terms of latitude and

longitude. A point on the surface of the earth directly below the satellite

specifies the its location. This point is known as subsatellite point (SSP).

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 Only geosynchronous satellites have a fixed SSP on earth. SSP of

other satellites will move with respect to the given reference point on the

earth. Their SSP traces a line on earth known as subsatellite path or ground

track. The ground track for most satellites crosses the equator twice per orbit.

The point where SSP crosses the equator headed northerly direction is called

ascending node. The point where SSP crosses the equator headed in

southerly direction is called descending node. With these two points known,

the satellite path can be traced across the surface of the earth between them.

Ascending node is sometime designated by EQX and is used as a reference

point for locating and tracing a satellite.

Location of satellite at any given time is specified by SSP in terms of

latitude and longitude. For the non-geostationary orbit satellite, exact position

of the satellite is usually designated by the orbit calendar. This is a standard,

usually consists of orbit number and occurrence of the ascending node EQX.

Usually the number of orbits that a satellite makes is tracked from the very

instant it is put into the orbit. By using various formulae involving height,

speed and elliptical characteristics of an orbit, the time of occurrence of

ascending node can be computed for each orbit. With orbital calendar, various

maps and plotting devices, the ground track can be traced for each orbit. This

allows satellite user to determine whether or not the satellite is within the

useable range.

The orbit that is chosen for a satellite depends upon its application.

Those used for direct broadcast television for example use a

Geostationary orbit. Many communications satellites similarly use a

geostationary orbit. Other satellite systems such as those used

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for satellite phones may use Low Earth orbiting systems.

Similarly satellite systems used for navigation like Navstar or Global

Positioning (GPS) system occupy a relatively low Earth orbit. There are also

many other types of satellite from weather satellites to research satellites and

many others. Each will have its own type of orbit depending upon its

application.

The actual satellite orbit that is chosen will depend on factors including

its function, and the area it is to serve. In some instances

the satellite orbit may be as low as 100 miles (160 km) for a Low

Earth Orbit LEO, whereas others may be over 22 000 miles (36000 km) high

as in the case of a GEostationary Orbit GEO. The satellite may even have an

elliptical rather than a circular orbit.

Circular and elliptical orbit definitions

A satellites orbit the Earth in one of two basic types of orbit.

Circular satellite orbit: For a circular orbit, the distance from the Earth

remains the same at all times.

Elliptical satellite orbit: The elliptical orbit changes the distance to the

Earth

Figure 3. Satellite Orbits

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There are a number of definitions associated with various

different types of satellite orbits:

Geocentre : When satellites orbit the Earth, either in a circular or

elliptical orbit, the satellite orbit forms a plane that passes through the centre

of gravity or geocentre of the Earth.

Direction of rotation around the Earth: There are two ways in which

a satellite orbit may be categorised:

o Posigrade: The rotation around the earth is said to be posigrade when

it rotates in the same direction as the rotation of the Earth.

o Retrograde: The rotation around the earth is said to be retrograde

when it rotates in the opposite direction to the rotation of the Earth

Ground track: The ground track of a satellite is point on the Earth's

surface where the satellite is directly overhead as it moves around the globe.

This forms a circle which has the geocentre at its centre. It is worth noting that

geostationary satellites are a special case as they appear directly over the

same point of the Earth all the time. This means that their ground track

consists of a single point on the Earth's equator. Also for satellites with

equatorial orbits the ground track is along the equator.

For these orbits it is usually found that the ground-track shifts towards the

west for each orbit because the Earth is rotating towards the east underneath

the satellite.

Orbital nodes: These are the points where the ground track passes

from one hemisphere to another. There are two for any non-equatorial orbit:

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o Ascending node: This is the node where the ground-track passes

from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere.

o Descending node: This is the node where the ground-track passes

from the northern to the southern hemisphere.

Satellite height: For many orbit calculations it is necessary to consider

the height of the satellite above the geocentre. This is the height above the

Earth plus the radius of the Earth. This is generally taken to be 3960 miles or

6370 km.

Orbit velocity: For a circular orbit it is always the same. However in

the case of an elliptical one this is not the case as the speed changes

dependent upon the position in the orbit. It reaches a maximum when it is

closest to the Earth and it has to combat the greatest gravitational pull, and it

is at its lowest speed when it is furthest away.

Angle of elevation: The angle of elevation is the angle at which

the satellite appears above the horizontal. If the angle is too small then

signals may be obstructed by nearby objects if the antenna is not very high.

For those antennas that have an unobstructed view there are still problems

with small angles of elevation. The reason is that signals have to travel

through more of the Earth's atmosphere and are subjected to higher levels of

attenuation as a result. An angle of five degrees is generally accepted as the

minimum angle for satisfactory operation.

Angle of inclination: Not all satellite orbits follow the equator - in fact

most Low Earth Orbits do not. It is therefore necessary to define the angle of

inclination of the satellite orbit. The diagram below defines this

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 Figure 4. Angle of inclination of a satellite orbit

Other satellite orbit considerations

In order that a satellite can be used for communications purposes the ground

station must be able to follow it in order to receive its signal, and transmit back

to it. Communications will naturally only be possible when it is visible, and

dependent upon the orbit it may only be visible for a short period of time. To

ensure that communication is possible for the maximum amount of time there

are a number of options that can be employed:

The first is to use an elliptical orbit where the apogee is above the

planned Earth station so that the satellite remains visible for the maximum

amount of time.

Another option is to launch a number of satellites with the

same orbit so that when one disappears from view, and communications are

lost, another one appears. Generally three satellites are required to maintain

almost uninterrupted communication. However the handover from

one satellite to the next introduces additional complexity into the system, as

well as having a requirement for at least three satellites.

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Components of a Satellite System

Satellite system

A satellite communication system can be broadly divided into two segments,

a ground segment and a space-segment. The space system includes

Satellite.

Satellite system consist of the following systems.

Power supply:

The primary electrical power for operating electronic equipment is

obtained from solar cells. Individual cells can generate small amounts of

power, and therefore array of cells in series-parallel connection are required .

Cylindrical solar arrays are used with spinning satellites, (The

gyroscopic effect of the spin is used for mechanical orientational stability)

Thus the array are only partially in sunshine at any given time.

Another type of solar panel is the rectangular array or solar sail. solar sail

must be folded during the launch phase and extended when in geo-stationary

orbit. Since the full component of solar cells are exposed to sun light ,and

since the Sail rotate to track, the sun , they capable of greater power output

than cylindrical arrays having a comparable number of cells.

To maintain service during an eclipse, storage batteries must be

provided .

Altitude control:

The attitude of a satellite refers to its Orientation in space. Much of

equipment carried abroad a satellite is there for the purpose of controlling its

attitude. Attitude control is necessary, for example, to ensure that directional

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antennas point in the proper directions. In the case of earth environmental

satellites the earth-sensing instrument must cover the required regions of the

earth, which also requires attitude control. A number of forces, referred to as

disturbance forces can alter attitude, some examples being the gravitational

forces of earth and moon, solar radiation, and meteorite impacts.

Station keeping:

A satellite that is normally in geo-stationary will also drift in latitude, the

main perturbing forces being the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon .

the force cause the inclination to change at the rate of about 0.85 deg./year. if

left uncorrected, the drift would result in a cycle change in

the inclination going 0 to 14.67deg in 26.6 years and back to zero , when the

cycle is repeated. To prevent the shift in inclination from exceeding specified

limits, jets may be pulled at the appropriate time to return the inclination to

zero. Counteracting jets must be pulsed when the inclination is at zero to halt

that change in inclination.

Thermal control:

Satellites are subject to large thermal gradients, receiving the sun

radiation on one side while the other side faces into space. In addition,

thermal radiation from the earth, and the earth's abedo, which is the fraction

on the radiation falling on the earth which is reflected can be sight for low

altitude, earth-orbiting satellites, although it is negligible for geo-stationary

satellites. Equipment in the satellite also generates heat which has to be

removed. the most important consideration is that the satellite's equipment

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

various steps are taken to achieve this. Thermal blankets and shields may be

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used to provide insulation. radiation mirrors are often used to remove heat

from communication payload. These mirrored drums surrounded the

communication equipment shelves in each case and provide good radiation

paths for the generated heat to escape in to surround space.

To maintain constant-temperature conditions, heaters may be switched

on to make up for the hearts may be switched on to make reduction that

occurs when transponders are switched off.

TT&C subsystem

Telemetry

The telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) subsystem performs several

routine functions abroad a spacecraft. the telemetry or "telemetering" function

could be interpreted as "measurement at a distance". specifically, it refers to

the overall operation of generating an electrical signal proportional to the

quantity being measured, and encoding and transmitting this to a distant

station, which for satellite is one of the earth stations, which for the satellite is

one of the earth stations. Data that are transmitted as telemetry signals

include attribute information such as obtained from sun earth sensors;

environmental information such as magnetic field intensity and direction; the

frequency of meteorite impact and so on ;and spacecraft information such as

temperatures and power supply voltages, and stored fuel pressure.

Command systems

Command system receives instructions from ground system of satellite

and decodes the instruction and sends commends to other systems as per

the instruction.

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Tracking

Tracking of the satellite is accomplished by having the satellite is

accomplished by having the satellite transmit beacon signals which are

received at the TT&C earth stations. Tracking is obviously important during

the transmitter and drift orbital phases of the satellite launch. When on-station,

a geo-stationary satellite will tend to shifted as a result of the various

distributing forces, as described previously . Therefore it is necessary to be

able to track the satellites movements and send correction signals as

required. Satellite range is also required for time to time. This can be

determined by measurement of propagation delay of signals specially

transmitted for ranging purposes.

Transponders:

A transponder is the series of interconnected units which forms a single

communication channel between the receive and transmit antennas in a

communication satellite. Some of the units utilized by a transponder in a given

channel may be common to a number of transponders. Thus,

although reference may be made to specific transponder, this must be

thought of as an equipment channel rather than single item of equipment.

Transponder consist of wideband receivers, input de-multiplexer, power

amplifier components.

Antenna sub system:

The Antennas carried abroad a satellite provide the dual functions of

receiving the uplink and transmitting the down link signals. They range from

dipole-type antennas, where omni directional characteristics are required, to

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the highly directional antennas required for telecommunications purposes and

TV relay and broadcasting.

Earth Terminal Characteristics

Communications satellite earth terminals are usually located in areas

remote from the actual users of these communications. This is necessary to

minimize rf interference to the satellite. Locating the terminals in these remote

locations requires interconnecting communications links. Links permit

communications flow to and from the users of the satellite systems.

Interconnect links are usually connected via telephone cables

or microwave radio links with normal terminal equipment. Earth satellite

communications terminals generally have a single, large antenna; a highly

sensitive receiver; a powerful transmitter; multiplex equipment; modulating-

demodulating equipment; and telemetry equipment. Each of these elements

will be discussed later in this chapter. Antennas Earth terminal antennas are

highly directional, high-gain antennas capable of transmitting and receiving

signals simultaneously. Generally, large, high-gain, parabolic antennas are

used. Generally speaking, three sizes of parabolic-type antennas are currently

in use at earth terminal sites. These are a parabolic antenna sixty feet in

diameter, a parabolic antenna forty feet in diameter, and a cluster of four

parabolic antennas, each ten feet in diameter. These four in combination are

equal to a parabolic antenna eighteen feet in diameter.

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 Figure 5: Typical satellite Earth Station

Receivers

All satellite communications earth terminals are equipped with specially

designed, highly sensitive receivers. These receivers are designed to

overcome down-link power losses and to permit extraction of the desired

communications information from the weak received signal. The terminals

currently in use have specially designed preamplifiers mounted directly behind

the antennas.

Transmitters

All earth terminal transmitters generate high-power signals for

transmission to the communications satellites. High-powered transmitters and

highly directional, high-gain antennas are combined in this configuration. This

is necessary to overcome up-link limitations and to ensure that the signals

received by the satellite are strong enough to be detected by the satellite.

Each transmitter has an exciter/modulator and a power amplifier. The

modulator accepts the input signal from the terminal equipment and

modulates an IF carrier. The exciter translates the IF signal to the up-

link frequency and amplifies it to the level required by the power amplifier.

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Transmitters used in earth terminals have output power capabilities that vary

from 10 watts to 20 kilowatts, depending on the type used and the operational

requirements.

Telemetry Equipment

Telemetry equipment is included in all communications satellite

systems. This permits monitoring of the operating conditions within the

satellite. Telemetry can be used also for remote control of satellite operations,

such as energizing axial jets for changing the spin axis of the satellite.

Satellite Look Angle

Azimuth (Az)

The earth station needs to know where the satellite is in the orbit. Then the

earth station engineer needs to calculate some angles to track the satellite

correctly. These angles are called antenna look angle. The look angles for the

ground station antenna are the azimuth and elevation angles required at the

antenna so that it points directly at the satellite. With the geostationary orbit

the situation is much simpler than any other orbit. As the antenna beam width

is very narrow and tracking mechanism is required to compensate for the

movement of the satellite about the nominal geostationary position. Three

pieces of information that are needed to determine the look angles for the

geostationary orbit are:

a. Earth station latitude

b. Earth station longitude

c. Satellite orbital position

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 Using these information antenna look angle can be calculated using

Napiers rule (solving spherical triangle). Azimuth angle denotes the horizontal

angle measured at the earth station antenna to north pole. Elevation is such

angle denotes the vertical angle measured at the earth station antenna end

from ground to satellite position.

Figure 6 : Antenna azimuth angle

Elevation (El)

In the above picture Az means azimuth angle required to track the

satellite horizontally. In the figure below the elevation angle has been shown.

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 Figure 7: Antenna elevation angle

Related Studies

The following related studies were reviewed and analyzed to provide

fuller insights and vital information for present study.

Caceres, et al. (2006). Satellite Communication System Design

between Canaman, Camarines Sur and Legaspi City designed

communication system between Sta. Teresita, Canaman and Legaspi City

employing satellite communication. The researchers made use of 14 GHz and

12 GHz respectively and choose MEASAT -2 as its commercial satellite for its

covers the Phillipines in its footprint. Furthermore it used a 4.5m earth station

antenna relative to the frequency of the system taken from Andres Catalog. It

also used EW132 Andrew Elliptical waveguides as a connector between

station and antenna or transmitter.

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