SATELLITE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Dr. Mehmood Alam

Email: [email protected]
 Advantages of Satellite Communications
over Terrestrial Communications
 The coverage area greatly exceeds.
 Transmission cost of a satellite is independent of the distance from
the center of the coverage area.
 Satellite-to-satellite communication is very precise.
 Higher bandwidths are available for use.
 Disadvantages of Satellite Communications
 Launching satellites into orbits is costly.
 Satellite bandwidth is gradually becoming used up.
 The propagation delay is larger.
Evolution of Satellite Communication
In 1945 Theorist named Clarke studied that satellite orbiting in
equatorial orbit at radius of approx. 42,000 km would look as if
stationary if moving at a specific speed.
 Three satellites at a space of 120 degree apart can cover the whole
world  Evolution of the concept of GEO
 Evolution of Satellite Communication

 1957 First man-made satellite launched by former USSR (Sputnik-1, LEO). It was used to
identify atmospheric density of various orbital layers. It provided data about radio signal
distribution in ionosphere.
 1958 First US satellite launched (SCORE). First voice communication established via
satellite (LEO, lasted 35 days in orbit)
 Evolution of Satellite Communication

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

 1963: First satellite into geostationary (GEO) orbit (Syncom1, communication failed).
 1964: International Telecomm. Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) created.
 1965 First successful communications GEO (Early Bird / INTELSAT 1)
Evolution of Satellite Communication
During early 1950s, both passive and active satellites were considered for the purpose
of communications over a large distance.
Passive satellites though successfully used in the early years of satellite
communications, with the advancement in technology active satellites have completely
replaced the passive satellites.
 Active and Passive Satellites

 Active satellites are used for linking and for processing the signals.
• Demodulation, frequency translation, switching and power amplification.
• Block used for this purpose is called transponder.

 Passive satellites do-not have on-board processing and are just used to
link two stations through space.
• Low cost
• Loss of power
• Not useful for communication applications
Disadvantages of Passive Satellite

 Earth Stations require high power to transmit signals.

 Large Earth Stations with tracking facilities are expensive.
 A global system would require a large number of passive satellites accessed
randomly by different users.
 Control of satellites not possible from ground.
 The large attenuation of the signal while traveling the large distance between
the transmitter and the receiver via the satellite is one of the most serious
problems.
Active Satellite advantages over the passive satellites

 Require lower power earth station.

 Less costly.
 Not open to random use.
 Directly controlled by operators from ground.
Satellite Applications
Communication:
The main application for satellites today is in communication. Communication
satellites act as relay stations in the sky and permit reliable long-distance
communication worldwide.
Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) service:
This is a TV signal distribution system designed to distribute signals directly to
consumers.
Satellite Applications
Digital Satellite Radio:
One of the newest satellite applications is in digital satellite radio or
the digital audio radio service (DARS).
– This service provides hundreds of channels of music, news,
sports, and talk radio to car portable and home radios.
– It provides full continuous coverage of the station you select
wherever you are.
– Its digital transmission techniques ensure high-quality stereo
sound that is immune to noise.
– The satellites transmit other information such as song title and
artist, type of music, and other data, which are displayed on a LCD
screen
Satellite Applications
Surveillance satellites can look at the earth and transmit what they see back to
ground stations for a wide variety of purposes, including military intelligence,
meteorological applications, and mapping.
Satellite navigation systems can provide global coverage unavailable with land-
based systems.
Satellite Applications
Satellite Cell Phones.
Satellite-based cellular telephone service is under development. The proposed new
systems use low-earth-orbit satellites to perform the relay services to the main
telephone system or to make connection directly between any two cellular telephones
using the system.
Basic Satellite Communication System
Satellite system
A satellite system consists of one or more satellites, a ground-based station to
control the operation of the system, and a user network earth stations that
provides the interface facilities for the transmission and reception of terrestrial
communications traffic.
The space segment contains
one or several active and
spare satellites organized
into a constellation.

The ground segment consists

of all the traffic earth stations.
Depending on the type of
service considered, these The control segment consists of all
stations can be of different ground facilities for the control and
size, from a few centimetres to monitoring of the satellites,
tens of metres. also named TTC (tracking, telemetry and
command) stations, and for the
management of the traffic and the
associated resources on-board the
satellite.
Space Segment includes:
 Satellite
 Means for launching satellite
 Electrical Power System
 Mechanical structure
 Communication transponders
 Communication Antennas
 Attitude and orbit control system
The ground segment consists of
 Earth Stations
 Rear Ward Communication links
 User terminals and interfaces
 Network control center
 Transmit equipment
 Receive equipment
 Antenna system