Satellite Orbits

Overview
• Satellite technology has progressed tremendously over the
last 50 years since Arthur C. Clarke first proposed its idea in
1945 in his article in Wireless World.
• Today, satellite systems can provide a variety of services
including broadband communications, audio/video
distribution networks, maritime navigation, worldwide
customer service and support as well as military command
and control.
• Satellite systems are also expected to play an important role
in the emerging 4G global infrastructure providing the wide
area coverage necessary for the realization of the “Optimally
Connected Anywhere, Anytime” vision that drives the growth
of modern telecom industry.
 Reference Books
• Title: Satellite Communications
• Author: Dennis Roddy
• ISBN: 0071371761
• EAN: 9780071371766
• Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Professional
 Satellite History Calendar
• 1957
– October 4, 1957: - First satellite - the Russian Sputnik 01
– First living creature in space: Sputnik 02
• 1958
– First American satellite: Explorer 01
– First telecommunication satellite: This satellite broadcast a taped message: Score
• 1959
– First meteorology satellite: Explorer 07

• 1960
– First successful passive satellite: Echo 1
– First successful active satellite: Courier 1B
– First NASA satellite: Explorer 08
• April 12, 1961: - First man in space
• 1962
– First telephone communication & TV broadcast via satellite: Echo 1
– First telecommunication satellite, first real-time active, AT&T: Telstar 1
– First Canadian satellite: Alouette 1
– On 7th June 1962 at 7:53p the two-stage rocket; Rehbar-I was successfully launched from Sonmiani Rocket Range. It carried a payload of 80
pounds of sodium and soared to about 130 km into the atmosphere. With the launching of Rehbar-I, Pakistan had the honour of becoming the
third country in Asia and the tenth in the world to conduct such a launching after USA, USSR, UK, France, Sweden, Italy, Canada, Japan and
Israel.
– Rehbar-II followed a successful launch on 9th June 1962
• 1963
– Real-time active: Telstar 2
• 1964
– Creation of Intelsat
– First geostationary satellite, second satellite in stationary orbit: Syncom 3
– First Italian satellite: San Marco 1
 Satellite History Calendar
• 1965
– Intelsat 1 becomes first commercial comsat: Early Bird
– First real-time active for USSR: Molniya 1A
• 1967
– First geostationary meteorology payload: ATS 3
• 1968
– First European satellite: ESRO 2B
• July 21, 1969: - First man on the moon

• 1970
– First Japanese satellite: Ohsumi
– First Chinese satellite: Dong Fang Hong 01
• 1971
– First UK launched satellite: Prospero
– ITU-WARC for Space Telecommunications
– INTELSAT IV Launched
– INTERSPUTNIK - Soviet Union equivalent of INTELSAT formed
• 1974
– First direct broadcasting satellite: ATS 6
• 1976
– MARISAT - First civil maritime communications satellite service started
• 1977
– EUTELSAT - European regional satellite
– ITU-WARC for Space Telecommunications in the Satellite Service
• 1979
– Creation of Inmarsat
•
Satellite History Calendar
1980
– INTELSAT V launched - 3 axis stabilized satellite built by Ford Aerospace
• 1983
– ECS (EUTELSAT 1) launched - built by European consortium supervised by ESA
• 1984
– UK's UNISAT TV DBS satellite project abandoned
– First satellite repaired in orbit by the shuttle: SMM
• 1985
– First Brazilian satellite: Brazilsat A1
– First Mexican satellite: Morelos 1
• 1988
– First Luxemburg satellite: Astra 1A
• 1989
– INTELSAT VI - one of the last big "spinners" built by Hughes
– Creation of Panamsat - Begins Service
– On 16 July 1990, Pakistan launched its first experimental satellite, BADR-I from China
• 1990
– IRIDIUM, TRITIUM, ODYSSEY and GLOBALSTAR S-PCN projects proposed - CDMA designs more popular
– EUTELSAT II
• 1992
– OLYMPUS finally launched - large European development satellite with Ka-band, DBTV and Ku-band SS/TDMA
payloads - fails within 3 years
• 1993
– INMARSAT II - 39 dBW EIRP global beam mobile satellite - built by Hughes/British Aerospace
• 1994
– INTELSAT VIII launched - first INTELSAT satellite built to a contractor's design
– Hughes describe SPACEWAY design
– DirecTV begins Direct Broadcast to Home
• 1995
– Panamsat - First private company to provide global satellite services.
•
Satellite History Calendar
1996
– INMARSAT III launched - first of the multibeam mobile satellites (built by GE/Marconi)
– Echostar begins Diresct Broadcast Service
• 1997
– IRIDIUM launches first test satellites
– ITU-WRC'97
• 1999
– AceS launch first of the L-band MSS Super-GSOs - built by Lockheed Martin
– Iridium Bankruptcy - the first major failure?
• 2000
– Globalstar begins service
– Thuraya launch L-band MSS Super-GSO
• 2001
– XM Satellite Radio begins service
– Pakistan’s 2nd Satellite, BADR-B was launched on 10 Dec 2001 at 9:15a from Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakistan
• 2002
– Sirius Satellite Radio begins service
– Paksat-1, was deployed at 38 degrees E orbital slot in December 2002, Paksat-1, was deployed at 38 degrees E orbital
slot in December 2002
• 2004
– Teledesic network planned to start operation
• 2005
– Intelsat and Panamsat Merge
– VUSat OSCAR-52 (HAMSAT) Launched
• 2006
– CubeSat-OSCAR 56 (Cute-1.7) Launched
– K7RR-Sat launched by California Politechnic University
• 2007
– Prism was launched by University of Tokyo
• 2008
– COMPASS-1; a project of Aachen University was launched from Satish Dawan Space Center, India. It failed to achieve
orbit.
 Intelsat
• INTELSAT is the original "Inter-governmental Satellite organization". It
once owned and operated most of the World's satellites used for
international communications, and still maintains a substantial fleet of
satellites.
• INTELSAT is moving towards "privatization", with increasing competition
from commercial operators (e.g. Panamsat, Loral Skynet, etc.).
• INTELSAT Timeline:
• Interim organization formed in 1964 by 11 countries

• Permanent structure formed in 1973

• Commercial "spin-off", New Skies Satellites in 1998

• Full "privatization" by April 2001

 Communication Satellite
• A Communication Satellite can be looked upon
as a large microwave repeater
• It contains several transponders which listens
to some portion of spectrum, amplifies the
incoming signal and broadcasts it in another
frequency to avoid interference with incoming
signals.
 Satellite Missions

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists [www.ucsusa.org]

 Satellite Microwave Transmission
• Satellites can relay signals over a long distance
• Geostationary Satellites
– Remain above the equator at a height of about
22300 miles (geosynchronous orbits)
– Travel around the earth in exactly the same time,
the earth takes to rotate
Satellite System Elements
 Space Segment
• Satellite Launching Phase
• Transfer Orbit Phase
• Deployment
• Operation
– TT&C - Tracking Telemetry and Command Station
– SSC - Satellite Control Center, a.k.a.:
• OCC - Operations Control Center
• SCF - Satellite Control Facility
• Retirement Phase
 Ground Segment
• Collection of facilities, Users and Applications

• Earth Station = Satellite Communication Station

(Fixed or Mobile)
 Satellite Uplink and Downlink
• Downlink
– The link from a satellite down to one or more ground
stations or receivers
• Uplink
– The link from a ground station up to a satellite.
• Some companies sell uplink and downlink services to
– television stations, corporations, and to other
telecommunication carriers.
– A company can specialize in providing uplinks, downlinks,
or both.
Satellite Uplink and Downlink
 Satellite Communication

 When using a satellite for long

distance communications, the satellite
acts as a repeater.
 An earth station transmits the signal
up to the satellite (uplink), which in
turn retransmits it to the receiving
earth station (downlink).
 Different frequencies are used for
uplink/downlink.

Source: Cryptome [Cryptome.org]

 Satellite Transmission Links
• Earth stations Communicate by sending
signals to the satellite on an uplink
• The satellite then repeats those signals on a
downlink
• The broadcast nature of downlink makes it
attractive for services such as the distribution
of TV programs
 Direct to User Services

One way Service (Broadcasting) Two way Service (Communication)

 Satellite Signals
• Used to transmit signals and data over long
distances
– Weather forecasting
– Television broadcasting
– Internet communication
– Global Positioning Systems
 Satellite Transmission Bands
Frequency Band Downlink Uplink

C 3,700-4,200 MHz 5,925-6,425 MHz

Ku 11.7-12.2 GHz 14.0-14.5 GHz

Ka 17.7-21.2 GHz 27.5-31.0 GHz

The C band is the most frequently used. The Ka and Ku bands are reserved exclusively for
satellite communication but are subject to rain attenuation
 Types of Satellite Orbits
• Based on the inclination, i, over the equatorial plane:
– Equatorial Orbits above Earth’s equator (i=0°)
– Polar Orbits pass over both poles (i=90°)
– Other orbits called inclined orbits (0°<i<90°)

• Based on Eccentricity
– Circular with centre at the earth’s centre
– Elliptical with one foci at earth’s centre
 Types of Satellite based Networks
• Based on the Satellite Altitude
– GEO – Geostationary Orbits
• 36000 Km = 22300 Miles, equatorial, High latency
– MEO – Medium Earth Orbits
• High bandwidth, High power, High latency
– LEO – Low Earth Orbits
• Low power, Low latency, More Satellites, Small Footprint
– VSAT
• Very Small Aperture Satellites
– Private WANs
 Satellite Orbits

 Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO):

36,000 km above Earth, includes
commercial and military
communications satellites, satellites
providing early warning of ballistic
missile launch.
 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO): from
5000 to 15000 km, they include
navigation satellites (GPS, Galileo,
Glonass).
 Low Earth Orbit (LEO): from 500 to
1000 km above Earth, includes
military intelligence satellites,
weather satellites.

Source: Federation of American Scientists [www.fas.org]

Satellite Orbits
 GEO - Geostationary Orbit
• In the equatorial plane

• Orbital Period = 23 h 56 m 4.091 s

= 1 sidereal day

• Satellite appears to be stationary over any point on equator:

– Earth Rotates at same speed as Satellite
– Radius of Orbit r = Orbital Height + Radius of Earth
– Avg. Radius of Earth = 6378.14 Km

• 3 Satellites can cover the earth (120° apart)

 LEO - Low Earth Orbits
• 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 Omni directional
antennas
– Large constellation of satellites is needed for continuous
communication (66 satellites needed to cover earth)
– Requires complex architecture
– Requires tracking at ground
 HEO - Highly Elliptical Orbits
• HEOs (i = 63.4°) are suitable to provide
coverage at high latitudes (including North
Pole in the northern hemisphere)
• Depending on selected orbit (e.g. Molniya,
Tundra, etc.) two or three satellites are
sufficient for continuous time coverage of
the service area.
• All traffic must be periodically transferred
from the “setting” satellite to the “rising”
satellite (Satellite Handover)
 Satellite Orbits

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists [www.ucsusa.org]

Why Satellites remain in Orbits
 Advantages of Satellite
Communication
• Can reach over large geographical area
• Flexible (if transparent transponders)
• Easy to install new circuits
• Circuit costs independent of distance
• Broadcast possibilities
• Temporary applications (restoration)
• Mobile applications
• Terrestrial network "by-pass"
• Provision of service to remote or underdeveloped areas
• User has control over own network
• 1-for-N multipoint standby possibilities
 Disadvantages of Satellite
Communication
• Large up front capital costs (space segment
and launch)
• Terrestrial break even distance expanding
(now approx. size of Europe)
• Interference and propagation delay
• Congestion of frequencies and orbits
 When to use Satellites
• When the unique features of satellite communications make it
attractive
• When the costs are lower than terrestrial routing
• When it is the only solution
• Examples:
– Communications to ships and aircraft (especially safety communications)
– TV services - contribution links, direct to cable head, direct to home
– Data services - private networks
– Overload traffic
– Delaying terrestrial investments
– 1 for N diversity
– Special events
 When to use Terrestrial
• PSTN - satellite is becoming increasingly uneconomic for
most trunk telephony routes
• but, there are still good reasons to use satellites for
telephony such as: thin routes, diversity, very long distance
traffic and remote locations.
• Land mobile/personal communications - in urban areas of
developed countries new terrestrial infrastructure is likely
to dominate (e.g. GSM, etc.)
• but, satellite can provide fill-in as terrestrial networks are
implemented, also provide similar services in rural areas
and underdeveloped countries
 Frequency Bands Allocated to the FSS
• Frequency bands are allocated to different services at World Radio-
communication Conferences (WRCs).
• Allocations are set out in Article S5 of the ITU Radio Regulations.
• It is important to note that (with a few exceptions) bands are generally
allocated to more than one radio services.
• CONSTRAINTS
– Bands have traditionally been divided into “commercial" and
"government/military" bands, although this is not reflected in the Radio
Regulations and is becoming less clear-cut as "commercial" operators move to
utilize "government" bands.
 Kepler’s Laws
• Kepler’s laws apply quite generally to any two
bodies in space which interact through
gravitation.
• The more massive of the two bodies is
referred to as the primary, the other, the
secondary, or satellite.
 Kepler’s 1 Law st

• Kepler’s first law states that 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.
Kepler’s 1 Law
st
 Kepler’s 1 Lawst

• The eccentricity and the semimajor axis are

two of the orbital parameters specified for
satellites (spacecraft) orbiting the earth. For
an elliptical orbit, 0 e 1. When e 0, the orbit
becomes circular.
 Kepler’s 2 Law nd

• Kepler’s second law states that, for equal time

intervals, a satellite will sweep out equal areas in its
orbital plane, focused at the barycenter.
• The satellite travels distances S1 and S2 meters in 1 s,
then the areas A1 and A2 will be equal. The average
velocity in each case is S1 and S2 meters per second,
and because of the equal area law, it follows that the
velocity at S2 is less than that at S1.
• An important consequence of this is that the satellite
takes longer to travel a given distance when it is
farther away from earth.
Kepler’s 2 Law
nd
 Kepler’s 3 Law rd

• Kepler’s third law states that 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 artificial satellites orbiting the
earth, Kepler’s third law can be written in the
form
 Kepler’s 3 Law
rd

• where n is the mean motion of the satellite in

radians per second and is the earth’s
geocentric gravitational constant. With a in
meters, its value is

• With n in radians per second, the orbital

period in seconds is given by
 Kepler’s 3 Law
rd

• The importance of Kepler’s third law is that it

shows there is a fixed relationship between
period and size. One very important orbit in
particular, known as the geostationary orbit, is
determined by the rotational period of the
earth.
 Kepler’s 3 Law
rd

• A satellite is orbiting in the equatorial plane

with a period from perigee to perigee of 12 h.
Given that the eccentricity is 0.002, calculate
the semi major axis. The earth’s equatorial
radius is 6378.1414 km.
Definitions of Terms for Earth
Orbiting Satellites
 Definitions of Terms for Earth Orbiting
Satellites
• Apogee: Point farthest from earth
• Perigee: Point nearest from earth
• Line of apsides: Line joining apogee & perigee
 Definitions of Terms for Earth Orbiting
Satellites
• Ascending node: Intersection of orbit and
equator from south to north
• Descending node:
 Definitions of Terms for Earth Orbiting
Satellites
• Line of nodes: Line joining ascending and
descending node
• Inclination:
 Definitions of Terms for Earth Orbiting
Satellites
• Prograde Orbit
• Retrograde Orbit
• Argument of Perigee
• Right Ascension of the ascending node
• Mean Anomaly
• True Anomaly
 Definitions of Terms for Earth Orbiting
Satellites
• Prograde Orbit
– An orbit in which the satellite moves in the same direction as the
earth’s rotation.
• Retrograde Orbit
– An orbit in which the satellite moves in a direction counter to the
earth’s rotation.
• Argument of Perigee
– The angle from ascending node to perigee, measured in the orbital
plane at the earth’s center, in the direction of satellite motion. The
argument of perigee is shown as ω.
• Right Ascension of the ascending node
– To define completely the position of the orbit in space, the position of
the ascending node is specified. The right ascension of the ascending
node is then the angle measured eastward, in the equatorial plane,
from the ϒ line to the ascending node, shown as Ω. ϒ is the line of
Aries.
 Definitions of Terms for Earth Orbiting
Satellites
• Mean Anomaly
– Mean anomaly M gives an average value of the
angular position of the satellite with reference to
the perigee.
• True Anomaly
– The true anomaly is the angle from perigee to the
satellite position, measured at the earth’s center.
This gives the true angular position of the satellite
in the orbit as a function of time.
Apogee & Perigee Height
 Apogee & Perigee Height

• Ex-1: The orbit for an earth-orbiting satellite has an

eccentricity of 0.15 and a semimajor axis of 9000 km.
Determine (a) its periodic time; (b) the apogee height; (c) the
perigee height. Assume a mean value of 6371 km for the
earth’s radius.

• Ex-2: Explain what is meant by apogee height and perigee

height. The Cosmos 1675 satellite has an apogee height of
39,342 km and a perigee height of 613 km. Determine the
semimajor axis and the eccentricity of its orbit. Assume a
mean earth radius of 6371 km.
 The Geostationary Orbit
• A satellite in a geostationary orbit appears to
be stationary with respect to the earth, hence
the name geostationary. Three conditions are
required for an orbit to be geostationary:
1. The satellite must travel eastward at the same
rotational speed as the earth.
2. The orbit must be circular.
3. The inclination of the orbit must be zero.
 The Geostationary Orbit
• As per the first condition, If the satellite is to appear
stationary, it must rotate at the same speed as the
earth, which is constant.
• The second condition follows from this and from
Kepler’s second law. Constant speed means that
equal areas must be swept out in equal times, and
this can only occur with a circular orbit.
• The third condition, that the inclination must be zero,
follows from the fact that any inclination would have
the satellite moving north and south, and hence it
would not be geostationary.
 The Geostationary Orbit
• The period P for the geostationary is 23 h, 56
min, 4 s mean solar time (ordinary clock time).
This is the time taken for the earth to
complete one revolution about its N-S axis,
measured relative to the fixed stars.
The Geostationary Orbit
 The Geostationary Orbit
• This value is often rounded up to 36,000 km for
approximate calculations. In practice, a precise
geostationary orbit cannot be attained because of
disturbance forces in space and the effects of the earth’s
equatorial bulge.
• The gravitational fields of the sun and the moon produce
a shift of about 0.85°/year in inclination. Also, the earth’s
equatorial ellipticity causes the satellite to drift eastward
along the orbit. In practice, station-keeping maneuvers
have to be performed periodically to correct for these
shifts.
 Near Geostationary Orbits
• there are a number of perturbing forces that
cause an orbit to depart from the ideal
keplerian orbit.
• For the geostationary case, the most important
of these are the gravitational fields of the moon
and the sun and the nonspherical shape of the
earth. Other significant forces are solar
radiation pressure and reaction of the satellite
itself to motor movement within the satellite.
 Near Geostationary Orbits
• An exact geostationary orbit therefore is not
attainable in practice, and the orbital
parameters vary with time.
• These types of satellites rotate in synchronism
of earth’s rotation, but they are not
geostationary. These are known as near
geostationary or geosynchronous satellites.
 Orbit Perturbations
• Effects of a nonspherical earth
• Atmospheric Drag
• The keplerian orbit is ideal in the sense that it assumes
that the earth is a uniform spherical mass and that the
only force acting is the centrifugal force resulting from
satellite motion balancing the gravitational pull of the
earth.
• In practice, other forces which can be significant are
the gravitational forces of the sun and the moon and
atmospheric drag.
 Orbit Perturbations
• The gravitational pulls of sun and moon have
negligible effect on low-orbiting satellites, but
they do affect satellites in the geostationary
orbit.
• Atmospheric drag, on the other hand, has
negligible effect on geostationary satellites but
does affect low-orbiting earth satellites below
about 1000 km.
 Effects of a non spherical earth
• For a spherical earth of uniform mass, Kepler’s third
law gives the nominal mean motion n0 as

• The 0 subscript is included as a reminder that this

result applies for a perfectly spherical earth of uniform
mass. However, it is known that the earth is not
perfectly spherical, there being an equatorial bulge and
a flattening at the poles, a shape described as an
oblate spheroid.
 Effects of a non spherical earth
• When the earth’s oblateness is taken into
account, the mean motion, denoted in this
case by symbol n, is modified to (Wertz, 1984).

• K1 is a constant which evaluates to

66,063.1704 km2. The anomalistic period is
Effects of a non spherical earth
 Effects of a non spherical earth
• The oblateness of the earth also produces two
rotations of the orbital plane. The first of
these, known as regression of the nodes, is
where the nodes appear to slide along the
equator. In effect, the line of nodes, which is in
the equatorial plane, rotates about the center
of the earth. Thus , the right ascension of the
ascending node, shifts its position.
 Effects of a non spherical earth
• If the orbit is prograde, the nodes slide westward,
and if retrograde, they slide eastward. As seen from
the ascending node, a satellite in prograde orbit
moves eastward, and in a retrograde orbit,
westward. The nodes therefore move in a direction
opposite to the direction of satellite motion, hence
the term regression of the nodes. For a polar orbit (i
=90°), the regression is zero.
• The second effect is rotation of apsides in the orbital
plane.
 sun-synchronous orbit
• It is possible to choose values of a, e, and i
such that the rate of rotation is 0.9856°/day
eastward. Such an orbit is said to be sun-
synchronous.
 Effects of a non spherical earth
• In addition to the equatorial bulge, the earth
is not perfectly circular in the equatorial
plane; it has a small eccentricity of the order
of 10-5. This is referred to as the equatorial
ellipticity.
• The effect of the equatorial ellipticity is to set
up a gravity gradient which has a pronounced
effect on satellites in geostationary orbit.
 Effects of a non spherical earth
• Very briefly, a satellite in geostationary orbit ideally
should remain fixed relative to the earth.
• The gravity gradient resulting from the equatorial
ellipticity causes the satellites in geostationary orbit
to drift to one of two stable points, which coincide
with the minor axis of the equatorial ellipse.
• These two points are separated by 180° on the
equator and are at approximately 75° E longitude
and 105° W longitude. Satellites in service are
prevented from drifting to these points through
station keeping maneuvers.
 Atmospheric Drag
• For near-earth satellites, below about 1000 km, the
effects of atmospheric drag are significant.
• Because the drag is greatest at the perigee, the drag
acts to reduce the velocity at this point, with the
result that the satellite does not reach the same
apogee height on successive revolutions.
• The result is that the semimajor axis and the
eccentricity are both reduced. Drag does not
noticeably change the other orbital parameters,
including perigee height.
• An approximate expression for the change of
major axis is

• The mean anomaly is also changed. An

approximate expression for the amount by
which it changes is
 Example
• A satellite is orbiting in the equatorial plane
with a period from perigee to perigee of 12 h.
Given that the eccentricity is 0.002, calculate
the semimajor axis. The earth’s equatorial
radius is 6378.1414 km.
 Solution
• Given data:
• e : = 0.002, i := 0 deg, P := 12 hr
• K1 := 66063.1704 km2 , aE := 6378.1414 km
µ:= 3.986005 x 1014 m3 sec2
 Solution
• The mean motion is

• Kepler’s third law gives

• Non perturbed Value:

• Perturbed Value:
Earth Eclipse of Satellite
 Earth Eclipse of Satellite
• If the earth’s equatorial plane coincided with the plane of
the earth’s orbit around the sun (the ecliptic plane),
geostationary satellites would be eclipsed by the earth
once each day.
• As it is, the equatorial plane is tilted at an angle of 23.4°
to the ecliptic plane, and this keeps the satellite in full
view of the sun for most days of the year, as illustrated by
position A in Fig.
• Around the spring and autumnal equinoxes, when the
sun is crossing the equator, the satellite does pass into
the earth’s shadow at certain periods, these being
periods of eclipse
 Earth Eclipse of Satellite
• The spring equinox is the first day of spring, and
the autumnal equinox is the first day of autumn.
• Eclipses begin 23 days before equinox and end 23
days after equinox. The eclipse lasts about 10 min
at the beginning and end of the eclipse period
and increases to a maximum duration of about 72
min at full eclipse.
• During an eclipse, the solar cells do not function,
and operating power must be supplied from
batteries.
• Where the satellite longitude is east of the
earth station, the satellite enters eclipse during
daylight (and early evening) hours for the earth
station. This can be undesirable if the satellite
has to operate on reduced battery power.
• Where the satellite longitude is west of the
earth station, eclipse does not occur until the
earth station is in darkness, when usage is likely
to be low.
 Sun Transit Outage
• Another event which must be allowed for during the
equinoxes is the transit of the satellite between earth and
sun, such that the sun comes within the beamwidth of the
earth station antenna.
• When this happens, the sun appears as an extremely noisy
source which completely blanks out the signal from the
satellite. This effect is termed sun transit outage, and it lasts
for short periods each day for about 6 days around the
equinoxes.
• The occurrence and duration of the sun transit outage
depends on the latitude of the earth station, a maximum
outage time of 10 min being typical.
 LOOK ANGLES
• The three pieces of information that are needed
to determine the look angles for the
geostationary orbit are
• 1. The earth station latitude, denoted here by λE
• 2. The earth station longitude, denoted here by
ΦE
• 3. The longitude of the subsatellite point,
denoted here by SS (often this is just referred to
as the satellite longitude)
 LOOK ANGLES
• The parameters required to define the GSO parameters
that are used to evaluate satellite link performance and
design.
• d=range (distance) from the earth station (ES) to the
satellite, in km
• Φz =azimuth angle from the ES to the satellite, in
degrees
• θ=elevation angle from the ES to the satellite, in
degrees
• The azimuth and elevation angles are referred to as the
look angles for the ES to the satellite.
 LOOK ANGLES
• Longitude and latitude sign values are based
on the sign convention shown in Figure.
• Longitudes east of the Greenwich Meridian
and latitudes north of the equator are
positive.
 LOOK ANGLES
• Equatorial Radius: re =6378.14 km
• Geostationary Radius: rS =42 164.17 km
• Geostationary Height (Altitude):
• hGSO = re − rS = 35 786 km
• Eccentricity of the earth: ee = 0.08182
• Differential longitude, B, defined as the difference
between the earth station and satellite longitudes:

• B = ΦE − ΦS in degree
 Limits of Visibility
• There will be east and west limits on the
geostationary arc visible from any given earth
station.
• The limits will be set by the geographic
coordinates of the earth station and the
antenna elevation.
• The lowest elevation in theory is zero, when
the antenna is pointing along the horizontal.
 Limits of Visibility
• A quick estimate of the longitudinal limits can be
made by considering an earth station at the equator,
with the antenna pointing either west or east along
the horizontal, as shown in Fig.
• Thus, for this situation, an earth station could see
satellites over a geostationary arc bounded by ±81.3°
about the earth station longitude.
Limits of Visibility
Launching Orbits
 Launching Orbits
• Satellites may be directly injected into low-altitude
orbits, up to about 200 km altitude, from a launch
vehicle. Launch vehicles may be classified as
expendable or reusable.
• Where an orbital altitude greater than about 200 km
is required, it is not economical in terms of launch
vehicle power to perform direct injection, and the
satellite must be placed into transfer orbit between
the initial low earth orbit and the final high-altitude
orbit.
 Launching Orbits
• In most cases, the transfer orbit is selected to
minimize the energy required for transfer, and
such an orbit is known as a Hohmann transfer
orbit.
• The time required for transfer is longer for this
orbit than all other possible transfer obits.
Launching Orbits
 Sidereal Day and Solar Day
• The sidereal day is defined as one complete
rotation of the earth relative to the fixed stars.
One sidereal day has 24 sidereal hours, 1
sidereal hour has 60 sidereal minutes, and 1
sidereal minute has 60 sidereal seconds.
Sidereal Day and Solar Day
Sidereal Day and Solar Day