Radiowave Propagation in Satellite Communications, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1986

Radiowave Propagation in Communications was written with two basic objec­ tives: (l) to present an up-to-date review of the major radiowave propagation phenomena which hinder reliable space communications, and (2) to describe how these propagation phenomena affect the design and performance of satellite communications systems. Earth-orbiting satellites are employed extensively for the relay of information in a vast array of telecommunications, meteorological, government, and sci­ entific applications. Satellite systems rely on the transmission of radiowaves to and from the satellite and are dependent on the propagation characteristics of the transmission path, primarily the earth's atmosphere. Radiowave propagation thus plays a very important part in the design and ultimate performance of space communications systems. This book presents, for the first time, the meshing in a single publication of the fundamentals of radiowave propagation factors with a discussion of the practical consequences of these factors on satellite communications systems. Two major subfie1ds are involved in this book. Radiowave propagation, which is basically applied electromagnetic theory, provides the theory and an­ alytical tools for the first several chapters. Later chapters then apply propagation effects to the field of electrical engineering involved with satellite communi­ cations. The material progresses from the essential aspects of radiowave prop­ agation to the application of practical methods and techniques in the design and performance of satellite communications systems.

1 Introduction.- 1.1 Purpose and Objectives.- 1.2 Developments and Trends in Space Communications.- 1.3 Frequency Allocations and Regulatory Aspects.- 1.3.1 Frequency Allocations for Satellite Communications.- References.- 2 Fundamentals of Radiowave Propagation.- 2.1 Transmission Principles.- 2.2 Antenna Gain and Free Space Attenuation.- 2.3 Polarization.- 2.4 Radiowave Frequency and Space Communications.- 2.5 Radiowave Propagation Mechanisms.- 2.6 Major Radiowave Propagation Factors in Space Communications.- 2.6.1 Propagation Factors Above About 3 GHz.- 2.6.2 Propagation Factors Below About 3 GHz.- References.- 3 Attenuation by Atmospheric Gases.- 3.1 Oxygen and Water Vapor Attenuation 25.- 3.2 Total Slant Path Atmospheric Attenuation.- 3.2.1 Multiple Regression Analysis Procedure.- 3.3 Summary of Atmospheric Attenuation Procedure.- References.- 4 Hydrometeor Attenuation on Satellite Paths.- 4.1 Classical Development for Rain Attenuation.- 4.1.1 Attenuation and Rain Rate.- 4.1.2 Slant Path and Elevation Angle Dependence.- 4.2 Rain Attenuation Measurements.- 4.3 Cloud and Fog Attenuation.- 4.3.1 Cloud Attenuation Prediction Model.- 4.3.1 Fog Attenuation on Earth-Space Paths.- References.- 5 Rain Attenuation Prediction Methods.- 5.1 Rice Holmberg Rain Model.- 5.2 Dutton-Dougherty Attenution Prediction.- 5.3 Lin Rain Attenuation Model.- 5.4 Crane Global Rain Attenuation Model.- 5.5 CCIR Rain Attenuation Model.- 5.6 Summary.- References.- 6 Depolarization on Satellite Paths.- 6.1 Depolarization Caused By Rain.- 6.1.1 Depolarization Prediction.- 6.1.2 Depolarization Measurements.- 6.2 Ice Depolarization.- 6.2.1 Ice Depolarization Measurements.- 6.2.2 Ice Depolarization Prediction.- 6.2.3 Summary.- 6.3 Multipath Depolarization.- 6.3.1 Multipath Depolarization Characteristics.- References.- 7 Radio Noise in Satellite Communications.- 7.1 Noise From Atmospheric Gases.- 7.2 Noise From Clouds.- 7.3 Noise From Rain.- 7.4 Noise From Surface Emissions.- 7.5 Noise From Extra-terrestrial Sources.- References.- 8 Scintillation, Bandwidth Coherence, and Other Propagation Factors.- 8.1 Scintillation.- 8.1.1 Ionospheric Scintillation.- 8.1.2 Tropospheric Scintillation.- 8.1.3 Amplitude Scintillation Measurements in Earth-Space Paths.- 8.2 Bandwidth Coherence.- 8.3 Antenna Gain Degradation and Angle of Arrival Effects.- References.- 9 Propagation Effects on Communications Satellite Link Performance.- 9.1 Communications System Parameters.- 9.1.1 Noise Temperature and Noise Figure.- 9.1.2 Figure of Merit.- 9.1.3 Carrier-to-Noise Ratio.- 9.1.4 Effective Isotropic Radiated Power.- 9.1.5 Percent-of-Time Performance Specifications.- 9.2 Link Performance in the Presence of Propagation Effects.- 9.2.1 Frequency Translation Satellite.- 9.2.2 On-board Processing Satellite 171.- 9.2.3 Effects of Path Attenuation on System Performance.- References.- 10 Restoration Techniques for Overcoming Severe Attenuation.- 10.1 Site Diversity.- 10.1.1 Diversity Gain and Diversity Improvement.- 10.1.2 Diversity Measurements.- 10.1.3 Diversity System Performance and Design.- 10.1.4 Diversity Processing.- 10.2 Power Control.- 10.2.1 Uplink Power Control.- 10.2.2 Downlink Power Control.- 10.3 Orbital Diversity.- 10.4 Spot Beams.- 10.5 Signal Processing Restoration Techniques.- 10.5.1 Frequency Diversity.- 10.5.2 Bandwidth Reduction.- 10.5.3 Transmission Delay.- 10.5.4 Adaptive Forward Error Correction.- 10.6 Summary.- References.- Appendix A Elevation Angle Dependence for Slant Path Communications Links.- Appendix B Interpolation Procedure for Atmospheric Attenuation Coefficients.- Appendix D Crane Global Rain Attenuation Model Calculation Procedure.- Appendix E CCIR Rain Attenuation Model Calculation Procedure.- Appendix F CCIR Tropospheric Scintillation Model Procedure.