Glossary
ADC Analog to Digital
Conversion
Apogee The orbital point were the
satellite is furthest from the earth
Apogee Kick Motor (AKM) A motor on
board the satellite that enables the satellite to move from GTO to GEO
Bandwidth Range on frequency the
transponder can transmit, in MHz Give a measure of capacity
BOL Begin Of Life
BUD Big Ugly Dish
Carrier to Noise ratio (C/N)
Ratio which express the quality of a signal (the higher the better)
Catalog number The number that
identifies a satellite, attributed by NASA. See
CATNR
CDMA Code Division Multiple
Access. Access method for several stations to go through a single transponder
which uses spread spectrum modulations and orthogonal codes.
Clarke belt The geostationary
orbit, named after Arthur Clarke who first said that such an orbit should exist
in 1945. He died at the age of 90 in March 2008.
COMINT Communication
Intelligence
CONUS Continental United States
(all states but Alaska and Hawaii)
Coverage Zone where the
satellite's signals can be received
DBS Direct Broadcast Satellite
dBW ratio of the power to one
Watt in decibels (unit used to express EIRP values)
DC power Total power produced by
the solar panels or nuclear reactor
DCME Digital Circuit
Multiplication Equipment
DCP Data Collection Platform
Downlink The satellite to earth
signal path
DTH Direct To Home
EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated
Power
Technical value that evaluates the strength of receive signals
ELINT Electronic Intelligence
EOL End Of Life
FDMA Frequency Division Multiple
Access Access method to a transponder by multiple stations each using 1 unique
frequency
Footprint A map of EIRP values
that express the signal strengths at a given location
Frequencies (GHz if not
specified)
HF-band
|
1.8
- 30 MHz
|
VHF-band
|
50
- 146 MHz
|
P-band
|
0.230
- 1.000
|
UHF-band
|
0.430
- 1.300
|
L-band
|
1.530
- 2.700
|
FCC's
digital radio
|
2.310
- 2.360
|
SHF-band
|
3
- 30
|
S-band
|
2.700
- 3.500
|
C-band
|
Downlink:
3.700 - 4.200
Uplink: 5.925 - 6.425
Standard US chart (horizontal)
Standard US chart (vertical)
In the USA, after 5G allocation, downlink limited to 4.000-4.200 downlink,
6.225-6.425 uplink
|
X-band
|
Downlink:
7.250 - 7.745
Uplink: 7.900 - 8.395
|
Ku-band
(Europe)
|
Downlink:
FSS: 10.700 - 11.700
BSS/DBS: 11.700 - 12.500
Telecom: 12.500 - 12.750
Uplink:
FSS & Telecom: 14.000 - 14.800
BSS/DBS: 17.300 - 18.100
|
Ku-band
(America)
|
Downlink:
FSS: 11.700 - 12.200
BSS/DBS: 12.200 - 12.700
Uplink:
FSS: 14.000 - 14.500
BSS/DBS: 17.300 - 17.800
|
Ka-band
|
Uplink:
28.4-28.6 GHz & 29.3-30.0 GHz
Downlink: 18.3-18.5, 18.6-18.8 GHz & 19.7-20.2 GHz
|
EHF-band
|
30
- 300
|
V-band
|
37.5
- 52.4 GHz
This is subdivided in:
downlink: 37.5-40.0, 40.0-42.0 GHz
uplink: 47.2-48.2, 48.2-50.2, 50.4-51.4 GHz
other: 42.0-42.5, 42.5-47.5 and 51.4-52.4 GHz
In the US 42.0-42.5 GHz is not for satellite use ITU has not assigned 51.4-52.4
GHz for satellite use
|
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/nebbia.html
GEO Geostationary Earth Orbit
Geostationary orbit The circular
orbit at 35.780 km above the equator. Satellites slotted on this orbit always
appear at the same position in the sky. In degrees towards East (E or positive)
or West (W or negative) from the Greenwich meridian.
G/T Unit of measurement for an
antenna + LNA Expressed from the gain and and noise temperature. The higher
the better
GTO Geostationary Transfer
Orbit
Geostationary satellites are usually launched on a temporary orbit
before being moved to GEO
Inclined Orbit Term used for a
GEO satellite that has turned off its North/South stabilization. From Earth,
such a satellite seems to draw an 8 in the sky; part of the day it is above the
Equator, and then below.
IOL Inter-Orbit Link
Launch id Launch number that
identifies the flight, see
LAUNR
LEO Low Earth Orbit
LNA Low Noise Amplifier
LHCP Left Hand Circular
Polarization
LTWTA Linearized Traveling Wave
Tube Amplifier
Microsat Satellite weighing
between 10 and 100 kg
Minisat Satellite weighing
between 100 and 1000 kg
Nanosat Satellite weighing
between 1 and 10 kg
PAM Payload Assist Module
Perigee The orbital point were
the satellite is closest from the earth
Picosat Satellite weighing less
than 1 kg
Polar orbit Orbit that is
perpendicular to the plan of the Equator
Polarization Plane of vibration
of the electrical field of a signal Differerent polarizations enable better
frequency re-use
Power The transponder
amplification power
RADINT Radar Intelligence
RHCP Right Hand Circular
Polarization
SCPC Single Channel Per Carrier
Access method for a large number of signals to go through a single
transponder
SIGINT Signal Intelligence
SSPA Solid State Power
Amplifier
TDMA Time Division Multiple
Access Access system where each station has a time slot for using a unique
carrier shared with others
THEO Twelve Hours Excentric
Orbit (
Molniya-type
orbit)
Transponder The association of a
receiver, frequency converter and transmiter devices in a satellite
TWTA Traveling Wave Tube
Amplifier
Uplink The earth to satellite
signal path