Advanced Electronic Communication Systems

Lecture 5
• Satellite Coordinates
and Look Angles
• System Model

Dr.Eng. Basem ElHalawany

 Satellite Orbital Patterns
 Three paths that a satellite can follow as it rotates around Earth: inclined,
equatorial, or polar.

Electrical Circuits (2) - Basem ElHalawany 2

 Satellite Orbital Patterns

 Equatorial Orbit: When the satellite rotates in an orbit above the equator,
it is called an equatorial orbit.
 Polar Orbit: When the satellite rotates in an orbit that takes it over the
north and south poles, it is called a polar orbit.
 Inclined Orbit: Any other orbital path is called an inclined orbit.
Electrical Circuits (2) - Basem ElHalawany 3
 Position Coordinates in Latitude and Longitude.
 To use a satellite, you must be able to locate its position in space.
 Once the position is known, the earth station antenna can be pointed at the
satellite for optimum transmission and reception.
 A tracking system must be employed (essentially an antenna whose position
can be changed to follow the satellite across the sky.)

 The location of a satellite is generally specified in terms of latitude and longitude

similar to other points on Earth
 However, because a satellite is orbiting many miles above the Earth’s surface, it
has no latitude or longitude itself

 The satellite location is specified by a point on the surface of the earth

directly below the satellite (known as the subsatellite point “SSP” ).
 The subsatellite point is then located by using conventional latitude and
longitude designations.

Electrical Circuits (2) - Basem ElHalawany 4

 Standard latitude and longitude coordinates
 Latitude of a given point is defined as the angle between (the line drawn from
the point on the surface of the earth to the geocenter) and (the line between
the geocenter and the equator)
 The 0° latitude is at the equator, and 90° latitude is at either the north
or south pole (90N, 90S).

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 Standard latitude and longitude coordinates
 The Longitude (or Meridian) of a given point is the angle between (the line
connecting the geocenter of the earth to the point where the prime meridian and
equator intersect) and the meridian containing the given point of interest intersect.
 The 0 longitude is called the prime meridian (passing by Greenwich, England).
 The designation east or west is usually added to the longitude angle (10W,
20E)

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 Satellite and earth station coordinates

 The earth station has a location of 30°W longitude and 20°N latitude.

 Since geosynchronous satellites

vehicle (GSV) are located directly
above the equator, they all have a
0° latitude.
 Their locations are normally given
in degrees longitude east or west
of the Greenwich meridian (Ex.
30°E).

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 Look Angles (Elevation and Azimuth Angle)

 Knowing the location of the satellite is insufficient information for most earth
stations that must communicate with the satellite.
 The earth station need to know the azimuth and elevation settings of its
antenna to intercept the satellite.

Elevation Angle
Elevation angle is the vertical angle formed between the direction of travel of an
electromagnetic wave radiated from an earth station antenna pointing directly
toward a satellite and the horizontal plane.

 The smaller the angle of elevation, the greater the

distance a propagated wave must pass through
Earth’s atmosphere.
 As distance increases, the signal quality deteriorates
 Generally, 5° is considered as the minimum
acceptable angle of elevation.

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 Signal attenuation with Elevation Angle 9

 The 14/12-GHz band is more severely affected than the 6/4-GHz band
 At elevation angles less than 5°, the amount of signal power lost increases
significantly.
 Delay and Elevation Angle 10

 The time delay for the signal to travel from the satellite to a MS is a function of
various parameters (including the elevation angle ) :
 Azimuth Angle
 Azimuth angle is defined as the horizontal pointing angle of an earth station
antenna.
 Azimuth angle is generally referenced north (0°) or to south (180°) in
clockwise

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 Geosynchronous Satellite Look Angles Tables
 For geostationary orbit, the look angles angels values does not change as the
satellites are stationary with respect to earth.
 Angle of elevation and azimuth angle both depend on the latitude of the earth
station and the longitude of both the earth station and the orbiting satellite.

 The procedure for determining angle of

elevation and azimuth for geostationary
satellites is as follows:

1. From a good map, determine the

longitude and latitude of the earth
station.
2. From Table 1, determine the longitude of
the satellite of interest.
3. Calculate the difference, in degrees (ΔL),
between the longitude of the satellite and
the longitude of the earth station.
4. Then from Figure 12 determine the
azimuth angle, and from Figure 13
determine the elevation angle. 12
Geosynchronous Satellite Look Angles Tables

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 Geosynchronous Satellite Look Angles Tables

• Locate the intersection of ΔL

and the earth station’s latitude
on Figure 12.

From the figure, the azimuth

angle is approximately 59°
west of south (i.e., west of
180°).

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 Geosynchronous Satellite Look Angles Tables

From the figure, the azimuth

angle is approximately 59°
west of south (i.e., west of
180°).

• Locate the intersection of ΔL

and the earth station’s latitude
on Figure 13.

From the figure, the

elevation angle is
approximately 35° 15
 Footprint with Elevation Angle 16

 The elevation angle between the satellite beam

and the surface of the earth has an impact on
the illuminated area (known as the footprint)
 The elevation angle θ of the satellite beam
governs the distance of the satellite with respect
to the MS.

 The satellite beam footprint (highlighted circle

with 0 dB intensity) is considered to be an Satellite with several beam
isoflux region geometry like mobile cells
 Footprint Categories 17

 The area of Earth covered by a satellite depends on:

1. The location of the satellite in its geosynchronous orbit,
2. The carrier frequency and
3. The gain of its antennas.
 The radiation pattern from a satellite antenna may be categorized as either
spot, zonal or earth.

1. Earth Coverage: The radiation patterns covers approximately one-third of

Earth’s surface.
2. Zonal coverage: covers an area less than one-third of Earth’s surface.
3. Spot coverage: beams concentrate the radiated power in a very small
geographic area.
SATELLITE SYSTEM LINK MODELS 18
 Uplink Model

 The primary component

within the uplink section is
the earth station transmitter.

Component function
1 IF modulator converts the input baseband signals
to either an FM-, a PSK-, or a QAM-modulated intermediate
frequency.
2 IF-to-RF microwave up- converts the IF to an appropriate RF carrier frequency.
converter
3 High-power amplifier provides adequate gain and output power to propagate the
(HPA) signal to the satellite transponder. HPAs commonly used are
klystons and traveling-wave tubes.
4 Output bandpass filter Used for band-limiting of the final output spectrum
5 Transmitting Antenna 19
 Transponder Model

It can be
considered as
an RF-to-RF
repeater.

Component function
1 Input BPF limits the total noise applied to the input of the LNA
2 low-noise amplifier A common device used as an LNA is a tunnel diode.
(LNA)
3 Frequency translator converts the high-band uplink frequency to the
low-band downlink frequency.
4 Low-level power amplifies the RF signal for transmission through the downlink
amplifier to earth station receivers (commonly a traveling-wave tube).

Each RF satellite channel requires a separate transponder. 20

 Transponder Model
 The transmitter-receiver combination in the satellite is known as a
transponder.
 The basic functions of a transponder are amplification and frequency
translation
 The reason for frequency translation is that the transponder cannot transmit
and receive on the same frequency.
 Widely spaced transmit and receive frequencies prevent interference (2 GHz )
 Although the typical transponder has a wide bandwidth, it is used with
only one uplink or downlink signal to minimize interference and improve
communication reliability.
 Most satellites contain multiple transponders, each operating at a different
frequency to be economically feasible (Ex. 24 channels: 12 vertically polarized
and 12 horizontally polarized).
 Various multiple-access schemes are used so that each channel can carry
multiple information transmissions.

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 Downlink Model

earth station
receiver

Component function
1 Input BPF limits the total noise applied to the input of the LNA
2 LNA is a highly sensitive, low-noise device, such as a tunnel
diode amplifier.
3 RF-to-IF down- Is a mixer/bandpass filter combination that converts the
converter received RF signal to an IF frequency.
4 Demodulator

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 Cross-Links

 Occasionally, there is an application where it is necessary to communicate

between satellites.
 This is done using satellite cross-links or intersatellite links (ISLs)
 A disadvantage of using an ISL is that both the transmitter and the receiver are
space bound (i.e. both the transmitter’s output power and the receiver’s input
sensitivity are limited.)

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 Frequency Allocations
 Most communication satellites operate in the microwave frequency
spectrum.
 However, there are some exceptions (For example, many military satellites
operate in the 200- to 400-VHF/UHF range).
 VHF, UHF, and microwave signals penetrate the ionosphere with little or no
attenuation and are not refracted to earth, as are lower-frequency signals in the
3- to 30-MHz range.
 The microwave spectrum is divided up into frequency bands that have been
allocated to satellites as well as other communication services:

 One of the most widely used satellite

communication bands is the C band.
 Uplink frequencies are 5.925 to 6.425 GHz.
 The downlink is in the 3.7- to 4.2-GHz range.
 The C band is referred to by the designation 6/4
GHz, where the uplink frequency is given first.
 C band is over-crowded now
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 Frequency Allocations
 Currently, the Ku band is receiving the most attention to avoid interference in the
C-band.
 Ku band designated as 14/12 GHz.

 Another advantage is that for a given antenna size, the gain is higher in
the Ku band than in the C band.
 This can improve communication reliability while decreasing antenna size
and cost.

 Two other bands of interest are the X and L bands.

 The military uses the X band for its satellites and
radar.
 The L band is used for navigation as well as
marine and aeronautical communication and radar.

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 Spectrum Usage

Next Lecture

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