emerging trends in satellite technology and applications seminar summary

7/28/2019 Emerging Trends in Satellite Technology and Applications Seminar Summary

1/15

Emerging Trends in Satellite Technology and Applications

1 | P a g e

EMERGING TRENDS IN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY AND

APPLICATIONS

Anisiobi Chiagoziem E., 20061521273

COE 500 Level, EEE Department, FUTO

ABSTRACT

In the rapidly advancing world of technology today, technological innovations

have proved to lead the way to greater development. Satellite technology has

evolved over the years, bringing in more efficient and effective solutions which

are applicable to all areas of life. This seminar paper, in an attempt to present the

emerging trends in satellite technology and its applications, begins with its

evolution. It discusses the different trends in the evolution of satellite technology

since its emergence to the present day. It also presents the emerging trends in

satellite technology and its current and future applications.

Key words:LEO system, nanosatellites, in-space refuelling.ContentsABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Satellite Overview ................................................................................................................... 2

1.2 Satellite Orbits ........................................................................................................................ 3

1.3 SATELLITE HISTORY ................................................................................................................. 4

2.0 EVOLUTION OF SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE AGES.................................................... 6

3.0 EMERGING TRENDS IN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY ......................................................................... 9

3.1 LEO Systems ...........................................................................................................................10

3.2 In-Space Refuelling .................................................................................................................11

3.3 Nanosatellites ........................................................................................................................11

3.4 Satellite News Gathering (SNG) ..............................................................................................12

4.0 EMERGING TRENDS IN SATELLITE APPLICATIONS .......................................................................12

5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION ...................................................................................14

REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................................14


2/15


2 | P a g e

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The level of advancement in satellite technology is astonishing; especially when

one considers that the technology is barely 54 years old. As at the year 2010, the

industry was worth over a $100 billion.

The applications of satellite technology are far reaching, wide-ranging and all-

encompassing. Satellite telephony, mobile internet, satellite television, satellite

radio, marine navigation, global positioning, astronomy and cosmic studies,

weather forecasting, meteorological research, video conferencing, remote

sensing, data mining, agriculture, defence and advanced warning system just to

mention a few are some of the applications of satellite technology.

1.1 SATELLITE OVERVIEW

1.1.1 What is a satellite?

A satellite can be said to be any object purposely placed in orbit around Earth,

other planets, or the Sun for the purpose of collecting information or

communication via radio.

Since 1957 when the first satellite (sputnik 1) was launched by USSR, thousands

of satellites have been launched into earth's orbit (Encarta, 2009). These havechanged the scope of the communications industry, the military and scientific

research, among others.

1.1.2 TYPES OF SATELLITE

There are various types of satellites today, and they vary according to their

intended application.

a) Communications satellitesb) Weather satellitesc) Earth Observation satellitesd) Navigation satellitee) Military satellite (reconnaissance)f) Research and Scientific satellitea) Communications satellite: These satellites act as radio relay stations which

receive, amplify and retransmit information carried on specific microwave

frequencies back to the earth providing television, telefax, telephone,


3/15


3 | P a g e

radio, and digital data links around the world. Examples are Intelsat series,

NigComSat-1R, TelStar series, Iridium satellites, etc.

b) Weather satellites: These satellites provide meteorologists with scientificdata to predict weather conditions and are equipped with advanced

instruments that provide advance warning of severe weather conditions.

Examples are TIROS 1 (NASA), GOES satellites (NASA), MeteoSat (EU) and

NOAA (USA).

c) Earth Observation (Remote Sensing) Satellites: These satellites allowscientists to gather valuable data about the earth's ecosystem.

d) Navigation satellites: These satellites provide the exact location of aperson, ship, aircraft, etc to within a few meters. Example GPS.

e) Military Satellites: These are satellites that are owned by various militarybodies and are both used for high security communication between

military sites and for advanced warning on missile attacks.

f) Research and Scientific Satellites: These are satellites used by scientists toobserve the Sun, Moon, other planets and their moons, stars and galaxies.

Examples are the Hubble Space Telescope and the Mars Global Surveyor.

1.2 SATELLITE ORBITS

1.2.1 What is an Orbit:

An orbit is the path that a satellite follows as it revolves around Earth.

The defining characteristics of an orbit are its shape, its altitude, and the angle it

makes with Earths equator. The altitude of an orbit determines how long the

satellite takes to circle Earth and how much of the planet is visible to the satelliteat any given time.

1.2.2 Types of Orbits

In terms of commercial satellites, there are three main categories of orbits:

a) Geostationary Equatorial Orbit (GEO)b) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)


4/15


4 | P a g e

Fig. 1.1: Geostationary orbit (22,282 miles or

35,786km). Courtesy of Intelsat.

Fig. 1.2: Medium Earth orbit (8,000 20,000).Courtesy of Intelsat.

Fig. 1.3: Low Earth orbit (500 2,000).

Courtesy of Intelsat.

c) Low Earth Orbit (LEO)a) Geostationary Equatorial Orbit (GEO): Also known as Geosynchronous

Orbit, 35,786 km above the earth.

The satellite travels in the samedirection and at the same speed as

the Earth's rotation on its axis,

taking 24 hours to complete a full

trip around the globe. As a result,

these satellites stay above one

point on Earths equator at all times.

b) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO):

8,000-20,000 km above the earth

These are elliptical orbits which are

used mostly by navigation and

communication satellites, such as

GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia).

c) Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 500-

2,000 km above the earth

These orbits are much closer to the

Earth, requiring satellites to travel

at a very high speed in order to

avoid being pulled out of orbit by

Earth's gravity. As such, it isexceptionally good for transmitting

data, such as in Iridium and Globalstar

satellite systems.

Other orbits include Molniya orbit, Polar orbit, High Altitude Platform etc.

1.3 SATELLITE HISTORY

Table 1.1 Timeline of selected milestones of satellite history from 1945 - date.YEAR DETAILS


5/15


5 | P a g e

1945 Arthur C. Clarke, a well known physicist and author, wrote his famous prophecy,

predicting GEO satellites.

1957

(Oct. 4)

Launch of first satellite, Sputnik 1, by USSR. It transmitted radio signal to earth on

20.005 and 40.002 MHz; had an orbit of 101.5 minutes and a lifetime of 90days.

1960 USA (NASA) launched Echo 1 & Echo 2 balloon satellites. They made use of passive

relaying of TV and telephone signals by reflection of signals off the metalized

surface of the balloon.

1963 Launching of Syncom-2 by USA/NASA, the first experimental geostationary

satellite.

1964 Syncom-3, launching of the first truly GEO satellite was used to relay the 1964

Olympic games from Tokyo, Japan. (It had 300 telephone circuits or 1 TV channel).

1965 Launching of the Early Bird (Intelsat-1) satellite, first commercial geostationary

communications satellite having 240 telephone circuits or 1 TV channel, providing asatellite link across the Atlantic ocean.

1965 Launching of Molniya-1 (USSR), a non-GEO satellite implementing an elliptical orbit

with 12 hours revolution. Beginning of TV transmission to small-sized receive earth

stations in USSR (29 Molniya were launched between 1965 and 1975).

1974 Launching of Symphonie-1 satellite (France, Germany). The first three-axis

stabilized geostationary communications satellite.

1976 Launching of Marisat Satellite-(USA), the first maritime communication Satellite.

1978 Start of Global Positioning System (GPS).

1982 Start of Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System GLONASS (Russia).

1984 Beginning of operation of satellite business system (using VSAT with full

transmit/receive operation).

1997 Introduction of first non-GEO satellite (little LEO) satellite system.

1998 Mobile experiments using ACTS (Advanced Communications Technology Satellites)

2002-2005 Introduction of wideband personal mobile communications system

2005-2012 Launching of the Galileo project by the European Union. A civilian satellite

navigation satellite made up of 30 satellites.


6/15


6 | P a g e

Fig 2.1 Evolution of Satellite Communications technology.Courtesy of Indian Space Research Agency (ISRA).

2.0 EVOLUTION OF SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE AGES

Satellite technology has evolved through the ages, from the crude" and

elementary design of Sputnik 1, the very first satellite to the present day multi-

million dollar Intelsat New Dawn, a lot of changes and improvements has been

implemented in satellite design and technology. These changes come as a result

of improvement in satellite manufacture, improvements in electronic circuit

design, improvements in antenna design, improvements in transponder design, in

modulation technique, in launch vehicles, improvements in production simulation

and testing techniques, etc.

All these improvements have brought about tremendous development in satellite

technology, bringing about increased lifespan, communication handling capacity,

and efficiency etc.

2.1 The 1950s

In the early years of satellite technology, the satellites designed then were

ingenious, resulting from a great deal of intense work done by scientific institutes

and design bureaus. With no previous experience and lots of theoretical data, the

M. S. Khomyakov led design team launched Sputnik 1, the very first satellite on

October 4, 1957. It was a 585 mm sphere, having a pair of whip-like antennas and


7/15


7 | P a g e

powered by 3 silver-zinc batteries. It transmitted a series of beep- beep sounds

via radio (at 20.005 and 40.005 MHz) as it orbited the earth every 101.5 minutes

at a height of. It lasted for 3 months.

2.2 The 1960s

The 60s saw NASA coming up with several satellite programs like Echo, TIROS,

Relay, TelStar, Syncom etc. and the USSR bringing up their Molniya series.

Structural Design: The satellites of this period were cylindrical and spin-stabilized

(drum shaped). Part of the drum rotates (50 100 rpm) and part is despun so

that an antenna mounted in this part is always facing the earth. The spinning part

is covered with solar cells while the despun part which contains the antennas andearth sensors rotates once with every circling of the earth.

Antenna: These satellites made use of omni-directional antennas with a global

spot beam. But in 1969, Intelsat-3 came up with directional antennas.

2.3 The 1970s

The 70s saw a major technological boost in satellite design and technology with

the concept of frequency re-use which was introduced by Intelsat-4a.

Structural design: The shape and design of satellites changed in this period with

the introduction of three-axis (or body) stabilization. The satellite is shaped like a

box with numerous appendages attached and is maintained in space by

stabilizing elements for each of the three-axis. This made it possible to deploy

very large solar arrays, and provided more despun surface to mount antennas (D.

J. Whalen, 2010).

Frequency Utilization: As a solution to the frequency utilization problem,

frequency re-use was developed. This involves separating the signals spatially, so

that the same frequency bands can be used to service physically separate

locations on earth. This period also saw the upcoming of multiple spot beam

communication.

2.4 The 1980s

The concept of dual polarization frequency re-use (or polarization discrimination)

was one of the major highlights of the decade. Signals on the same frequency are


8/15


8 | P a g e

Fig 2.2 NASA ACTS Satellite

Fig. 2.3 Illustration of a laser Intersatellite link

by the Artemis satellite. (Courtesy of ESTECH)

transmitted by the satellite antennas through different transponders using two

orthogonal polarizations (i.e. horizontal and vertical) of the radio-frequency

wave. This makes it possible to use the same frequency band within the same

footprint. The Intelsat V satellites were the first to carry this.

2.5 The 1990s

This period saw greater

technological improvements in

satellite technology with the

launching of ACTS (Advanced

Communications Technology

Satellites) by NASA in 1993. These

satellites implemented the most

revolutionary breakthroughs in

satellite communications history,

being the first high-speed, all digital

communications satellite (www.nasa.gov,

2008). According to NASA, ACTS is a 21st

century space technology prototype that will permit the satellite industry to riseabove this frequency saturation and meet the growing need for wider, more

flexible bandwidth by moving into the virtually untapped Ka-band (30/20 GHz).

(http://acts.grc.nasa.gov).

Antenna: The concept of multiple hopping beam antennas came up in this period.

These antennas use small-diameter, tightly-focused multiple beams, and each can

be hopped from one site to another in milliseconds. (http://acts.grc.nasa.gov)

Transponders: One other technological

advancement introduced in this era is

on-board processing, as advancement

over bent-pipe (or simply frequency

translation) signal processing.

On-board processing allows dynamic

reallocation of unused bandwidth,

multi-beam frequency re-use, the
http://www.nasa.gov/http://www.nasa.gov/http://www.nasa.gov/http://acts.grc.nasa.gov/docs/SCAN_20010911161614.PDFhttp://acts.grc.nasa.gov/docs/SCAN_20010911161614.PDFhttp://acts.grc.nasa.gov/docs/SCAN_20010911161614.PDFhttp://acts.grc.nasa.gov/http://acts.grc.nasa.gov/http://acts.grc.nasa.gov/http://acts.grc.nasa.gov/http://acts.grc.nasa.gov/docs/SCAN_20010911161614.PDFhttp://www.nasa.gov/


9/15


9 | P a g e

Fig. 2.4 Interlinking of satellite

networks via Intersatellite link ISL

discarding of empty uplink time slots, increasing downlink efficiency, statistical

multiplexing, forward error correction, etc.

Another technological highlight of this era was the concept of Intersatellite links

(ISL). ISLs are employed to provide connections between earth stations in theservice area of one satellite to earth stations in the service area of another

satellite when neither of the satellites covers both sets of earth stations i.e. it

offers increased coverage.

In this technology, the connection between satellites is fully at space level and

the interfacing of the network formats and protocols have to be performed on

board the satellites. There are two

basic technologies for itsimplementation: microwave

transmission (22.55 -23.55 GHz; 32.0

33.0 GHz; 54.23 58.2 GHz and 59

64GHz) and optical transmission which

uses LASER beams to transmit data

between satellites.

2.6 The New Millennium

This has brought in a new era in satellite

technology. New technologies such as in-space refuelling, nano-satellites and an

increase in the use of advanced digital satellite processing and switching have

marked the first few years of the millennium.

3.0 EMERGING TRENDS IN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGYSince the year 2000, many new and cutting edge technologies have appeared on

the satellite scene. These technologies seem to be bringing in a new age in the

satellite era.

This chapter will highlight on some of the new trends that have shown up on the

scene and also some of the ones promising to emerge in the next 10 years.


10/15


10 | P a g e

Fig. 3.1 Teledesic Network

3.1 LEO SYSTEMS

This is the use of networks of small satellites in low earth orbit (2,000 km or less)

to provide global voice and data communication. This concept came up as a result

of the problem of propagation delay (affecting voice and data communication)inherent in GEO satellites. These LEO systems are of three (3) types and are

distinguished by reference to their terrestrial counterparts: paging, cellular and

fibre.

Table 3.1: Low Earth Orbit systems.

System Type Little LEO Big LEO Broadband LEO

Examples ORBCOMM Iridium,

Globalstar

Teledesic,

Skybridge

Main applications Low bit rate data Mobile telephony High bit rate data

Terrestrial

counterpart

Paging Cellular telephony Fibre

These LEO satellite systems seem to be the solution to the provision of internet

and voice services to many parts of

the world. They provide relatively

cheaper global access to the

telecommunications infrastructure

currently available only in

advanced urban areas of the

developed world.

This is possible because of the

number and scale of operating

satellites that the companies are

promising (Iridium: 66 satellites,

Globalstar: 48 satellites, SkyBridge:

80 satellites).

The Iridium system (which is currently active) has


11/15


11 | P a g e

Fig. 3.2 Delfi C3 (Launched in 2011)

11 satellites in six polar low earth orbital planes at 780 km.

They can be accessed by special telephones that communicate with these

satellites and that allow users access to the regular telephone network from

anywhere on the globe.

3.2 IN-SPACE REFUELLING

This is relatively, the latest trend in satellite technology. This involves the

refuelling of satellites by other space craft launched into space for this purpose.

In fact, the worlds first space refuelling station is to be launched by 2015.

This technology will enable spacecrafts to tank up in low earth orbit. With this

technology, smaller and cheaper rockets could be used for missions that would beoutside their weight class and larger rockets would have their capabilities

considerably enhanced. This could double the capacity of rocket launchers (S.

Cass & B. Sauser, 2009).

As of March 2011, Intelsat agreed to purchase half of a 2,000 kg propellant

payload that an MDA Corporation spacecraft satellite-servicing demonstration

project to refuel five Intelsat communications satellites. This is to increase the

lifetime of the satellites that are already near the end of their useful life (Intelsat,2011).

3.3 NANOSATELLITES

These are miniaturized or small satellites

(1 10kg). These nanosatellites are seen

by some technology experts to be the

future of satellite technology. They havelow weights and small sizes, they are

more agile and stable, their power

consumption is low, they serve as test

beds for future applications and

technologies and they have good

educational uses. They could be used in

the nearest future as robots to assemble

larger satellites in space (J. Bouwmeester, 2008).


12/15


12 | P a g e

3.4 SATELLITE NEWS GATHERING (SNG)

It is the temporary and occasional transmission at short notice of television or

sound for broadcasting purposes, using highly portable or transportable uplink

earth stations. (ITU Handbook, 2002)

It is a recent application of satellite technology and it is being used by many

television broadcasting companies with global viewership. For most of the late

90s, SNG was limited to outdoor broadcasting trucks. But since the turn of the

millennium, a new trend has appeared on the broadcasting scene. This is the

videophone. Videophones, which are devices equipped with miniature video

cameras, rely on satellite links to transmit video as well as audio signals.

Television news organizations have adopted the use of videophones to coverbreaking news stories in remote areas (Encarta, 2009).

4.0 EMERGING TRENDS IN SATELLITE APPLICATIONS

The technological advancements in satellite technology have led to the

application of satellite technology in virtually every field.

Many of such applications started coming up in the 90s and some, in the new

millennium. Apart from the traditional applications of satellite in communications

(i.e. telephony and television), some of the present and emerging areas of

application include: Navigation, Medicine, Education, Satellite Messaging, Global

Positioning, Agriculture, Geodesy, Geo-informatics and monitoring, Remote

sensing, Telecommunication, Television, Internet services.

a) Navigation: Satellite technology has changed the accuracy and scope of

navigation in the last few years. With the high pinpointing accuracy of GPS (USA),

GLONASS (Russia), BeiDou (China), Galileo (Europe), marine navigation has

become easier and better.

b) Medicine: Satellites have also impacted hugely in the area of medicine.

Especially in Telemedicine (which allow remote surgeries between countries).

c) Education: Advancement in satellite technology has also influenced

education. Presently, many universities around the world have satellite

programmes as part of their school activities. Also, in some countries of the

world, distance learning via satellite connections is being implemented.


13/15


13 | P a g e

d) Global Positioning Services: A GPS receiver is a small apparatus containing

the ability to determine navigational coordinates by triangulating the signals from

multiple geosynchronous satellites. GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia), BeiDou (China),

Galileo (Europe) all provide this service. It can work well for pinpointing locations

anywhere on the earth.

e) Agriculture: The agriculture industry has also taken advantage of satellite

technology, and GPS in particular for precision farming.This makes use of GPS

services for yield mapping (where GPS is attached to harvesting equipment and is

used to measure and map precisely, the yielding areas of a farmland), soil

mapping, tillage adjustments, seeding, etc. It is increasingly being used by the

Department of Agriculture on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

f) Geo-informatics and Monitoring: With the emergence of highly

specialised weather satellites, the scope of weather forecasting and predicting

has gone into an entirely new level. These weather satellites send information of

the weather condition, cloud formation and motion, tidal waves motion and

global wind patterns.

g) Remote Sensing: This is the process of obtaining information about land,

water, or an object, without any physical contact between the sensor and thesubject of analysis (Encarta, 2009).Remote sensing satellites carry all sorts of

sensors such as very high-resolution cameras, multispectral scanners (MSSs), very

high resolution radiometers (VHRRs), thermatic mapper (TM) and a synthetic

aperture radar (SAR) amongst others for sensing purposes (Maini, 2007).

h) Television: Satellites have been used extensively for television purposes

since the 1964 Olympic Games. Presently, many television stations have a global

audience connected via satellite. Also, with the emergence of direct broadcastsatellites in the 90s, direct transmission of television signals to homes having

small dishes is now possible.


14/15


14 | P a g e

5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 CONCLUSIONS

The satellite scene is a rapidly advancing field with newer trends appearing every

few years. These developments will continue as mankind keeps on pushing the

borders of technology. On-going scientific research in many nations (USA, Russia,

China, Japan, etc) is working on technological innovations and cutting edge

solutions to move satellite communications forward.

Up till this point, many efforts are being made to remove the constraints to

satellite technology such as size of space craft, frequencies, weight of satellites,

efficiency and availability of launch vehicles, range of available frequencies, etc.

And as all these constraints are being individually removed by hard pushing space

laboratories, satellites will take on a new look and feel; its design more dynamic;

and its applications more encompassing.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the foregoing, it is necessary for more researches and studies to be

conducted in the field of satellite technology, to enable further breakthroughs in

the field.

Particularly, I recommend that Nigerians should harness these applications of

satellite technology to provide solution to the problems facing the country,

especially in the areas of education, data communications, navigation, weather

forecasting, etc.

Also, Nigerian Universities should become actively involved in satellite education,

research and development so as to enhance students knowledge, and to move

Nigeria, as a country further into the satellite age.

REFERENCES

1. Bouwmeester J., (2008), Advancing Nano-Satellite Platforms: The Delfi

Program.Paper IAC-08-B4.4.B9, International Astronautical Congress, Glasgow,

Scotland.

2. Kruczynski L. R, (2009), Artificial Satellite, Microsoft Encarta 2009,

Redmond, Washington, USA.


15/15


15 | P a g e

3. Mark A. Sturza, (1999) Architecture of the Teledesic Satellite System.

Teledesic Corporation, Washington, USA.

4. Christopher Redding, (1999), Overview of LEO Satellite Systems.1999

International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies, Colorado, USA.

5. Maini A. K. and Agrawal V., (2007), Satellite Technology: Principles and

Applications.John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, West Sussex, England.

8. David J. Whalen (2010) Communications Satellites: Making the Global

Village Possible.Retrieved 3 June, 2011 fromhttp://www.history.nasa.gov

8. Das Gupta A. R. and Das Gupta K. S., (2003),The Emerging Trends in

Satellite and Wireless Communications Technologies.Indian Space ResearchOrganization, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

9. International Telecommunication Union, 3rd

ed. (2002), Handbook on

Satellite Communications.John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA.
http://www.history.nasa.gov/http://www.history.nasa.gov/http://www.history.nasa.gov/http://www.history.nasa.gov/

emerging trends in satellite technology and applications seminar summary

Documents