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SATELLITE: TYPES AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

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Contents hide
1 INTRODUCTION

2 TYPES OF SATELLITES

3 ON THE BASIS OF ORBITAL CHARACTERISTICS

4 Geostationary Satellites

5 Sun-Synchronous Satellites

6 Satellite orbit

7 ON THE BASIS OF HEIGHT

8 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

9 Low-Earth Orbits (LEO)

10 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

11 High Earth Orbit (HEO)

12 ON THE BASIS OF APPLICATION

12.1 Communicational Satellites

12.2 Navigation satellites

12.3 Earth observation satellites

12.4 Weather satellites

12.5 Military satellites

12.6 Scientific research satellites

12.7 Characteristics of Satellite

13 Share this Knowladge:

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INTRODUCTION

A satellite is an artificial object which is placed intentionally into an orbit of any

natural satellite. Satellites are used for many purposes i.e. weather forecasting,
digital transmission, scientific research and development etc.

In a communication context, a satellite is a specialized wireless

transmitter/receiver that is launched by a rocket and placed in orbit around the
earth.

A satellite can be natural, like the moon, or artificial (human made). So we can say
that a satellite is an object that moves in a curved path around a planet.

Satellite can travel around planets or around stars such as our sun. All the planets
are satellites around the sun.

Satellites which are far away from the surface of the earth can cover a wide area on
the surface of the earth.

The moon is earth’s original, natural satellite, and there are many man-made
(artificial) satellites for example: SPUTNIK, ECHO, and SYNCOM.
TYPES OF SATELLITES

There are several different types of satellites that are used for a variety of purposes.

A) On the Basis of Orbital Characteristics

B) On the Basis of Height

C) On the Basis of Application

ON THE BASIS OF ORBITAL CHARACTERISTICS

Geostationary Satellites

These are located at very high altitude of about 36000 km from the earth surface

Synchronous to rotation of the earth (west to east)

They seem stationary, relative to the earth surface

They revolve at speed of earth rotation (24 hrs)

They viewed always same portion of the earth

Mainly used for communication and metrological application

E.g- GSAT, INSAT, Kalpana1 etc..

Sun-Synchronous Satellites

Orbit plane near to pole / pole to pole (moves from north to south)

Placed at low altitude of 300-1000 km from the surface of earth

It is synchronous to the position of the sun

Satellite passes overall the places of the earth

Satellite takes 100 minutes to one revolution

It collect precisely information about earth (Resource satellites)

E.g- Landsat, Spot, IRS

Satellite orbit

Geostationary orbit

• High altitude (36,000km)

• Remains in same position above the Earth
Polar sun synchronous orbit

• Low altitude (200-1000km)

• Goes close to poles
ON THE BASIS OF HEIGHT

http://spiroprojects.com

Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

GEO is an orbit at an altitude of around 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Satellites in GEO orbit at the same speed as the Earth’s rotation, so they appear to
be stationary in the sky. These satellites are often used for communication and
television broadcasting.

If a satellite should appear in fixed in the sky, it requires a period of 24 hours.

Geostationary satellites have a distance of almost 36,000 km to the earth. Examples

are almost all TV and radio broadcast satellites, any weather satellites and satellites
operating as backbones for the telephone network.

Objects in GEO moves around the earth at the same speed as the earth rotates.
This means geostationary satellites remain in the same position relative to the
surface of earth.

Advantages of GEO satellite

Three Geostationary satellites are enough for a complete coverage of almost any
spot on earth.

Receivers and senders can use fixed antenna positions, no adjusting is needed.
GEOs are ideal for TV and radio broadcasting.

Lifetime expectations for GEOs are rather high, at about 15 years.

Disadvantages of GEO satellite

Northern or southern regions of the earth have more problems receiving these
satellites due to the low elevation above latitude of 60 degree,

The transmit power needed is relatively high (about 10 W) which causes problems
for battery powered devices.

These satellites can’t be used for small mobile phones.

Low-Earth Orbits (LEO)

LEO is an orbit at an altitude of around 100 to 2000 kilometers above the Earth’s
surface. Satellites in LEO are closer to the Earth and therefore have a shorter
distance to travel for communication.

However, they also experience more atmospheric drag and need to be replaced
more frequently. Examples of LEO satellites include the International Space Station
and weather satellites.

LEO satellites are much closer to earth than GEO satellites, ranging from 500 to
1,500 km above the surface.

LEO satellites do not stay in fixed position relative to the surface, and are only visible
for 15 to 20 minutes each pass.

Advantages of LEO satellite

Using advanced compression schemes, transmission rates of about 2,400 bit/s can
be enough for voice communication.

A LEO satellite smaller area of coverage is less of a waste of bandwidth.

A LEO satellite’s proximity to earth compared to a Geostationary satellite gives it a

better signal strength and less of a time delay, which makes it better for point to
point communication.

Disadvantages of LEO satellite

The biggest problem of the LEO concept is the need for many satellites if global
coverage is to be reached.

The high number of satellites combined with the fast movement’s results in a high
complexity of the whole satellite system

One general problem of LEO is the short lifetime of about five to eight years due to
atmospheric drag and radiation from the inner Van Allen belt.
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

MEO is an orbit at an altitude of around 8,000 to 12,000 kilometers above the

Earth’s surface. Satellites in MEO have a longer distance to travel for
communication compared to LEO satellites, but they also experience less
atmospheric drag and have a longer lifespan. Examples of MEO satellites include
navigation satellites such as GPS.

A MEO satellite situates in orbit somewhere between 6,000 km to 20,000 km above

the earth’s surface.

MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in the context of functionality.

Medium earth orbit satellites are visible for much longer periods of time than LEO
satellites usually between 2 to 8 hours.

MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than Low Earth Orbit satellites.

Advantages of MEO Satellite

Using orbits around 10,000km, the system only requires a dozen satellites which is
more than a GEO system, but much less than a LEO system.

Depending on the inclination, a MEO can cover larger populations, so requiring

fewer handovers.

A MEO satellite’s longer duration of visibility and wider footprint means fewer
satellites are needed in a MEO network than a LEO network.

Disadvantages of MEO Satellite

The satellites need higher transmit power and special antennas for smaller
footprints.

A MEO satellite’s distance gives it a longer time delay and weaker signal than LEO
satellite

High Earth Orbit (HEO)

HEO is an orbit that has a high degree of ellipticity, meaning it has a large
difference between its closest and farthest points from the Earth. Satellites in HEO
have a long period of time at a high altitude and a short period of time at a low
altitude. They are often used for communication with polar regions or for military
surveillance.

The High Earth orbit satellite is the only non-circular orbit of the four types.

HEO satellite operates with an elliptical orbit, with a maximum altitude (apogee)
similar to GEO, and a minimum altitude (perigee) similar to the LEO.

The HEO satellites used for the special applications where coverage of high latitude
locations is required.
ON THE BASIS OF APPLICATION

Communicational Satellites

These satellites are used to transmit and receive signals for telecommunications,
such as phone calls, internet data, and television broadcasts.

Navigation satellites

These satellites are used for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) purposes,
such as the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on
the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight
between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving
electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies
on the order of a few meters in real time.

Earth observation satellites

These satellites are used to collect data about the Earth’s surface and atmosphere,
including images and other types of data, for a variety of applications, such as
mapping, environmental monitoring, and weather forecasting.

Weather satellites

These satellites are specifically designed to collect data about the Earth’s weather
and climate, including temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions.

Military satellites

These satellites are used by military forces for a variety of purposes, including
communication, navigation, intelligence gathering, and surveillance.

Scientific research satellites

These satellites are used to conduct scientific research and experiments, such as
studying the Earth’s atmosphere or the effects of space on human health.

Overall, there are many different types of satellites that serve a wide range of
purposes, from practical applications like telecommunications and navigation to
scientific research and military operations.

Characteristics of Satellite

Satellites have been launched for various applications and are placed at different
altitudes. Moreover their weights are also dissimilar.

Provides connections between the Earth-based base station and the satellites
sensors
The path followed by a satellite is referred to as its orbit.

The area imaged on the surface, is referred to as the swath ❖Just beneath point of
satellite called nadir point

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