Stratospheric

communication
Introduction.

 Wireless and mobile communication using the Stratosphere.

 Earth has various layers of atmosphere among which is Stratosphere.
 Stratosphere is just above troposphere( biosphere ).
 High altitude communication is synonymous to Stratospheric
communication.
 The medium of communication should be present in the stratosphere.
 Maily wireless communication and networks.
 Hot air balloons and Floating platforms used here.
Stratosphere.

 Layer just above Troposphere. Extends from end of troposphere to 50 km.

 The ozone layer is present in this layer. Consisting of ozone molecules which
block UV rays from the Sun.
 Commercial passenger jets fly through this layer.
 This layer is also used for communication between long distances and
networking which is our topic of interest.
Layers of Earths
atmosphere
Wireless communication Introduction.

 Communication without the use of wires.

 Example: Cellular telephone, Two-way radio, laser or satellite
communication.
 Able to cover large unreachable areas and merge the network with wired
network.
 Current technology is the 4th generation of broadband cellular system
which provide high speed upto 20Mbps and Voice services.
 Backwards compatible with 3rd generation technology.
 Satellites are artificial objects in orbits revolving around Earth which enable
communication and other services such as GPS.
Satellites.

 Artificial objects revolve in orbit around the Earth that enable communication
and other services.
 Types based on orbit: Geo-stationary, Geo-synchronous, Sun-synchronous and
LEO (Low earth orbit).
 Cover large areas across the globe.
 Signal latency: As signal travels through thick atmosphere and long distance
and back. Its major drawback.
 Expensive: Launching satellites requires huge money and fuel and requires
regulation by ITU ( International Telecommunications Union ).
 Signal includes noise as noise collected due to huge gap between transmitter
and receiver.
 Stratellites: Satellites which are used for communications orbiting the
stratosphere lower layer just under Exosphere of Earth.
Stratellites.

 Similar to satellite but stationed in stratosphere rather than orbit.

 Also called HAA ( High Altitude Airship ) positioned approx. 12 miles above
surface.
 Provides benefits of satellite like remote sensing, navigation &
communication.
 Desined for specific payloads based on customer service requirements.
 Should have clear line of sight to receiver.
 Can handle broadband, mobile phone, TV and radio signals covering
huge area.
 Power by solar cells and propelled by electric motors.
A typical
Stratellite.
Construction of Stratellite.

 Outer layer made of spectra ( bullet proof vest fabric ).

 Filled with helium & air mixture.
 Consists of Propeller, Solar cells, Regenerative fuel cell, Helium gas bag,
Transponder & Hybrid electric motors.
 Helium as it is inert reduces risk and not flammable. It expands pushing out
air and lifting airship.
 Uses solar cells sprayed on surface to generate electricity driving propellers
working with GPS tech to keep the Stratellite stationary.
Differences with Satellite.

 Stratellite is low cost compared to Satellite.

 They are stationary at low altitudes while Satellite is high altitude.
 Multi launch for Stratellite and Single launch of Satellite.
 Stratellites are easily upgradable while Satellites are not.
 Stratellites are technologically more advanced than Satellites.
 Stratellites has more space availability than Satellite.
 Stratellite can be used for IP and Cell TX while Satellite cant be.
 Stratellite has high bandwidth & throughput in comparison to Satellite.
 Stratellite is faster to deploy than Satellite.
 Stratellite is based on multiple platforms while Satellite on single platform.
Some specific advantages over
Satellites.

 Low signal latency as they are positioned lower in the Earths atmosphere
than Satellites which are high up.
 Also very less expensive to launch than their counterparts covering an
area of 300,000 square miles.
 Allows two way communication and high speed broadband access in
remote areas, two of these are enough for any country rather than
multiple towers.
 Carry over 20,000 pounds of radars and other remote imaging equipment,
navigational aids and telecommunication relays.
 Cost one fifth of Satellite for maintenance and remain on station for a
whole year.
Disadvantages.

 The technology required to maintain these Stratellites is in a prototype

stage.
 Requires efficient ground control.
 May lead to traffic problems in the Stratosphere.
 The technology is non-commercialised.
 Highly dependent on the Weather conditions.
Applications.

 In environmental disasters: Stratellite can be used as a floating mobile

telecommunication hub while the normal network is repaired.
 It can be used for Voice data as well as telecommunication data,
broadband, MMDS, Paging, HDTV etc.
 Will allow subscribers to easily communicate while the broken down
network lines are repaired extensively in a long time.
 Another major application: Google’s “project loon”.
Project loon.

 Connectivity through weather balloons.

 To expand the network and reach rural and distant areas.
 To provide high speed LTE services to rural areas and to places where
connectivity is hard to find.
 Loon LLC is the main company behind this project which aims to provided
working Internet access to rural areas using high altitude weather balloons
placed in the Stratosphere at altitudes of nearly 18km to create aerial wireless
network with 4G-LTE speeds.
 Was later named Project “Loon” as there are weather “balloons” used.
 Began as weather project by Google X and spun into separate company in
July 2018.
Working.

 Balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude in the Stratosphere

based on the wind layer after identifying it using wind data provided by
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
 Users connect to this network using special Internet antenna attached to
their building.
 Signals travel from one balloon to another and finally to ground based
station connected to ISP then to global Internet.
 Balloon uses patch antennas which are directional antennas to transmit
signals to ground station and LTE users.
 Whole infrastruction is based on LTE.
Architecture of Individual balloon.

 Balloon envelopes made of polyethylene plastic about 0.076mm in thickness.

 Filled with helium, size of balloon is 15m across and 12m tall when fully inflated.
 Has custom air pump system to control elevation.
 Box weighing 10kg contains all the electronic equipment hangs underneath inflated
envelope.
 This box has circuit boards, radio antennas and batteries to contain solar power.
 Each balloon powered by array of solar panels producing 100Watts of power in full
sun.
 Parachute attached on top for control descent.
 Balloon has maximum life of 100days.
 Equipped with automatic dependent surveillance broadcast can be publically
tracked.
A typical
balloon.
Advantages.

 Operating this at an altitude of 18 to 25 kms in the Stratosphere is

advantageous because of relatively low wind speeds.
 Has minimal turbulence.
 Balloons must be constructed with Highly flexible material.
 Balloons communicate with 2.4 and 5.8 GHz ISM bands which are
unlicensed.
 Work in progress to implement VoIP in this architecture.
 Work in progress to implement laser communication to interconnect
balloons and achieve speed of 155Mbps over 62 Miles.
 Allow countries to not use expensive optic fibre.
Thank You.