Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

What is a Satellite?
 A satellite is an object in space that orbits or circles around a larger object.
 An artificial satellite is an object that has been intentionally placed into orbit that relays and amplifies
radio telecommunications signals.
 Applications:
o Voice/Telephone
o Television/Radio Broadcast
o Network/Internet
o Navigation and GPS
o Scientific research
o Meteorology

 In simple terms, a satellite is a smaller object or body that revolves around a much larger object in
space in a fixed well defined path.
 They are of two types:
o Natural Satellites
o Artificial Satellites
 For example – earth revolves around the sun, so it is a satellite. Moon revolves around earth, so it is
also a satellite. But they are Natural Satellites.
 Artificial satellites are specifically designed and launched into space for a variety of purposes such as
weather monitoring, navigation, tv and mobile communication, planetary research etc. Ex-INSAT, IRS,
GSAT etc.
Basic Elements of Satellite Communication System
 The basic elements of a satellite communication system are:

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Principle:
 The network consists of several earth stations on ground which are linked with a satellite in space.
 The end users are connected to these earth stations through a terrestrial communication network.

 The user generates a message signal which is passed and processed through the terrestrial
communication network to the earth station.

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

 The earth station modulates the signal and sends that signal to the satellite in space on the uplink
frequency spectrum.
 The satellite amplifies and processes the signal and retransmits it back on the downlink frequency
spectrum.

Block Diagram of Transmitter and Receiver in Satellite Communication

1. Baseband Signal: A baseband signal or lowpass signal is a signal which is directly generated by users
that can include frequencies that are very near zero, by comparison with its highest frequency (for

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

example, a sound waveform can be considered as a baseband signal, whereas a radio signal or any
other modulated signal is not).

2. Encoder: Encoding means converting the incoming message signal into suitable form for transmission.
It consists in changing the information into some form of logical and coded message. The encoding
process is based on the purpose of communication and the relation between the sender and the
receiver. In receiving side decoding is performed.

3. Modulator: Modulation is the process of combining the wanted data on a Radio Frequency (RF) carrier
which is then conveyed over the satellite link and demodulated at the receiving terminal. The
modulation translation a baseband spectrum in lower frequency range to a carrier spectrum at a much
higher frequency range. In receiving side demodulation is performed.

4. Up convertor: Up conversion simply translates a signal to a higher center frequency. However,

modulation is best defined as the process of selecting a waveform type or shape such as Amplitude,
phase or frequency. Modulation might entail up conversion, as is the case for wireless radio
applications. But the application might be machine-to-machine requiring baseband modulation (no
up conversion needed). In receiving side down conversion should be performed.

5. Amplifier: The role of power amplifiers is to amplify the microwave signal converted at the antenna’s
output. The output power of the transmitter at these frequencies must be high, as the satellites only
receive a tiny portion of the power transmitted in their direction. An amplifier is an electronic device
that increases the voltage, current, or power of a signal. Amplifiers are used in wireless
communications and broadcasting, and in audio equipment of all kinds. They can be categorized as
either weak-signal amplifiers or power amplifiers.

In transmitting side signal amplification is performed right before it gets transmitted through the
antenna. In receiving side signal amplification is performed once receiver receives the signal. Noise
suppression and received signal amplification is happened in this stage.

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Prepared by Mini Madav Khanal

Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Prepared by Mini Madav Khanal

Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Prepared by Mini Madav Khanal

Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Prepared by Mini Madav Khanal

Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Prepared by Mini Madav Khanal

Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Question 1. How does the Satellite TV or Dish TV works?

 Satellite television just like broadcast TV, but instead of sending signals from towers to antennas
attached to your television set, signals are sent through space using satellites. The signals
originate with the programmers – TV channels – who send their feeds to DISH.
 DISH collects all of these feeds at a center, called an uplink center, and uses satellites on the
ground at the center to beam a single stream of data at 270 Mbps to our satellites in space.
 The data sent from our centers is picked up by our satellites that orbit the Earth 23000 miles above
the ground. Those satellites take that single feed of data and use a different band to send the
signal to the satellite dishes on your house.
 A separate band is used for the signal to your home to prevent interference. The dish on your
house collects the signal and sends it to a receiver in your house where it is decrypted and
converted to audio and video. This all happens at the speed of light.
 Is Satellite TV as good as Cable TV?  Yes! Satellite TV uses the same signals from the
programmers as cable, it just uses a different way of getting the signal into your house. In fact,
most cable companies use satellites to get feeds from programmers or to send feeds to centers
that broadcast the signals using cable, so all TV is satellite TV to some extent. Satellite TV has the
advantage of being available across the entire country and often offers more channels for the
same money making satellite TV as better value.

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Global Positioning System (GPS)

 GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System, is the only system today able to show you your
exact position on the Earth anytime, in any whether, anywhere.
 The three parts of GPS are:
o Space Segment
o User Segment
o Ground Control Segment

Application of GPS Technology

 Location – determining a basic position
 Navigation – Getting from one location to another
 Tracking – Monitoring the movement of people and things
 Mapping – Creating maps of the world
 Timing – Bringing precise timing to the world

The receiver collects satellite signals, decodes and processes them. The basic receiver doesn’t
include a transmitter. Different levels of precision are available. The receiver determines its location
by trilateration.

GPS Trilateration: Knowing its distance from three satellites, the receiver can determine its location
because there is only two possible combinations and one of them is out in space. The more satellite that
are used, the greater the potential accuracy of the position location.

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Lecture Notes on Wireless and Mobile Communication Boston College, Chitwan BCIS VIII

Satellite Link Budget Numerical Problem

Question: Suppose we have satellite system operates at 12.5GHz, with transmit carrier power of
120W, and transmit antenna gain 34dB, IF Bandwidth 20MHz. The receiving dish have gain of 33.5dB,
with receiver noise figure 1.1dB, locates 39000km from the satellite. Calculate the received carrier
power at receiver terminal and Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR).

Solution:
Given, frequency (f) = 12.5 GHz = 12.5x109 Hz
Transmit Power(pt) = 120W
Tx Antenna Gain(gt) = 34 dB = 2512
Rx Antenna Gain(gr) = 33.5 dB = 2239
Distance, R = 39000km = 39000x103m
Noise at receiver (N) = 1.1dB = 1.288W

120 ∗ 2512 ∗ 2239 ∗ (3 ∗ 10^8)^2

=
(4𝛱)2 ∗ (39000 ∗ 103 )3 ∗ (12.5 ∗ 109 )^2

= 1.62x10-12W

Signal to Noise Ratio = S/N = 1.62x10-12W/1.2888

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