Unit –II

Space Segment & Earth segment

 ➢How do satellites stay in orbit

✓Satellites never fall into the

Earth because Earth is round and
curves.

▪Satellites stay in orbit

due to the balance of
two factors:

i. Velocity and
ii. Gravitational pull between
the Earth and the satellite.
 Spacecraft Technology

Spacecraft:

• A Spacecraft is the collective name of devices, which are designed

into space, comprising of earth satellites, interplanetary and trans-
solar types of space probes.

• Spacecraft can be manned or unmanned.

 Spacecraft Technology

• A satellite communications system can be broadly divided into

two segments—a ground segment and a space segment.
 Two major elements of Satellite Communications Systems are:

 Space Segment

 Ground Segment
 Space Segment includes:

 Satellite

 Means for launching satellite

 Electrical Power System

 Mechanical structure

 Communication transponders

 Communication Antennas
 Attitude and orbit control
system
 Satellite Control Centre function:

 Tracking of the satellite

 Receiving data

 Eclipse management of satellite

Conti…..
 Commanding the Satellite for station keeping.

 Determining Orbital parameters from Tracking and Ranging

data.

 Switching ON/OFF of different subsystems as per the

operational requirements.
 The ground segment consists of
 Earth Stations

 Rear Ward Communication links

 User terminals and interfaces

 Network control centre

 Transmit equipment.

 Receive equipment.

 Antenna system.
 Spacecraft Technology

• Spacecraft must be designed to withstand a variety of loads.

• During launch and transfer, there are vibration, aerodynamic loads,
acceleration, centrifugal, stresses, operating thrust etc.
• Operating orbit includes operating thrust and thermal stresses and
expose to charged particle radiations.
• The percentage of the total space craft mass represented by its
structure is less than 20%.
 Spacecraft Technology

• Various structures of spacecraft are Longeron, Truss, Thrust tube.

 Spacecraft Technology

• The mass of the spacecraft depends upon the type of structure.

• The total mass of the spacecraft will be between 15% to 20% of the
dry spacecraft.
• The percent of total mass decreases as the spacecraft is larger and it
is stabilized by body stabilization.
• The percent of total mass increases as the diameter increases and it
is stabilized by spin stabilization.
 Spacecraft Technology

Representation of percent of total mass versus spacecraft mass

 Spacecraft Technology
Some spacecraft structure materials are:
➢ Aluminium
➢ Magnesium
➢ Invar
➢ Titanium
➢ Fiber Glass Epoxy
➢ Beryllium
➢ Stainless Steel
 Primary Power
• The sources of primary power of satellite are
Nuclear (2 types)
Solar
1st Type:
• A system is used.
❖ A small nuclear reactor heats a boiler with working fluid (Mercury).
❖ The vapour is used to drive the combination of turbine – alternator.
2nd Type:
❖ It has single radio isotope thermoelectric generator.
❖ It heats load telluride thermocouples to generate electricity and is
used for small power supplying.
• There is no need of battery during eclipse for above two types.
 Primary Power
Disadvantages of using nuclear power:
• Substantial shielding is needed to protect the spacecraft electronics
from radiation damage.
• Nuclear fuels curium 244 and Plutonium are easy to handle and
needs scheduling. It is expensive.
• Strontium 90 is easily available and cheap. It is difficult to handle
and is hazardous.
 Primary Power
Need for estimating primary power:
• Consider the solar array is mounted on the flat panels of 3 axis
stabilized satellite.
• To estimate the total power requirement the following powers are
considered:
❖ Transmitter receiver power.
❖ House Keeping power.
❖ Power battery service during eclipse.
 Primary Power
Block diagram for basic satellite primary power system
 Primary Power
• The total transmitter power is,

n
pi
Pt =  ni
i =1 i
Pi - RF transmitted power
ni - number of the ith transmitter
i − efficiency
• Total transponder power is,
PT=Pt+Pr = aPt
Pr - Receiver power & a - factor
 Primary Power
a=1.05 for large satellites
a=1.10 for smaller satellites
• The remaining power for frequency converters and local oscillators.
Ph – House keeping power
• It includes power for telemetry, tracking and command subsystem, attitude
control and propulsion subsystem.
Pho - Constant
hPT  PT
Ph = Pho + hPT
• During eclipse, house keeping power includes the eclipse heater power Phe
Ph = Pho + Phe + hPT
 Primary Power
Phe - eclipse heater power
• Power supplied by the batteries during eclipse Pe is
ePT + Phe
Pe =
d
(e + h) PT + Pho + Phe
=
d
e - eclipse factor
d - Battery discharging efficiency
 Primary Power
• Total battery energy is given by,

Pete
U=
d
• Battery capacity is given by,
U Pete
C= =
Vd dVd

tc – Maximum eclipse period

Vd – Discharge Voltage
d – Depth of discharge
 Primary Power

• Charging Power is given by

𝑑𝑈 𝑃𝑒𝑡𝑒
𝑃𝑐 = =
η𝑐𝑡𝑐 η𝑐𝑡𝑐
 Primary Power
• The total primary power that is provided by the solar array is,
P=K(PT+Ph+Pc)
P=K[a(1+h)Pt+Pho+Pc]
K – Design margin factor
Solar Array Requirement
• The solar flux density is,
cos 
G = 2  = F
r

e − t - Degradation exponential factor

 Primary Power
t – Design lifetime
λ – 0.025 & 20% deterioration in 7 years
δ – Sun’s declination
ϕ – 1300m/m2
• The power generated by a single solar cell is,
Psc =  sc cg GAsc
 sc - Cell efficiency
cg - Cover glass efficiency Solar cell area
Asc – Solar Cell area
 Primary Power
• The total no. of cells in the array is,
g P
N= ( )
 w a S Psc
g – Geometric factor
S – Shadowing factor
 w - Wiring efficiency
 a - Cosine loss (attitude)
P – Total Power
NAsc gP
Therefore, the solar cell array is, A= =
f G sccg w a Sf
Attitude Control & Orbit Control
Attitude Control & Orbit Control:

• The attitude of a satellite-its orientation in space.

• Much of the equipment carried aboard a satellite

is there for the purpose of controlling its attitude.

• Attitude control is necessary, for example, to

ensure that directional antennas point in the
proper directions.
• In the case of earth environmental satellites, the
earth-sensing instruments must cover the required
regions of the earth, which also requires attitude
control.

• A number of forces, referred to as disturbance

torques, can alter the attitude. Some examples are

– gravitational fields of the earth and the moon

– solar radiation
– meteorite impacts
• To exercise attitude control, there must be available
some measure of a satellite’s orientation in space and
of any tendency for this to shift.

• In one method, infrared sensors, referred to as horizon

detectors, are used to detect the rim of the earth
against the background of space.

• With the use of four such sensors, one for each

quadrant, the center of the earth can be readily
established as a reference point.
• Usually, the attitude-control process takes place
aboard the satellite,

– but it is also possible for control signals to be transmitted

from earth, based on attitude data obtained from the
satellite.

• Also, where a shift in attitude is desired, an attitude

maneuver is executed.

– The control signals needed to achieve this maneuver may

be transmitted from an earth station.
Controlling torques

❑Passive attitude control

❑Active attitude control

Passive attitude control

• The use of mechanisms which stabilize the satellite without

putting a drain on the satellite’s energy supplies;

• At most, infrequent use is made of these supplies, for

example-thruster jets are impulsed to provide corrective
torque.

• Examples of passive attitude control are spin stabilization and

gravity gradient stabilization.
Active attitude control

• There is no overall stabilizing torque present to

resist the disturbance torques.

• Instead, corrective torques are applied as

required in response to disturbance torques.

• Methods used to generate active control torques

include
– momentum wheels
– electromagnetic coils
– mass expulsion devices such as gas jets and ion
thrusters.
• The three axes which define a satellite’s attitude are its roll, pitch, and
yaw (RPY) axes.
❑ All three axes pass through the center of gravity of the satellite.

• For an equatorial orbit,

❑ movement of the satellite about the roll axis moves the antenna
footprint north and south;
❑ movement about the pitch axis moves the footprint east and west;
❑ movement about the yaw axis rotates the antenna footprint.
(a) Roll, pitch, and yaw axes (b) RPY axes for the geostationary orbit
Spinning satellite stabilization

• Spin stabilization may be achieved with cylindrical

satellites.

• The satellite is constructed so that it is mechanically

balanced about one particular axis and is then set spinning
around this axis.

• For geostationary satellites, the spin axis is adjusted to be

parallel to the N-S axis of the earth.

• Spin rate is typically in the range of 50 to 100 rev/min. Spin

is initiated during the launch phase by means of small gas
jets.
Spin stabilization in the geostationary orbit. The spin axis lies along the pitch axis,
parallel to the earth’s N-S axis
• In the absence of disturbance torques, the spinning satellite
would maintain its correct attitude relative to the earth.

• Disturbance torques are generated in a number of ways,

both external and internal to the satellite.

• Solar radiation, gravitational gradients, and meteorite

impacts are all examples of external forces which can give rise
to disturbance torques.

• Motor- bearing friction and the movement of satellite

elements such as the antennas also can give rise to internal
disturbance torques.
• The overall effect is that the spin rate will decrease, and the
direction of the angular spin axis will change.

• Impulse-type thrusters, or jets, can be used to increase the

spin rate again and to shift the axis back to its correct N-S
orientation.

• Nutation, which is a form of wobbling, can occur as a result

of the disturbance torques and/or from misalignment or
unbalance of the control jets.

• This nutation must be damped out by means of energy

absorbers known as nutation dampers.
• The antenna feeds can therefore be connected directly to the
transponders without the need for radio frequency (rf).

HS 376 spacecraft
Momentum wheel stabilization
• Certain dual-spin spacecraft achieve stabilization from a spinning flywheel
rather than by spinning the satellite itself.

• These flywheels are termed momentum wheels, and their average

momentum is referred to as momentum bias.

• The flywheel is attached to the rotor, which consists of a permanent

magnet providing the magnetic field for motor action.
• The stator of the motor is attached to the body of the
satellite.

• Thus the motor provides the coupling between the flywheel

and the satellite structure.

• Speed and torque control of the motor is exercised through

the currents fed to the stator.
• When a momentum wheel is operated with zero
momentum bias, it is generally referred to as a
reaction wheel.

• Reaction wheels are used in three- axis stabilized

systems.

• Here, as the name suggests, each axis is stabilized

by a reaction wheel.

• Reaction wheels can also be combined with a

momentum wheel to provide the control needed.
• Random and cyclic disturbance torques tends to produce zero
momentum on average.

• However, there will always be some disturbance torques that

causes a cumulative increase in wheel momentum, and
eventually at some point the wheel saturates.

• In effect, it reaches its maximum allowable angular velocity

and can no longer take in any more momentum.
• Mass expulsion devices are then used to unload the
wheel, that is, remove momentum from it (in the
same way a brake removes energy from a moving
vehicle).

• Of course, operation of the mass expulsion devices

consumes part of the satellite’s fuel supply.
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• Satellite face large thermal gradients from sun’s radiation on one side
while the other side faces space.
• Thermal radiation from the earth and the earth’s albedo, which is the
(fraction of the radiation falling on earth which is reflected) is also
significant.
• It affects only LEO satellites.
• Equipment in the satellite also generates heat and it has to be removed.
• The most important consideration is that the satellite’s equipment should
operate as nearly as possible in a stable temperature environment.
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• Thermal blankets and shields is used to provide insulation.
• Radiation mirrors are often used to remove heat from the
communications payload.
• Consider the mirrored thermal radiator for the Hughes HS 376
satellite , these mirrored drums surround the communications equipment
shelves in each case and provide good radiation paths for the generated
heat to escape into the surrounding space.
• One advantage of spinning satellites compared with body- stabilized is
that the spinning body provides an averaging of the temperature
extremes experienced from solar flux and the cold back- ground of
deep space.
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• Heaters may be switched on to maintain constant temperature when
transponders are switched off.
• INTELSAT VI satellite used heaters to maintain propulsion thrusters and
line temperatures.
Thermal Control
• Temperature of mean spacecraft and temperature of all the subsystems
should be maintained within the limits.
• The performance and reliability of the spacecraft depends upon
temperature.
• Valves, thrusters, bearings and deployment mechanisms fails, if
temperature goes too high or low.
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• Optical Solar Reflectors (OSR) determine the losing heat by radiation.
Therefore, the balance equation at equilibrium is,
(Solar energy absorbed)+(Heat generated internal) = (Heat Radiated)

Aa G + P = AeT 4

Aa – Absorbing area
Ae – Emitting area
α – Solar absorptance
 – Emittance
 – Radiator efficiency
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
G – Solar flux per unit area
T – Themodynamic temperature
 – Stefan Boltzman constant
 =0.9, α = 0.2,  =0.8 for silvered quartz mirror OSR.
• For three axis stabilized satellite, the radiators are installed on
the north and south faces and are sized for hottest condition i.e.,
during summer for north radiator and winter for south
radiator.
• Here, absorbing and emitting surface area are equal.
Aa = Ae = A
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• Therefore, for each radiator,
P
A=
T 4 − G
• For solar panels,
A f G = ( f A f + Ab b )T 4
Af, Ab – Front and back solar panel areas
• To find equilibrium temperature,
 b Ab
A f G =  f A f (1 + )T 4
 f Af
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem

• Since, Ab = Af

(  f )G = (1 +  b  f )T 4

• Therefore, T is independent of channel area.

(  f )G 1
T =[ ] 4
(1 +  b  f )
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
Propulsion subsystem
• A communication satellite requires a propulsion subsystem.
❖ To maintain proper orientation and spin rate in the transfer orbit.
❖ To inject itself into geostationary orbit.
❖ To maintain itself at the assigned longitude in the equatorial plane
by station keeping and assist in attitude control.
• Final orbit injection into geostationary orbit is performed with solid
rocket Apogee Kick Motor (AKM) integrated within the spacecraft.
• A liquid propellant (Hydrazine) is used for transfer and drift orbit
maneuvers, station keeping and attitude control.
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• Liquid propellant subsystem is also called Reaction Control
Subsystem.
• In early propulsion system “SYNCOM” program use cold gases
such as nitrogen and hydrogen peroxide.
• They have low specific impulses and separated by Monopropellant
hydrazine (N2H4)
• Hydrazine is a clear, colorless liquid with boiling point of 114oC
and freezing point of 2oC.
• It decomposes exothermally in the presence of platinum catalyst
such as shell 405, according to the reactions,
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
3N2H4 4NH3+N2+335 kJ
4NH3 3N2+6H2 – 184 kJ
• The first reaction takes place at a temperature of 1649K. If the
reaction combines with total decomposition of ammonia, the net
reaction is,
N2H4 N2+2H2+50 kJ
• Bipropellant system uses monomethyl hydrazine fuel and
nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer for large spacecraft.
• It permits both orbit injection and orbit operations which can be
corrected with smaller expenditure of fuel.
Schematic of a monopropellant system
 Thermal Control and Propulsion
Subsystem
• An inert, gaseous pressurant, such as helium is used to force the
liquid propellant through thruster when a valve is opened by
command.
• In spin stabilized satellites, the distribution of the propellant is
aided by the centrifugal acceleration of the spacecraft.
Thermal Control and Propulsion Subsystem

Baseline schematic of a bipropellant system

Communication Payload and Supporting
Subsystem
• The communication payload is made up of transponders.
• Transponders is responsible for,

❖ Receiving uplinked radio signals from earth satellite

transmission stations (antennas).

❖ Amplifying received radio signals

❖ Sorting the input signals and directing the output signals

through input/output signal multiplexers to the proper downlink
antennas for retransmission to earth satellite receiving stations
(antennas).
 Transponders
High
Band Pass Low Noise Mixer Band Pass Power
filter Amplifier filter Amplifier

Band Pass
User User
filter
Block diagram of Satellite Transponder
• Transponder collects signals over a range of uplink frequencies and
re-transmits them on a different set of downlink frequencies to
receivers on earth, without changing the content of the received
signal.
• A transponder is the series of interconnected units which forms a
single communications channel between the receive and transmit
antennas in a communications satellite.
 Transponders
• Most of the units utilized by a transponder will be common to a
number of transponders.
• The bandwidth allocated for C-band service is 500 MHz, and this is
divided into sub-bands, one for each transponder.
• A typical transponder bandwidth is 36 MHz, and allowing for a 4-
MHz guard-band between transponders, 12 such transponders can
be accommodated in the 500-MHz bandwidth.
Polarization isolation:
• Polarization isolation refers to the fact that carriers, which may be
on the same frequency but with opposite senses of polarization.
• With polarization isolation, the number of transponders can be
doubled.
 Transponders
• It can be isolated from one another by receiving antennas matched
to the incoming polarization.
Linear polarization
• With linear polarization, vertically and horizontally polarized
carriers can be separated.
Circular polarization
• with circular polarization, left-hand circular and right-hand circular
polarizations can be separated.
Frequency Reuse
• Some frequency carriers with opposite senses of polarization may
overlap but results in no interference. This process is called
frequency reuse.
 Transponders
Section of an uplink frequency and polarization plan for C-band
Communication satellite
 Transponders
Frequency Reuse
• Some frequency carriers with opposite senses of polarization may
overlap but results in no interference. This process is called
frequency reuse.
• Frequency Reuse is also achieved with spot-beam antennas, and is
combined with polarization reuse to provide an effective bandwidth
of 2000 MHz
 Transponders
Typical diagram of the relative levels in a transponder
 Transponders
Satellite Transponder Channels
 Transponders
• Consider one of the polarization groups, the below diagram shows
the channeling scheme for the 12 transponders.

• The incoming, or uplink, frequency range is 5.925 to 6.425 GHz.

• The frequency conversion shifts the carriers to the downlink

frequency band, which is also 500 MHz wide, extending from 3.7
to 4.2 GHz.

• At this point, the signals are channelized into frequency bands

which represent the individual transponder bandwidths.
Wideband Receiver

Satellite wideband receiver

 Wideband Receiver
• A duplicate receiver is provided so that if one fails, the other is
automatically switched in. The combination is referred to as a
redundant receiver.

• Low noise amplifier adds little noise to the carrier being amplified,
and at the same time it provides sufficient amplification for the
carrier to override the higher noise level present in the following
mixer stage.

• All noise levels to the LNA input, are expressed in terms of an

equivalent noise temperature.

• In a well-designed receiver, the equivalent noise temperature

referred to the LNA input is LNA alone.
 Wideband Receiver
• The overall noise temperature must take into account the noise
added from the antenna.
• The equivalent noise temperature of a satellite receiver may be on
the order of a few hundred kelvins.
• The LNA feeds into a mixer stage, which requires a local oscillator
(LO) signal for the frequency-conversion process.
• FET amplifiers, offer better performance, for both bands (4 GHz or
12 GHz),
• Diode mixer stages are used.
• The amplifier following the mixer may utilize bipolar junction
transistors (BJTs) at 4 GHz and FETs at 12 GHz, or FETs may in
fact be used in both bands.
Input De-multiplexer

Input de-multiplexer
 Input De-multiplexer
• The input de-multiplexer separates the broadband input, covering
the frequency range 3.7 to 4.2 GHz, into the transponder frequency
channels.

• This provides greater frequency separation between adjacent

channels in a group, which reduces adjacent channel interference.

• The output from the receiver is fed to a power splitter, which in turn
feeds the two separate chains of circulators.
 Input De-multiplexer

• The full broadband signal is transmitted along each chain, and the
channelizing is achieved by means of channel filters connected to
each circulator.

• Each filter has a bandwidth of 36 MHz and is tuned to the

appropriate center frequency.

• Although there are considerable losses in the de-multiplexer, these

are easily made up in the overall gain for the transponder channels.
 Power Amplifier

• A fixed attenuated signal is needed at each transponder channel

output to balance out input variations.
• The variable attenuation is needed to set the level as required for
different types of service.
• The service can be obtained through Telemetry, Tracking and
Command (TT&C) at earth station, which controls variable
attenuation .
• Traveling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) are widely used in
transponders to provide the final output power required to the
transmit antenna.
 Power Amplifier

Schematic of a TWT and power supplies

 Power Amplifier
• In the TWT, an electron-beam gun assembly consisting of a heater,
a cathode, and focusing electrodes is used to form an electron beam.

• A magnetic field is required to confine the beam to travel along the

inside of a wire helix.

• For high power tubes, which used in ground stations, the magnetic
field can be provided by means of a solenoid and dc power supply.

• The large size and high power consumption of solenoids make them
unsuitable for use in satellites.

• The lower-power TWTs are used in satellite which use permanent-

magnet for focusing.
 Power Amplifier
• The wave actually will travel around the helical path at close to the
speed of light, but it is the axial component of wave velocity which
interacts with the electron beam.

• This component is less than the velocity of light approximately in

the ratio of helix pitch to circumference.

• Because of this effective reduction in phase velocity, the helix is

referred to as a slow wave structure.

Advantage: It can amplify over a wide bandwidth.

Disadvantage: Input level to the TWT must be controlled in order to

minimize the effects of certain forms of distortion.
 Power Amplifier
• The nonlinear transfer characteristic of the TWT is,

Power transfer characteristics of a TWT

 Power Amplifier
• At low-input powers, the output-input power relationship is linear.

• At higher power inputs, the output power saturates, the point of

maximum power output being known as the saturation point.

• The saturation point is a very convenient reference point, and input

and output quantities are usually referred to it.

• The linear region of the TWT is defined as the region bound by the
thermal noise limit at the low end and is termed the 1-dB
compression point at the upper end. This is the point where the
actual transfer curve drops.
 Mass of Payload Subsystem
• The mass of the payload is indicated by the total transponder and
antenna masses.
• If there are ni transmitters of each i types with an individual mass
Mi and if the mass of each antenna is Maj then,

M PL = bR  ni M i +  M aj
i j
R- Transmitter Redundancy
b-factor vary from 1.1 to 2 for mass of the receivers,
switches, up and down converters, filters and all the
remaining transponder electronics.
 Mass of Payload Subsystem
• Antenna mass estimation is difficult because of its complex shapes
and multiple feed structures.

• Mass is proportional to the surface area of the reflector and it

depends upon the square of the diameter.

• For simple reflector and feed combinations, the following relations

can be used in the absence of any other information.

Mant (1) = 12 + 4D2.3 at C-band

Mant (2) = 9 + 3D2.3 at K-band

 Mass of Support Subsystem
• The Mass Ms of the support subsystem can be related to dry mass,
MD and is given by,
MD = MPL + MPP + MSS
MPL – Payload mass
MPP – Primary power mass
MSS – Subsystem mass
• For three axis stabilization,
MSS = -10 + 0.5 MD
• For spin stabilization,
MSS = 30 + 0.45 MD
 Mass of Support Subsystem
• The estimated dry mass for three axis stabilized satellite is,

MD = 200 (MPL + MPP - 10) Kg

• The estimated dry mass for spin stabilized satellite is,

MD = 1.82 (MPL + MPP + 30) Kg

 Telemetry Tracking and Command
Subsystem
• The TT&C subsystem performs several routine
functions aboard the spacecraft.

• The telemetry, or telemetering, function could be

interpreted as measurement at a distance.

• The overall operation

– generating an electrical signal proportional to the
quantity being measured and then encoding and
transmitting this to the earth station.
• Data which are transmitted as telemetry signals
include
– attitude information from sun and earth sensors;
– environmental information such as the magnetic field
intensity and direction;
– the frequency of meteorite impact, and so on;
– spacecraft information such as temperatures, power
supply voltages, and stored-fuel pressure.

• Sensors+ADC –outputs are sampled and sent to

the earth station.

• PCM,TDM,PSK-usual transmission modes.

• Telemetry and command may be thought of as
complementary functions.

– The telemetry subsystem transmits information

about the satellite to the earth station.
– while the command subsystem receives command
signals from the earth station, often in response to
telemetered information.

• The command subsystem demodulates and, if

necessary, decodes the command signals and
routes these to the appropriate equipment
needed to execute the necessary action.
• Thus attitude changes may be made,
communication transponders switched in and
out of circuits, antennas redirected, and
station-keeping maneuvers carried out on
command.

• It is clearly important to prevent unauthorized

commands from being received and decoded,
and for this reason, the command signals are
often encrypted.
• Tracking of the satellite is accomplished by having the
satellite transmit beacon signals which are received at
the TT&C earth stations.

• Tracking is obviously important during the transfer and

drift orbital phases of the satellite launch.

• Once it is on station, the position of a geo- stationary

satellite will tend to be shifted as a result of the various
disturbing forces, as described previously.

• Therefore, it is necessary to be able to track the

satellite’s movement and send correction signals as
required.
 Earth Segment
• The earth segment consists of the transmit and receive
earth stations.

• Used for providing TT&C support functions to satellites.

– Simplest-Home TV receive-only(TVRO) systems.
– Complex-terminal stations used for international
communication networks.

• Earth station includes

– Stations on ship at sea
– Commercial and military land stations
– Aeronautical mobile stations
• Planned broadcasting directly to home TV receivers
takes place in the Ku (12-GHz) band. This service is
known as direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service.

• There is some variation in the frequency bands

assigned to different geographic regions. In the
Americas, for example, the downlink band is 12.2 to
12.7 GHz.

• Comparatively large satellite receiving dishes [ranging

in diameter from about 1.83 m (6 ft) to about 3-m (10
ft) in some locations], which may be seen in some
“backyards” are used to receive downlink TV signals at
C band (4 GHz).
• Originally such downlink signals were never intended
for home reception but for network relay to
commercial TV outlets (VHF and UHF TV broadcast
stations and cable TV “head-end” studios).

C Band
Antenna
• Advantage of C-band over DBS
– No loss of quality
– Large number of satellites available for receptions
– More free channels
– Cheaper subscription cost to pay TV channels

Ku Band Antenna
• Equipment is now marketed for home reception of C-band signals, and
some manufacturers provide dual C-band/Ku-band equipment.

• A single mesh type reflector may be used which focuses the signals into a
dual feed- horn, which has two separate outputs, one for the C-band
signals and one for the Ku-band signal.

• Much of television programming originates as first generation signals, also

known as master broadcast quality signals.

• These are transmitted via satellite in the C band to the network head- end
stations, where they are retransmitted as compressed digital signals to
cable and direct broadcast satellite providers.
• The most widely advertised receiving system
for C-band system appears to be 4DTV
manufactured by Motorola.

• This enables reception of:

– Free, analog signals and “wild feeds”
– VideoCipher ll plus subscription services
– Free DigiCipher 2 services
– Subscription DigiCipher 2 services
DBS TV
Reception
The Outdoor unit
• This consists of a receiving antenna feeding
directly into a low-noise amplifier/converter
combination.

• A parabolic reflector is generally used, with the

receiving horn mounted at the focus.

• A common design is to have the focus directly in

front of the reflector, but for better interference
rejection, an offset feed may be used.
• Comparing the gain of a 3-m dish at 4 GHz with a
1-m dish at 12 GHz, the ratio D/λ equals 40 in
each case, so the gains will be about equal.

• Although the free-space losses are much higher

at 12 GHz compared with 4 GHz.

• The downlink frequency band of 12.2 to 12.7 GHz

spans a range of 500 MHz, which accommodates
32 TV/FM channels, each of which is 24-MHz.
• Obviously, some overlap occurs between
channels, but these are alternately polarized
left-hand circular (LHC) and right-hand circular
(RHC) or vertical/horizontal, to reduce
interference to accept- able levels.

• This is referred to as polarization interleaving.

A polarizer that may be switched to the
desired polarization from the indoor control
unit is required at the receiving horn.
• The receiving horn feeds into a low-noise
converter (LNC) or possibly a combination unit
consisting of a low-noise amplifier (LNA) followed
by a converter.

• The combination is referred to as an LNB, for low-

noise block.

• The LNB provides gain for the broadband 12-GHz

signal and then converts the signal to a lower
frequency range so that a low-cost coaxial cable
can be used as feeder to the indoor unit.
Indoor Unit
• The signal fed to the indoor unit is normally a
wideband signal covering the range 950 to 1450 MHz.
This is amplified and passed to a tracking filter which
selects the desired channel.

• As previously mentioned, polarization interleaving is

used, and only half the 32 channels will be present at
the input of the indoor unit for any one setting of the
antenna polarizer.

• This eases the job of the tracking filter, since alternate

channels are well separated in frequency.
• The selected channel is again down converted, this
time from the 950- to 1450-MHz range to a fixed
intermediate frequency, usually 70 MHz although other
values in the very high frequency (VHF) range are also
used.

• The 70-MHz amplifier amplifies the signal up to the

levels required for demodulation.

• A major difference between DBS TV and conventional

TV is that with DBS, frequency modulation is used,
whereas with conventional TV, amplitude modulation
in the form of vestigial single side- band (VSSB) is used.
• The 70-MHz, FM intermediate frequency (IF)
carrier therefore must be demodulated, and
the baseband information used to generate a
VSSB signal which is fed into one of the
VHF/UHF channels of a standard TV set.
Master Antenna TV System

• A master antenna TV (MATV) system is used to provide

reception of DBS TV/FM channels to a small group of
users.

• For example, to the tenants in an apartment building. It

consists of a single outdoor unit (antenna and LNA/C)
feeding a number of indoor unit.

• It is basically similar to the home system already

described, but with each user having access to all the
channels independently of the other users.
• The advantage is that only one outdoor unit is
required, but separate LNA/Cs and feeder cables
are required for each sense of polarization.

• Compared with the single- user system, a larger

antenna is also required (2- to 3-m diameter) in
order to maintain a good signal-to-noise ratio at
all the indoor units.

• Where more than a few subscribers are involved,

the distribution system used is similar to the
community antenna (CATV) system described in
the following section.
Community Antenna TV System

• The CATV system employs a single outdoor unit, with

separate feeds available for each sense of polarization,
like the MATV system, so that all channels are made
available simultaneously at the indoor receiver.

• Instead of having a separate receiver for each user, all

the carriers are demodulated in a common receiver-
filter system.

• The channels are then combined into a standard

multiplexed signal for transmission over cable to the
subscribers.
• In remote areas where a cable distribution system may not be
installed, the signal can be rebroadcast from a low-power VHF
TV transmitter.