GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Class: Aug-25-2003

Agenda
History
Motivation to use the Sky
Spectrum Allocation
Satellite Systems Applications
System Elements
System Design Considerations
Current Developments and Future Trends

ECE 739 Fall 2003

Satellite Communications
Lecture 1

Introduction and Background

Dr. Leila Z. Ribeiro
August 25, 20003

Important Milestones (1)

Readings and References

Pratt, Bostian & Allnutt, Satellite
Communications, Chapter 1
Other references:
- B. Elbert, Introduction to Satellite

Before the 1950s Putting the concepts together:

Communications, Artech-House, 1999.

- M. Richaria, Satellite Communication Systems,
McGraw-Hilll, 1999.

(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

1000AD Chinese invent rocket.

1600 Tycho Braches experimental observations on planetary motion.

1609-1619 Keplers laws on planetary motion

1903 Russian teacher K. Tsiolkovsky publishes his ideas on space flight.

1926 First liquid propellant rocket lauched by R.H. Goddard in the US.

1927 First transatlantic radio link communication (HF).

1942 First successful launch of a V-2 rocket in Germany.

1945 Arthur Clarke publishes his ideas on geostationary satellites for

worldwide communications (GEO concept).
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Class: Aug-25-2003

Important Milestones (2)

Important Milestones (3)

1950s Putting the pieces together:

1970s GEO Applications Development, DBS:

1956 - Trans-Atlantic cable opened (about 12 telephone channels operator).

1972 First domestic satellite system operational (Canada).

1957 First man-made satellite launched by former USSR (Sputnik, LEO).

1975 First successful direct broadcast experiment (USA-India).

1958 First US satellite launched (SCORE). First voice communication

established via satellite (LEO, lasted 35 days in orbit).

1977 A plan for direct broadcast sattellites (DBS) assigned by the ITU

1979 International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) established.

1960s First satellite communications:

1980s GEO Applications Expanded, Mobile:

1960 First passive communication satellite (Large balloons, Echo I and II).

1981 First reusable launch vehicle flight.

1962: First active communication satellite (Telstar I , MEO).

1982 International maritime communications made operational.

1963: First satellite into geostationary (GEO) orbit (Syncom 1, comms. failed).

1984 First direct-to-home broadcast system operational (Japan).

1964: International Telecomm. Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) created.

1987 Successful trials of land-mobile communications (Inmarsat).

1965 First successful communications GEO (Early Bird / INTELSAT 1).

1989-90 Global mobile communication service extended to land mobile and

aeronautical use (Inmarsat)
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Motivation to use the sky

Important Milestones (4)

1990+s NGSO applications development and GEO expansion

1990-95:
- Proposals of non-geostationary (NGSO) systems for mobile communications.
- Continuing growth of VSATs around the world.
- Spectrum allocation for non-GEO systems.
- Continuing growth of DBS. DirectTV created.
1997:
- Launch of first batch of LEO for hand-held terminals (Iridium).
- Voice-service portables and paging-service pocket size mobile terminals
launched (Inmarsat).
1998-2000: Mobile LEO systems initiate service and fail afterwards (Iridium,
Globalstar).
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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

750 km
high tower

Trans -Atlantic Link

GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Useful Orbits (1):

The Geostationary (GEO) Orbit

Main orbit types

GEO

36,000 km

MEO

5,000 15,000 km

LEO

500 -1000 km

Class: Aug-25-2003

In the equatorial plane

Orbital period = 23 h 56 min. 4.091 s
= one sidereal day
Satellite appears to be stationary to an observer
over a point on the equator
Earth rotates at same speed as satellite

Radius of orbit, r, = 42,164.57 km

Orbit Type

Height

NOTE: Radius = orbital height + radius of the earth

Period

LEO - Low Earth Orbit

500-1000 Km
1.6 to 1.8 hrs
MEO - Medium Earth Orbit 8,000 to 12,000 km approx. 6 hrs (at 10,000 km).
GEO - Geostationary
approx. 36,870 km approx. 24 hrs

Average radius of earth = 6,378.14 km

Three satellites can cover the earth (120 apart)

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Useful Orbits (2):

Non-Geostationary (NGSO) Orbits

LEO
MEO

Orbit should avoid

Van Allen radiation
belts
Region of charged
particles that can
HEO
cause damage to
satellite
Occur at ~20004000 km and
~13000-25000 km

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Useful Orbits (3):

The LEO Orbit
Circular or inclined orbit with < 1400 km altitude
Satellite travels across sky from horizon to horizon
in 5 - 15 minutes => needs handoff
Earth stations must track satellite or have omnidirectional antennas
Large constellation of satellites is needed for
continuous communication (66 satellites needed to
cover earth)
Requires complex architecture

GEO
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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Class: Aug-25-2003

Coverage vs. Altitude

Useful Orbits (4)

Polar (LEO); Earth rotates about 23o each orbit;
Useful for surveillance; large number of eclipses
Sun synchronous (LEO); Retrograde orbit; In
plane of sun-earth axis on sun-side of orbit; few or
no eclipses
Molniya (HEO) (USSR-1965); T 11h 38 min.;
39,152 500 km; Orbit track repeats every other
orbit

Satellite Altitude (km)

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Orbital Velocities and Periods

LEO, MEO and GEO Orbit Periods

30.0

25.0

Satellite
System

Orbital
Height (km)

15.0

INTELSAT

35,786.43

3.0747

23 56 4.091

10.0

ICO-Global

10,255

4.8954

5 55 48.4

1,469

7.1272

1 55 17.8

780

7.4624

1 40 27.0

Hours

20.0

Skybridge

5.0

Iridium

0.0
0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

Orbital
Velocity (km/s)

Orbital
Period
h min s

40000

Altitude [km]

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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

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Minimum Delay for two hops

Class: Aug-25-2003

Why do satellites stay moving and in orbit?

300.0

v (velocity)
250.0

F2

Delay [ms]

200.0

F1

(Gravitational
Force)

150.0

(Inertial-Centrifugal
Force)

100.0

50.0

0.0
0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

Altitude [km]

40000

To be further discussed in future classes.

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Frequency Spectrum concepts:

Frequency: Rate at which an electromagnetic wave reverts its
polarity (oscillates) in cycles per second or Hertz (Hz).
Wavelength: distance between wavefronts in space. Given in
meters as:
= c/f
Where: c = speed of light (3x108 m/s in vacuum)
f = frequency in Hertz

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Radio Frequencies (RF)

RF Frequencies: Part of the electromagnetic spectrum
ranging between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.
Efficient generation of signal power
Radiates into free space
Efficient reception at a different point.
Differences depending on the RF frequency used:

Frequency band: range of frequencies.

- Propagation effects (diffraction, noise, fading)

Bandwidth: Size or width (in Hertz) of a frequency band.

- Antenna Sizes

Electromagnetic Spectrum: full extent of all frequencies from

zero to infinity.
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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Microwave Frequencies

Spectrum Regulation

Sub-range of the RF frequencies approximately from 1GHz to

30GHz. Main properties:
- Line of sight propagation (space and atmosphere).

- Compact antennas, directionality possible.

- Reduced efficiency of power amplification as frequency
grows:
Radio Frequency Power OUT
Direct Current Power IN

Radio Frequency Spectrum

0.1

10

100

L S
1

MHz

-Meets biannually at the World Radiocommunication

Conference (WRC) to discuss rules and allocations

SHF
C X Ku Ka V Q
10

fixed/mobile networks

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Space-Earth Frequency Usability

Commonly Used Bands*

UHF

-Mediates disputes and deals with harmful RFI when it occurs

Intelsat/Inmarsat: International groups that operate global

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VHF

-Members from practically all countries in the world

-Creates rules to limit RF Interference (RFI) between countries

that reuse same RF bands

- Wide bandwidths compared to lower frequency bands.

HF

International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

-Allocates frequency bands for different purposes and
distributes them around the planet

- Blockage by dense media (hills, buildings, rain)

AM

Class: Aug-25-2003

Resonance frequencies
below 100GHz:
100

22.2GHz (H20)
53.5-65.2 GHz (Oxigen)

GHz

Water Vapor
Terrestrial Bands
Space Bands

Oxygen

Shared (Terrestrial and Space)

* See http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf for complete spectrum allocation

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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

Atmospheric attenuation effects for Space-to-Earth as a function of frequency (clear air conditions).
(a) Oxigen; (b) Water vapor. [Source: ITU 1988]
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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Insights on Frequency Selection

Class: Aug-25-2003

GEO Satellite Applications

LEO satellites need lower RF frequencies

Initial application - telephony

Broadcasting - mainly TV at present

Low distances between satellite and ground means lower

antenna gains required => lower frequencies

DirectTV, PrimeStar, etc.

GEO satellites need higher RF frequencies

Point to multi-point communications

Low frequencies occupied by terrestrial systems

Applications require high data rates => high bandwidths
(many MHz) => high frequencies (GHz)

Video distribution for Cable TV

Mobile services
Weather observation

Note: High data rates mean high bandwidths are

required but bandwidth is often hard to get (theres
always tradeoffs in satellite system design!)
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Satellite Navigation:

LEO Satellite Applications

The Global Positioning System (GPS)

Communications
Military surveillance
Weather
Atmospheric studies
Earth observation

GPS is a MEO satellite system

GPS satellites broadcast pulse trains with very
accurate time signals
A receiver able to see four GPS satellites can
calculate its position within 30 m anywhere in
world
24 satellites in clusters of four, 12 hour orbital
period

Polar icecap monitoring

Tracking plantation changes for harvests

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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Class: Aug-25-2003

Comparison of Orbit Types

LEO
Advantages Smaller handsets
Less required power
Low delay times
Frequency reuse
Suitable for
positioning

MEO
Less handoff
than with LEO
Less propagation
delay than with
GEO

Satellite vs. Optical Fibers:

GEO

Can cover almost

entire world w/3
satellites
Can continuously
monitor one point
on earths surface
Good for
broadcasting

Requires large number More satellites

Cannot cover high
Disrequired than with latitudes or low
advantages of satellites
Complex handoff
Multiple satellite hops
large delays
Atmospheric drag

GEOs
Greater delays
and propagation
losses than with
LEOs

elevations

Telephone links via GEO satellites:

A long way to travel (80,000 km each way)
Round trip delay is 500 ms - very noticeable

Optical fibers, when available, are

Much cheaper to operate than satellites

Have 30-year lifetime - do not have to be relaunched
Have huge capacity - 2.7 Gbit/s per fiber is common
Guarantee lower Bit Error Rate (BER)

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Satellite vs. Terrestrial

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Satellite System Elements

Satellite systems can be deployed in 4-5 years, whereas

terrestrial systems take longer
One satellite can cover the same region that it would
take multiple base stations of a terrestrial system to
cover

Space Segment
Satellite

Coverage Region

Better for covering sparsely populated areas

Of course, satellite systems cost a lot

Careful studies must be done to assure success IRIDIUM

A satellite failure can have catastrophic results, but:

Launch reliability 99 %
Most satellites proven to be reliable beyond predicted lifetime
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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

Earth
Stations

SCC
TT&C Ground Station

Ground Segment

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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Class: Aug-25-2003

Ground Segment

Space Segment

Satellite Launching Phase

Transfer Orbit Phase
Deployment
Operation

Collection of facilities, users and applications.

TT&C - Tracking Telemetry and Command Station

SSC - Satellite Control Center, a.k.a.:
OCC - Operations Control Center
SCF - Satellite Control Facility

Retirement Phase

FSS Fixed Satellite Service

MSS Mobile Satellite Service

Earth Station = Satellite Communication Station (air, ground or sea, fixed or mobile).
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Signals (1)

Basic Principles
Signals:

Satellite

Carried by wires as voltage or current

Transmitted through space as electromagnetic waves.
Analog:
Uplink

Voltage or Current proportional to signal. E.g. Telephone.

Downlink

Earth
Station

Digital: Generated by computers.

Ex. Binary = 1 or 0 corresponding to +1V or 1V.

Earth
Station

Tx

Source
Information

Output
Information

Rx

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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Class: Aug-25-2003

Separating Signals (1)

Signals (2)
Sine waves
Carry no information
Sine wave frequency is the carrier (center) frequency of the
data

Data (information) is impressed onto the sine wave

(carrier) by modulation

Uplink and Downlink:

FDD: Frequency Division Duplexing.
f1 = Uplink
f2 = Downlink

TDD: Time Division Duplexing.

t1=Up, t2=Down, t3=Up, t4=Down,.

Results in signal (carrier plus data) occupying finite

frequency band (bandwidth)

Polarization
V & H linear polarization
RH & LH circular polarizations

Modulation: Vary a parameter of the sine wave based

on the information content
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
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Basic Principles:
System Block Diagram

Separating Signals (2)

Between Users or Channels (Multiple Access):

EARTH STATION TRANSMITTER

FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access

Source
Data
from
User

f1 = User 1
f2 = User 2
f3 = User 3

Source
Coding

Channel
Coding

(Carrier)

Modulator

To Satellite
(Uplink)

HPA

Antenna
(Channel)

TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access.

t1=User_1, t2=User_2, t3=User_3, t4 = User_1, ...

EARTH STATION RECEIVER

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access

Code 1 = User 1
Code 2 = User 2
Code 3 = User 3
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(C) Leila Z. Ribeiro, 2003

Source
Data
To
User
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Source
Decoder

Channel
Decoder

(Carrier)

Demodulator

From Satellite
(Downlink)

LNA

Antenna
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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Basic Principles:
Satellites (Typical Transponder)
Antenna

(Uplink)

Receiver
(f1)

Frequency
Conversion
(f3)

Processing

Transmitter
(f2)

Responsible for frequency translation

Class: Aug-25-2003

The Challenge

Antenna

High speed two way internet access

(Downlink)

Two way fixed satellite service to home terminal

at Mbps rates

From uplink (f1) to downlink (f2) (FDD)

Movement is from passive to active satellites

Passive: No on-board processing (only reflects signal)
Active: On-board processing (e.g. signal amplification)

Linear and non-linear transponders

Two way links to mobiles - but at what speed?

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Current Trends

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Future of Satellite Communications (1)

Higher power GEO satellites with multiple roles

Growth requires new frequency bands

More direct broadcast TV and radio satellites

Propagation through rain and clouds becomes a

problem as RF frequency is increased

Expansion into Ka, Q, V bands (30/20, 50/40 GHz)

C band (6/4 GHz)

Massive growth in data services fueled by internet

Rain has little impact; 99.99% availability is possible

demand (overtaking voice)

Ku band (10-12 GHz) & Ka band (20 - 30 GHz)

Mobile services:

Rain has significant impact, affects link availability

May be broadcast services rather than point to point

Make mobile services a successful business?
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GMU - ECE 739, Fall 2003 - Satellite Communications

Future of Satellite Communications (2)

Class: Aug-25-2003

Future of Satellite Communications (3)

Low cost phased array antennas for mobiles

are needed

Expected revenues from all satellite

communications services should reach $75
billion by the year 2005

Mobile systems are limited by use of omnidirectional antennas

A self-phasing, self-steering phased array antenna
with 6 dB gain can quadruple the capacity of a
system

Satellite Direct-to-Home (DTH) Video and

Internet services appear to be the major
drivers

Directional antennas allow frequency re-use

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