Lecture 10

Satellite Communication
Lecture 10Bilal Salman Taha

 Introduccion
 Satellite Orbits
 Satellite Communication Systems
 Satellite Subsystem
 Ground Station
 Satellite Application
 Introduction to Satellite Communication
 A satellite is a physical object that orbits, or rotates about, some

celestial body.
 Satellites occur in nature, and our own solar system is a perfect

example.
 Satellites are launched and orbited for a variety of purposes, The

most common application is communication in which the satellite
is used as a repeater.
Introduction to Satellite Communication
Introduction to Satellite Communication
Satellite orbits
Classification of orbits:
Satellite Orbits
Satellite orbits
Satellite orbits are also classified based on their
heights above the earth:-
• Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
• Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

Satellite Orbits
Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)
 These satellites are in orbit 35,786 km above the earth’s surface along the
equator.
 Objects in Geostationary orbit revolve around the earth at the same speed as
the earth rotates.
 This means GEO satellites remain in the same position relative to the surface
of earth.
 One of these can cover 1/3 of the earth

 Completes a trip around world in 24 hours hence
stationary
 Advantages
 A GEO satellite’s distance from earth gives it a large coverage
area, almost a fourth of the earth’s surface.
 GEO satellites have a 24 hour view of a particular area.
 These factors make it ideal for satellite broadcast and other
multipoint applications.
 Disadvantages
 A GEO satellite’s distance also cause it to have both a
comparatively weak signal and a time delay in the signal, which
is bad for point to point communication.
 GEO satellites, centered above the equator, have difficulty for
broadcasting signals to near polar regions.
 Launching of satellites to orbit are complex and expensive.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
 LEO satellites are much closer to the earth than GEO

satellites, ranging from 500 to 1,500 km above the
surface.
 LEO satellites don’t stay in fixed position relative to the

surface, and are only visible for 15 to 20 minutes each
pass.
 A network of LEO satellites is necessary for LEO

satellites to be useful.
The Iridium system has 66 satellites in six LEO orbits, each at
an altitude of 750 km.
Iridium is designed to provide direct worldwide voice and

data communication using handheld terminals, a service
similar to cellular telephony but on a global scale
 Advantages
 A LEO satellite’s proximity to earth compared to a GEO
satellite gives it a better signal strength and less of a
time delay, which makes it better for point to point
communication.
 A LEO satellite’s smaller area of coverage is less of a
waste of bandwidth.
 Disadvantages
 A network of LEO satellites is needed, which can be
costly
 Atmospheric drag effects LEO satellites, causing gradual
orbital deterioration.
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
 A MEO satellite is in orbit somewhere between 8,000
km and 18,000 km above the earth’s surface.
 MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in

functionality.
 MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of

time than LEO satellites, usually between 2 to 8
hours.
 MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO

satellites.
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
 Advantage
 A MEO satellite’s longer duration of visibility and wider
footprint means fewer satellites are needed in a MEO network
than a LEO network.
 Disadvantage
 A MEO satellite’s distance gives it a longer time delay and
weaker signal than a LEO satellite, though not as bad as a
GEO satellite.
 Satellite Communication Systems
Transmitting Station
 The transmitting station sends the information to the

satellite, which in turn retransmits it to the receiving stations.
 If a transmitting station cannot communicate directly with

one or more receiving stations because of line-of-sight
restrictions, a satellite can be used.
 The satellite in this application is what is generally known as

a repeater.
 The major subsystems consists of : -
 Solar Panel
 Power Subsystem
 Communication Subsystem
 Telemetry, Command, and Control Subsystems

Ground Station
 The ground station, or earth station, is the terrestrial base of
the system.
Ground Station
 An earth station consists of five major
subsystems:
 the antenna subsystem,
 The receive subsystem,
 the transmit subsystem,
 the ground control equipment (GCE)
subsystem,
 and the power subsystem
Satellite Applications
 The main application for satellites today is in communication.
 Satellites used for this purpose act as relay stations in the sky.
 They permit reliable long-distance communication worldwide.
 They solve many of the growing communication needs of

industry and government.
 Another major communication application is TV.

Satellite Applications
 Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS).
 Satellite Cell Phones.
 Digital Satellite Radio
 Surveillance Satellites
 Global Navigation Satellite Systems

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Satellite Communication

Lecture 10Bilal Salman Taha

 A satellite is a physical object that orbits, or rotates about, some

 Satellites occur in nature, and our own solar system is a perfect

 Satellites are launched and orbited for a variety of purposes, The

• Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

• Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

• Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

 One of these can cover 1/3 of the earth

 LEO satellites are much closer to the earth than GEO

 LEO satellites don’t stay in fixed position relative to the

 A network of LEO satellites is necessary for LEO

Iridium is designed to provide direct worldwide voice and

 MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in

 MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of

 MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO

 The transmitting station sends the information to the

 If a transmitting station cannot communicate directly with

 The satellite in this application is what is generally known as

 Telemetry, Command, and Control Subsystems

 They permit reliable long-distance communication worldwide.

 They solve many of the growing communication needs of

 Another major communication application is TV.

 Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS).

 Satellite Cell Phones.

 Digital Satellite Radio

 Global Navigation Satellite Systems

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