ETCT 06102: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

LECTURE ONE
Coverage: Introduction, frequency allocation, INTELSAT.

INTRODUCTION
What is a Satellite?
Satellite is an object that moves around a larger object, it can be a planet e.g. Earth, Moon
or any other “man-made” object.
There are natural and artificial satellites.
However, usually when we say “satellite”, we mean a man-made i.e. fabricated object or
machine, which are launched into space, and orbits the Earth for various applications and
uses, basically a radio repeater in the sky.

What is Satellite Communications?

Satellite Communications is the use of satellite technology in the field of communications.
Services provided by satellite communications are like television, voice and video calling.
Satellite communications is preferred because it can provide communication capabilities
spanning long distances.
Brief History
The first artificial satellite launced by the Soviet Union in October 1957 was Sputnik 1 for
initiating the Soviet Sputnik Program with Sergei Korolev as chief designer. This triggered
the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Sputnik 1 helped to identify
the density of high atmospheric layers through measurement of its orbital change and
provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere.
Following Sputnik 2 was launced in November 1957 and carried a first living passenger
into orbit, a dog named Laika. Three months after Sputnik 2, Explorer 1 became the United
States’s first artificial satellite to be launched in January 1958.
Vanguard 1 was launced in March 1958, it was designed to test the launch capabilities of
the three-stage launch vehicle as part of Project Vanguard and the effects of the
environment on a satellilte and its systems in Earth orbit.
First Communication Satellite Concept
Arthur C. Clarke, a British science writer and inventor, first proposed the idea of
telecommunication relays, which later became geostationary satellite concept. He first
described this in a letter to the editor of Wireless World in February 1945 and elaborated
on this concept in a paper titled Extra-Terrestial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give
Worldwide Radio Coverages? published in Wireless World in October 1945.
The development was first seen in August 1960 when Echo 1, the first communication
satellite was launced by NASA. It was an aluminium-coated ballon satellite which received
radio signals and simply reflected them back to the Earth i.e. passive satellite. It
demostrated the concept of relaying radio signals through space and hence stimulated a
great deal of interest in the development of active satellite communications.
Following to the that series of satellite launch took place;
 Telstar, developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories was a commercial
communication satellilte launced into space in 1962. It was designed to amplify a
signal received from the ground and to relay it back to another ground station. It
could connect 600 telephone lines between USA and Europe.
 Syncom 1-3 were experimental telecommunication satellite built by Hughes Aircraft
Company.
Syncom 1 was to be the first satellite placed in geostationary orbit. It was launced in
February 1963, but was lost on the way to geostationary orbit due to an electronic
failure.
Later Syncom 2 was launced in July 1963 and was the first geostationary
communication satellite. Syncom demonstrated the feasibility and advantages of the
geosynchronous type of relay and marked an important milestone in the history of
communication satellites.
  The Anik satellites are series of geostationary communications satellites launced by
Telecast Canada from 1972 through 2013 for television broadcast in Canada since
the international satellites could not provide sufficient services to every countries.
Anik A1 wa launced in November 1972, while some of the later satellites in the
series remain operational in orbit, others have been retired and are derelict.
 Marisat Satellites were the first maritime communication satellites. They were
designed to provide dependable telecommunication for commercial shipping and
the U.S Navy from stable GEO locations over the three major ocean regions.
The three Marisat satellites, F1, F2 and F3 were built by Hughes Aircraft
Corporation. They were designed to provide to provide maritime
telecommunications serives in three large ocean areas, the Atlantic Ocean, the
pacific ocean, and the Indian Ocean. The three-satellites Marisat System served as
the Intial INMARSAT constellation.
Communication satellite technologies have continuously evolved from telephone services,
television broadcasting to internet services which requires high speed data communication
and specific footprints.
 Thaicom 4, also known as IPSTAR is a high throughput satellite built by Space
System/Loral (SS/L) for Thaicom Public Company Limited. It was launched in
August 2005.
The IPSTAR broadband satellite was designed for high-speed, 2-way broadband
communication over an IP platform. It plays an important role in the broadband
Internet/multimedia revolution and the convergence of information and
communication technologies.
Evoluation of Satellite Technologies
Development of satellite technologies can be categorized into three types of applications
 Communication Satellites
 Satellites for scientific research and meterology
 Satellites for specific purposes e.g. military, remote sensing e.t.c.

Satellite Application
The horizon of application of satellite technology has extended far beyond providing
intercontinental communication services such as radio, telephone to navigation aids, broadcasting
and newer communication services etc. while small roof top antennas rather than giant sized
antennas.

Application Areas
Satellite applications can be broadly classified in:
1. Satellite communication applications
In this field Satellite TV, Telephone and Data Communication are the major application areas.
2. Remote sensing and Earth observation applications
In this category of Remote sensing and earth observation application the typical ones are the
discovery of hidden mineral resources, terrain-mapping etc.
3. Meteorological applications
The metrological applications include weather forecasting, flood forecast, melting of glaciers
etc.
4. Military applications
This includes providing strategic communication links between border forces and
headquarters, spying providing navigational aids to ships, aircraft etc.
5. Scientific and Technological applications
The application include use of satellites for astronautical research, monitoring of different
layers of atmosphere etc.

Principle of Satellite Communications

Satellite transmission are categorized in bus and payload.
The Bus ( or sometimes referred to as platform) includes control mechanisms that support the
payload operation.
The payload is the actual user information that is conveyed through the system.

Satellite Communications Elements

The basic element of satellite communication are earth station terrestrial system and users the
basic structure of a satellite communication are shown in the following figure
Basic Elements shown in the figure are
• Earth Station
• Satellite
• Terrestrial System
• User
This consists of many earth stations on the ground and there are linked with a satellite in space.
The users is connected to the earth station through a terrestrial station and this network may be a
telephonic switch or a well-established link to an earth station.

Type of Satellites
There are two types of satellites i.e. Active and Passive Satellite.
a. Active Satellite is the one that electronically repeats a signal back to earth. It has its own
transmitting and receiving antenna. It receives a signal, amplifies the signal and retransmits.
It generates power of its own.
b. Passive Satellite is the simplest type of satellites that reflects the received signal from
earth station and scatters the signal in all directions. It does not modify or amplify the
signal.

FREQUENCY ALLOCATION
There are six frequency bands that have been allocated for the use with satellite communications

Frequency Range (MHz)

Band Application
Downlinks Uplink
UHF 250 - 270 292 - 312 Military
C Band 3700 - 4200 5925 - 6425 Commercial
X Band 7250 - 7750 7900 - 8400 Military
Ku Band 11700 - 12200 14000 - 14500 Commercial
Ka Band 17700 - 21200 27500 - 30000 Commercial
Ka Band 20200 - 21200 43500 - 45500 Military

INTELSAT
Intel Sat is satellite communication service provider known as International Telecommunication
Satellite Organization (ITSO). INTELSAT was formed from 1964 to 2001.
An intergovernmental consortium owing and managing a constellation of communication satellites
providing international broadcast services.
Constellations: Is a group of artificial satellites working in concert that means satellite with
coordinated ground coverage operating together under shared control, synchronized so that they
overlap well in coverage, the period in which a satellite or other spacecraft is visible above the local
horizon.
At current state INTEL SAT operates fleet of 52 communications satellites for international
broadcast services.