Introduction to satellite communications
HISTORY OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
The first artificial satellite was placed in orbit by the Russians in 1957. That satellite, called Sputnik, signaled the beginning of an era.
The United States, who was behind the Russians, made an all-out effort to catch up, and launched Score in 1958. That was the first satellite with the primary purpose of communications.
The first regular satellite communications service was used by the Navy in 1960. The moon was used to bounce teletypewriter signals between Hawaii and Washington, D.C. During the early 1960s, the Navy used the moon as a medium for passing messages between ships at sea and shore stations. This method of communications proved reliable when other methods failed.
Military satellite communications technology was at a low level until 1965. At that time high quality voice transmissions were conducted between a satellite and two earth stations. That was the stepping stone to the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program (IDCSP), which will be covered later in this chapter.
Experience with satellite communications has demonstrated that satellite systems can satisfy many military requirements. They are reliable, survivable, secure, and a cost effective method of telecommunications. You can easily see that satellites are the ideal, if not often the only, solution to problems of communicating with highly mobile forces. Satellites, if properly used, provide much needed options to large, fixed-ground installations.
For the past fifty years, the Navy has used high-frequency (hf) transmissions as the principal method of sending messages. In the 1970s, the hf spectrum was overcrowded and "free" frequencies were at a premium. Hf jamming and electronic countermeasures (ECM) techniques became highly sophisticated during that period. As a result the need for new and advanced long-range transmission methods became apparent.
Communications via satellite is a natural outgrowth of modern technology and of the continuing demand for greater capacity and higher quality in communications.
In the past, the various military branches have had the resources to support their communications needs. Predicted usage indicates that large-scale improvements will have to be made to satisfy future needs of the Department of Defense. These needs will require greater capacity for long-haul communications to previously inaccessible areas. Satellite communications has the most promise for satisfying these future requirements.
FUNDAMENTAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
A satellite communications system uses satellites to relay radio transmissions between earth terminals. The two types of communications satellites you will study are ACTIVE and PASSIVE. A passive satellite only reflects received radio signals back to earth. An active satellite acts as a REPEATER; it amplifies signals received and then retransmits them back to earth. This increases signal strength at the receiving terminal to a higher level than would be available from a passive satellite.
A typical operational link involves an active satellite and two or more earth terminals. One station transmits to the satellite on a frequency called the UP-LINK frequency. The satellite then amplifies the signal, converts it to the DOWN-LINK frequency, and transmits it back to earth. The signal is next picked up by the receiving terminal. Figure 4-1 shows a satellite handling several combinations of links simultaneously.
The first artificial satellite was placed in orbit by the Russians in 1957. That satellite, called Sputnik, signaled the beginning of an era.
The United States, who was behind the Russians, made an all-out effort to catch up, and launched Score in 1958. That was the first satellite with the primary purpose of communications.
The first regular satellite communications service was used by the Navy in 1960. The moon was used to bounce teletypewriter signals between Hawaii and Washington, D.C. During the early 1960s, the Navy used the moon as a medium for passing messages between ships at sea and shore stations. This method of communications proved reliable when other methods failed.
Military satellite communications technology was at a low level until 1965. At that time high quality voice transmissions were conducted between a satellite and two earth stations. That was the stepping stone to the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program (IDCSP), which will be covered later in this chapter.
Experience with satellite communications has demonstrated that satellite systems can satisfy many military requirements. They are reliable, survivable, secure, and a cost effective method of telecommunications. You can easily see that satellites are the ideal, if not often the only, solution to problems of communicating with highly mobile forces. Satellites, if properly used, provide much needed options to large, fixed-ground installations.
For the past fifty years, the Navy has used high-frequency (hf) transmissions as the principal method of sending messages. In the 1970s, the hf spectrum was overcrowded and "free" frequencies were at a premium. Hf jamming and electronic countermeasures (ECM) techniques became highly sophisticated during that period. As a result the need for new and advanced long-range transmission methods became apparent.
Communications via satellite is a natural outgrowth of modern technology and of the continuing demand for greater capacity and higher quality in communications.
In the past, the various military branches have had the resources to support their communications needs. Predicted usage indicates that large-scale improvements will have to be made to satisfy future needs of the Department of Defense. These needs will require greater capacity for long-haul communications to previously inaccessible areas. Satellite communications has the most promise for satisfying these future requirements.
FUNDAMENTAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
A satellite communications system uses satellites to relay radio transmissions between earth terminals. The two types of communications satellites you will study are ACTIVE and PASSIVE. A passive satellite only reflects received radio signals back to earth. An active satellite acts as a REPEATER; it amplifies signals received and then retransmits them back to earth. This increases signal strength at the receiving terminal to a higher level than would be available from a passive satellite.
A typical operational link involves an active satellite and two or more earth terminals. One station transmits to the satellite on a frequency called the UP-LINK frequency. The satellite then amplifies the signal, converts it to the DOWN-LINK frequency, and transmits it back to earth. The signal is next picked up by the receiving terminal. Figure 4-1 shows a satellite handling several combinations of links simultaneously.
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