Chapter 2

SATELLITE ORBITS
AND LAUNCHING
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❖ Types of Satellite Orbits
The inclination angle i of the orbit defines the angle between the orbit plane and the
equatorial plane. It is one of the most important parameters that characterize the orbit
orientation. According to inclination characteristics, satellite orbits can be categorized as
follows
1) Inclined elliptical orbits

The inclined elliptical orbits

▪ usually have inclination angles between 40-80O.
▪ A satellite in this orbit is not stationary relative to a fixed point on the earth.
▪ That type of orbits is not widely used.
❑ The main advantages of the highly elliptical orbits (HEO) are:
➢ It provides coverage of the Polar Regions.
➢ It provides excellent view angles without obstructions; a good elevation also reduces the atmospheric path.
➢ High visibility period of each satellite (about 6 to 12 hour) can be achieved.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
The main disadvantages of the inclined elliptical

➢ Depending on the configuration, a constellation of satellites must be

considered to provide continuity coverage on a regional scale. An
increased number of satellites must be generally expected with respect to
the geostationary case.
➢ In the visibility period, each satellite is placed at a distance comparable
to the geostationary one.
➢ Handover procedures are necessary between satellites.
➢ The satellite motion determines slant range variation (See Fig.), Doppler
effects and variation of the antenna footprint on the ground. Doppler
compensation, power control and suitable satellite antenna configuration
have to be performed.
➢ Spacecraft tracking can be necessary for the user terminal.
➢ The class of launchers is the same as that of the geostationary satellites.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
2) The polar orbits

The polar orbit, displayed in Fig, uses inclination angles i

around 90O; sometimes the inclination exceeds 90O.
This type of orbits was rarely used for communication satellites
generally. It was used for special purposes such as for navigational
satellites. It is usually circular in shape.
The major advantages of this orbit are:
➢ The orbit is still un-congested.
➢ Coverage of polar areas can be achieved.
➢ Global coverage with good elevation angles is possible.

However, the disadvantages of the polar orbits are:

➢ The constellation of satellites required for stable coverage.
➢ The Doppler shift encountered due to the rotation of the earth relative to the satellite orbit.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
3) The equatorial orbits

The equatorial orbits are not inclined (i=0o) as

the satellites move in the plane directly above the
equator as shown in Fig.

The major advantage of this orbit is that

the satellite rotates in the same plane as that of
the earth, which means that the orbit can be
designed so the satellite as well as the earth may
have the same orbital period. This will result in
geostationary satellites orbiting in circular track.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑Typical Circular Orbits
Consequently, the orbital period T is
For circular orbits, the relation between orbital
related to the satellite altitude h as
period T and radius of the orbit r can be
1/ 3   T 2 1 / 3
  T 2  h = r − Re =      − Re
r =  
 2
 
    2  


❑ Orbit classification according to altitude.

1) Low earth orbits (LEO)

2) Medium earth orbits (MEO)

3) Geostationary orbits (GEO)
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❖ Geostationary orbits (GEO)
➢ To place a satellite in a position that appears to be stationary over a selected location on the earth's surface
means that the vehicle must move in the same direction as the earth's rotation. The rotational period of the
earth about its axis is 23h and 56min, and a satellite in geostationary orbit "Clarke orbit" traveling in the same
direction as the earth's rotation completes one revolution about the earth's axis in this time.
➢ The satellite, therefore, appears stationary to an observer on earth, hence the name geostationary

➢ The only orbit that meets these requirements is one that is directly over the equator moving in a west to east
direction at an altitude of about 35860 km above the sea level and with a forward velocity of about
11061 km/h = 3072 m/sec.
➢ For a geostationary orbit the spacecraft is in a circular orbit on a plane identical with the earth's equatorial
plane. At such altitude, the orbital period is identical with the earth's rotational period. The angular velocity of
a geostationary satellite relative to earth should be ideally zero.
➢ In practice small fluctuations do occur.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
➢ It should be noted that the GEO has an inclination angle of i = 0o. For h = 35860km but an inclination i  0o,
the satellite is not stationary. However, it still has the same revolution period as the earth (24 hour) and the
orbit is then called geosynchronous. In contrast, LEOs and MEOs with periods T<24 h are non-
geosynchronous orbits.

The main advantages of GEO satellites

➢ The satellite configuration is simple. It is possible to provide
continuous coverage up to 75O latitude with only three satellites; see
Fig. These three satellites circling the earth can cover 90% of the
world. The chief areas not covered by these satellites are the northern
and southern arctic sparsely populated regions.
➢ The maintenance and control aspects of the GEO orbit is well-known.
➢ The Doppler effects have minor impact. This simplifies frequency
compensation and allows efficient use of available spectrum by
minimizing inter-channel guard bands.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
➢ Spacecraft tracking is not necessary for the user terminal.
➢ the handover problem from one satellite to another is avoided.
➢ Numerous launch opportunities are available.

The disadvantages which results from its high altitude:

➢ Considerable propagation delay (about 125-ms for each link) is unavoidable because of the great
satellite-earth distance and the finite velocity of light. This GEO latency is the source of the annoying
delay in many international phone calls, impeding understanding and distorting the personal nuances of
speech.
➢ Due to the high altitude of GEO satellites, it is necessary to transmit higher power and to use larger
antennas on the spacecraft to achieve a given link margin and spot size on the earth.
➢ More expensive class of launchers is necessary to limit the propellant for the orbital location maneuvers.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ Medium earth orbits (MEO)
This orbit, sometimes called intermediate circular orbit (ICO), ranges between 10,000 and 14,000 km from the
earth’s surface. Its characteristics are between those of the GEO and LEO cases.
The advantages of the ICO are as follows:
➢ Relatively large coverage area
➢ The lower range than GEO means that a lower satellite and terminal effective isotropic radiated power can
be employed.
➢ The lower delay than GEO may allow more flexibility of system design for voice communications.
➢ Multiple satellite coverage can be achieved more easily.
➢ Inter-beam/inter-satellite handover may be less frequent than for LEO, thereby increasing the probability of
call completion with no handovers.

The disadvantages of ICO are as follows:

➢ The Doppler frequency offsets are larger than GEO due to the higher relative satellite motion.
➢ A larger constellation than GEO is required to provide continuous global coverage.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ Low earth orbits (LEO)
The LEO satellites are at altitudes from 500 to 1,500 km above the earth and periods of approximately 2-h.
In order to compensate the gravitational pull, the satellite velocity is higher than that of the earth.

The main advantages of LEO satellites

are mainly as a consequence of its low altitude and can be summarized as follows:

1) The satellites are orbited near to the earth, thus minimizing the time delay effects. The Latency
(propagation delay) may be comparable with long-distance terrestrial circuits. For a LEO satellite at an
altitude of 780 km, the delay is about 2.6 msec.
2) The spacecraft design constraints, in terms of antenna size, power requirements and launching
mission, can be relaxed
3) The low orbit altitude allows the capability of creating small spot-beam areas; and this increases the
spectral efficiency.
4) High angles of elevation can be achieved; this results in smaller path loss.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
The main disadvantages of the LEO satellite
are due to complex orbital design (each satellite must be suitably phased) and sophisticate its mobility
with respect to earth and can be itemized as:

1. Many spacecraft units are needed in order to provide continuous

radio coverage requirements. As see in fig
2. The satellite constellation can require d orbital maintenance.
3. It can be difficult to minimize the satellite number to cope with
continuous (or quasi-continuous) services on a regional scale.
4. The visibility period of each satellite (in the order of few minutes)
requires frequent handover activities.
5. Spacecraft tracking can be necessary for the user terminal.
6. The very high orbital velocity results in large Doppler offsets.

7. The slant range towards the same user drastically changes during the satellite pass, requiring a
suitable antenna gain configuration onboard.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
Types of LEO Satellites

There are two different approaches for cellular coverage with LEO satellites; the earth-fixed cell system
and the satellite-fixed cell system.

1) The earth-fixed cell system

The earth-fixed cell system results in a fixed footprint on the earth by employing steerable antenna to point
toward the same area during all the time the satellite is above the horizon. The cellular structure is quite similar
to that of the terrestrial cellular structure as long as the satellite is in the horizon. Before leaving the horizon,
another satellite takes on the job and inter-satellite handover occurs. Intra-satellite handover is due to user’s
motion.
The TELEDESIC system is a typical example of this approach. The TELEDESIC network consists of 288
operational satellites at an altitude of 1375 km, divided into 12 planes, each with 24 satellites.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
2) The satellite-fixed cell system

In the satellite-fixed cell system, the antenna beams maintain a constant geometry with respect to the
satellite, and the cells on the ground moves along with the satellite. Massive intra-satellite handover between
spot-beams as well as inter-satellite handover are experienced.
All users (fixed and mobile) suffer from handover as handover is due to satellite motion, not user’s motion.

The IRIDIUM system designed by Motorola is an example of the second approach. It is composed of 66
LEO satellites in 6 polar orbital planes with a circular polar constellation at inclination of 86o, an altitude of 780
km above the earth and a minimum elevation angle of 8.2o.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ Technical Aspects of LEO Satellite Systems

Due to the satellite’s mobility, the coverage region of a

satellite is not stationary. Therefore, instead of transmitting
to and receiving from a fixed point in the sky as for GEO
satellite systems, the user transmits to and receives from a
network of LEO satellites that move overhead with some
satellites disappearing from view as others come over the
horizon.

The coverage area of a single satellite (i.e., its footprint) is

specified by the minimum acceptable elevation angle.
This footprint consists of small sized cells, called
spotbeams as shown in Fig. Each cell corresponds to a
separate beam of the satellite antenna radiation pattern
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❖ Number of required satellites

The area of the earth’s surface covered by a satellite, i.e., the satellite footprint, is related to its altitude h as

2RE h
Sc = RE = 6370 km is the radius of the earth.
1 + ( h / RE )
Due to its lower altitude, the area of the earth’s surface visible from a
LEO satellite is much smaller than that visible from the GEO satellite.
Consequently, larger number of LEO satellites is required for global
coverage.

Let  denote the earth central angle as shown in Fig.. For a

specific minimum elevation angle  at the edge of coverage,
the altitude of the orbit is given by

 cos 
h= − 1 RE
 cos( +  ) 
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
The number of orbital planes, p, required for the constellation and the number
of satellites per orbit, s, are respectively given by

 
p =  
2 orbits
 
3

 
s = 3  
2 sat/orbit
 
The planes are usually equi-spaced and the satellites are equally
separated around each plane although satellites in adjacent planes may
be staggered with respect to each other to maximize their coverage at the
equator. The number of satellites required (i.e., sp) decreases with
the increment of the satellite altitude. On the other hand, as the
minimum elevation angle increases, the minimum number of
satellites required also increases
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❖ Satellite orbital speed and visible period

The orbital LEO satellite speed, VLEO, depends on its orbital radius RLEO. The speed can be obtained as a function
of the angular rotational speed  of GEO satellites as

3
RGEO
VLEO = 
RLEO

 RLEO 
Torbit = 2  
 VLEO 
It is obvious from the last Equation reducing the satellite altitude results in higher
 RE 
orbital speed of a satellite. This in turn decreases the orbital period. On the earth, the Vspot = VLEO  
spot speed of the moving cell, Vspot, is related to the satellite orbital speed as  RLEO 
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
Example

A LEO satellite system operates with a minimum elevation angle of 8.2o and an earth
central angle of 20o. Let the earth radius be 6370 km. Determine the following:
a- The satellite altitude to fulfill the above condition.
b- The number of planes for global coverage.
c- The number of satellites per plane
d- The orbital speed of the satellite
e- The average orbital period
f- The spotbeam speed.
Solution
Given:  = 8.2o,  = 20o, RE = 6370 km
a- The satellite altitude is given by

 cos    cos 8.2 

− 1 RE = 
0.9897 
h= − 1 RE =  − 1 6370 = 783 km
 cos( +  )   cos(8.2 + 20)   0.881 
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
b- The number of planes is given by
  2  180 
p = 
2
 = 3  =6 orbits

3
  20 
c- The number of satellites per planes is given by

   180 
s= 2
 =
2
  = 10.39 = 11 sat/orbit
3
 
3
 20 
The total number of satellites for constellation = 611 = 66 satellite.
3
RGEO
d- The orbital speed is given by VLEO =  RGEO = 36000+6370 = 42370 km
RLEO
RLEO = 783+6370 = 7153 km

2 2  3.14 423703
3 3
RGEO RGEO
VLEO =  = = = 27327 km/h
RLEO 24 RLEO 24 7153
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
e- The orbital period is given by

 RLEO   7153 
Torbit = 2 
 
 = 2  3.14  = 1.64 h = 98.4 min
 VLEO   27327 

f- The spotbeam speed is given by

 RE   6370 
Vspot 
= VLEO  
 = 27327  = 24335.6 km/h = 6.7 km/sec.
 RLEO   7153 
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
Example
It is required to design a LEO satellite system with a minimum elevation
angle of 5O and an earth central angle of 40O. Let RE = 6370 km. Determine:
a- The orbital altitude. Comment on your results!
b- The required number of orbital planes.
c- The required number of satellites per orbit.

Solution

Given:  = 5o,  = 40o, RE = 6370 km

a- The satellite altitude is given by

 cos    cos 5   0.996 

h= − 1 RE =  − 1 RE = − 1 6370 = 2602.5 km
 cos( +  )   cos(45)   0.707 
Comment: This altitude is not practical as it lies inside the first Van Allen belt.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
b- The number of planes is given by

  2  180 
p = 2
 = 3  =3 orbits

3
  40 

c- The number of satellites per planes is given by

   180 
s= 2
  = 2
  = 5.19 = 6 sat/orbit
   40 
3 3
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❑ Handover in LEO satellites network

With the satellite movement, the visibility period of each beam or/and satellite is small. It is, then,
necessary to ensure that ongoing calls are not interrupted. This can be achieved by transferring calls in
progress to new spot-beams or/and eventually to satellites. We have two types of handovers:

1) Intrasatellite handover
Intra satellite (or inter-spotbeam) handover refers to the handover between two spotbeams served by the same
satellite. This type of handover occurs frequently due to the small size of the spotbeams and the high satellite
speed. Unless a handover policy is considered, call dropping may occur resulting in service quality deterioration.

2) Intersatellite handover
The inter satellite handover (also called footprint handover) refers to the handover between two different satellites.
Due to the high speed of the moving satellite, the handover rate is influenced by the satellite velocity, not the user
velocity on the earth’s surface. Therefore, fixed and mobile users will experience handovers.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ Intersatellite links (ISLs)
Each LEO satellite has up and down radio links in order to communicate with the ground terminals and inter
satellite links (ISLs) for communication with neighboring satellites. With ISLs, (see Fig), it is not necessary for the
satellite to see both the source and destination mobile users simultaneously. This routing of long-distance traffic
via ISLs allows LEO satellites to be utilized for global coverage and handle handover efficiently.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ Intersatellite links

There are two types of ISLs:

1) The intraplane ISL

connecting satellites within the same orbit plane.
The intra plane ISLs can be maintained permanently with fixed antennas pointing angles because the relative
motion of circular orbiting satellites in an orbital plane is zero.

2) The interplane ISLs

connecting satellites in adjacent orbit planes.
As two satellites on different orbit planes see each other under time varying pointing angles, interplane ISLs
generally require antenna steering. Moreover, interplane ISL would be temporarily switched off due to the
change in distance and viewing angle between satellites in neighbor orbits.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
If ISLs are not used, a bent-pipe
architecture as displayed in Fig should be
employed as in Globalstar system. Globalstar
is a simple and relatively cheap LEO system
implemented by Loral/QUALCOM Satellite
Services Inc., for extending terrestrial cellular
networks. The Globalstar satellite constellation
comprises 48 active LEO satellites plus 4 in-
orbit spares. The active satellites are placed in
8 circular orbits with 1414-km altitude. The
Globalstar CDMA multiple access scheme is
based upon the IS-95 CDMA standard.

In Globalstar, dual-mode and triple-mode handheld terminals (Globalstar/IS-95, Globalstar/GSM,

Globalstar/AMPS, Globalstar/AMPS/IS-95) are used. The system started service provision since 2001.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ Launching the Satellite to the GEO Orbit
The launch process of a satellite is complex and intricate. The satellite can be directly injected
to its orbit only for low orbit altitude that is less than 200 km. Otherwise, it is not economical in
terms of launch vehicle power to perform direct injection. When the orbital altitude is greater
than 200 km, the satellite must be placed into a transfer orbit between the initial low earth orbit
and the final high-altitude orbit. The transfer orbit is selected in such a way to minimize the energy
required for transfer, and such an orbit is known as a Hohmann transfer orbit.

❑ Types of launch vehicles

1) Reusable Launch vehicle
The reusable vehicle such as the space shuttle (displayed in Fig), sometimes called
the space transportation system (STS), is used in USA. The space shuttle carries the
satellite to a low earth orbit of about 380-km. The satellite is then released from the
shuttle bay, where upon it fires a so-called perigee motor, which is equivalent to the
final stage of the expandable vehicle.
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 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
2) Expendable launch vehicle

The expendable launch vehicles are displayed in the last fig. The upper section of the launch vehicle contains
an equipment bay for storage of the payload. An expendable vehicle has two or three stages to boost the
satellite payload to the attitude of the geostationary arc, but in a highly elliptical orbit. Once in position, the
expendable vehicle releases the satellite which contains a small rocket called the apogee kick motor. The effect
of this motor is to circularize the highly elliptical orbit. Typical examples of such vehicles are:
➢ The European Space Agency Ariane rockets,
➢ The US Atlas-Centaur and Delta rockets,
➢ The Japanese, Chinese and USSR expendable launch vehicles.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
❑ The launch sequence
When a communications spacecraft is to be placed in a
geosynchronous orbit, a number of steps occur as displayed in Fig.

1) The main launch vehicle is ignited. After lift-off, during the main
boost phase, the craft is powered through the earth's atmosphere.
In order to avoid the effect of severe aerodynamic forces during the
powered flight, the following should occur:
➢ only the absolutely necessary maneuvering is performed,
➢ the launch vehicle is guided with a small angle of attack.

2) As soon as the upper stages of the launch vehicle exit the

atmosphere, the fairing (shroud) is jettisoned. The fairing, which
covers the spacecraft on top of the launch vehicle to protect it from
aerodynamic forces during powered flight, is no longer needed.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
3) The final stage of the launch vehicle ignites. After burn out, the spacecraft is injected into the transfer
orbit near the perigee. This orbit is a highly elliptical one with an apogee at synchronous altitude that is
35,860 km. The plane of the orbit is usually inclined. The inclination angle depends on:
i. the launch site,
ii. the launch vehicle capability, and
iii. the optimization of the flight trajectory.

A typical inclination angle for launches from Cape Kennedy with US launch vehicles is 28.5O with respect to the
earth's equatorial plane.

4) The payload is tracked for several orbital periods from the ground for precise determination of the orbital
parameters.
 SATELLITE ORBITS AND LAUNCHING
5) Then, the apogee kick motor (AKM) is ignited at the apogee. The tasks of the AKM are to:
➢ remove the inclination of the orbital plane (orbital plane correction), and
➢ circularize the orbit.
Before the ignition, the thrust vector is oriented appropriately by commanding, from the earth, the attitude
orientation system of the spacecraft.

6) At the end of this launch phase, the spacecraft has been placed in a near synchronous equatorial orbit. The
spacecraft is drifting slowly because its orbital velocity is not precisely the one required for absolute synchronous
performance. For this reason, this orbit is often called a drift orbit.

7) The spacecraft is attitude-stabilized and is jet to operate on its own electric power.

8) Over a period of several days the spacecraft is tracked from the ground. Through its own secondary
propulsion system activated by ground commands, the spacecraft is positioned on station (i.e., in the pre-
assigned orbital spot) in order to commence operations.