Earth Segment Subsystems

The earth segment of satellite communication system mainly consists of two earth stations.
Those are transmitting earth station and receiving earth station.

The transmitting earth station transmits the information signals to satellite. Whereas, the
receiving earth station receives the information signals from satellite. Sometimes, the same earth
station can be used for both transmitting and receiving purposes.

In general, earth stations receive the baseband signals in one of the following forms.Voice
signals and video signals either in analog form or digital form.

Initially, the analog modulation technique, named FM modulation is used for transmitting both
voice and video signals, which are in analog form.

Later, digital modulation techniques, namely Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) and Phase Shift
Keying (PSK) are used for transmitting those signals. Because, both voice and video signals are
used to represent in digital by converting them from analog.

Block Diagram of Earth Station

Designing of an Earth station depends not only on the location of earth station but also on some
other factors. The location of earth stations could be on land, on ships in sea and on aircraft. The
depending factors are type of service providing, frequency bands utilization, transmitter, receiver
and antenna characteristics.

The block diagram of digital earth station is shown in below figure.

There are four major subsystems that are present in any earth station. Those are transmitter,
receiver, antenna and tracking subsystem.

Transmitter

The binary (digital) information enters at base band equipment of earth station from terrestrial
network. Encoder includes error correction bits in order to minimize the bit error rate.

In satellite communication, the Intermediate Frequency (IF) can be chosen as 70 MHz by using a
transponder having bandwidth of 36 MHz. Similarly, the IF can also be chosen as 140 MHz by
using a transponder having bandwidth of either 54 MHz or 72 MHz.

Up converter performs the frequency conversion of modulated signal to higher frequency. This
signal will be amplified by using High power amplifier. The earth station antenna transmits this
signal.

Receiver

During reception, the earth station antenna receives downlink signal. This is a low-level
modulated RF signal. In general, the received signal will be having less signal strength. So, in
order to amplify this signal, Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) is used. Due to this, there is an
improvement in Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) value.

RF signal can be down converted to the Intermediate Frequency (IF) value, which is either 70 or
140 MHz. Because, it is easy to demodulate at these intermediate frequencies.

The function of the decoder is just opposite to that of encoder. So, the decoder produces an error
free binary information by removing error correction bits and correcting the bit positions if any.

This binary information is given to base band equipment for further processing and then delivers
to terrestrial network.

Earth Station Antenna

The major parts of Earth station Antenna are feed system and Antenna reflector. These two parts
combined together radiates or receives electromagnetic waves. Since the feed system obeys
reciprocity theorem, the earth station antennas are suitable for both transmitting and receiving
electromagnetic waves.

Parabolic reflectors are used as the main antenna in earth stations. The gain of these reflectors is
high. They have the ability of focusing a parallel beam into a point at the focus, where the feed
system is located.

Tracking Subsystem

The Tracking subsystem keeps track with the satellite and make sure that the beam comes
towards it in order to establish the communication. The Tracking system present in the earth
station performs mainly two functions. Those are satellite acquisition and tracking of satellite.
This tracking can be done in one of the following ways. Those are automatic tracking, manual
tracking & program tracking.
TELEMETRY, TRACKING, COMMAND AND MONITORING

The tracking, telemetry, command, and monitoring (TTC&M) subsystem provides essential
spacecraft management and control functions to keep the satellite operating safely in orbit.

One TTC&M facility may maintain several spacecraft simultaneously in orbit through TTC&M
links to each vehicle. Figure below shows the typical TTC&M functional elements for the
satellite and ground facility for a communications satellite application.

The satellite TTC&M subsystems comprise the antenna, command receiver, tracking and
telemetry transmitter, and possibly tracking sensors. Telemetry data are received from the other
subsystems of the spacecraft, such as the payload, power, attitude control, and thermal control.
Command data are relayed from the command receiver to other subsystems to control such
parameters as antenna pointing, transponder modes of operation, battery and solar cell changes,
etc.

Tracking refers to the determination of the current orbit, position, and movement of the
spacecraft. The tracking function is accomplished by a number of techniques, usually involving
satellite beacon signals, which are received at the satellite TTC&M earth station. The Doppler
shift of the beacon (or the telemetry carrier) is monitored to determine the rate at which the range
is changing (the range rate).

Angular measurements from one or more earth terminals can be used to determine spacecraft
location. The range can be determined by observing the time delay of a pulse or sequence of
pulses transmitted from the satellite.

Acceleration and velocity sensors on the satellite can be used to monitor orbital location and
changes in orbital location.
The telemetry function involves the collection of data from sensors on-board the spacecraft and
the relay of this information to the ground. The telemetered data include such parameters as
voltage and current conditions in the power subsystem, temperature of critical subsystems, status
of switches and relays in the communications and antenna subsystems, fuel tank pressures, and
attitude control sensor status.

A typical communications satellite telemetry link could involve over 100 channels of sensor
information, usually in digital form, but occasionally in analog form for diagnostic evaluations.
The telemetry carrier modulation is typically frequency or phase shift keying (FSK or PSK), with
the telemetry channels transmitted in a time division multiplex (TDM) format. Telemetry
channel data rates are low, usually only a few kbps.

Command is the complementary function to telemetry. The command system relays specific
control and operations information from the ground to the spacecraft, often in response to
telemetry information received from the spacecraft. Parameters involved in typical command
links include changes and corrections in attitude control and orbital control;

• antenna pointing and control;

• transponder mode of operation;

• battery voltage control.

The command system is used during launch to control the firing of the boost motor, deploy
appendages such as solar panels and antenna reflectors, and ‘spin-up’ a spin-stabilized spacecraft
body.

Attitude Control

The attitude of a satellite refers to its orientation in space with respect to earth. Attitude control is
necessary so that the antennas, which usually have narrow directional beams, are pointed
correctly towards earth. Several forces can interact to affect the attitude of the spacecraft,
including gravitational forces from the sun, moon, and planets; solar pressures acting on the
spacecraft body, antennas or solar panels; and earth’s magnetic field.

Orientation is monitored on the spacecraft by infrared horizon detectors, which detect the rim
of earth against the background of space. Four detectors are used to establish a reference point,
usually the center of the earth, and any shift in orientation is detected by one or more of the
sensors.

A control signal is generated that activates attitude control devices to restore proper orientation.
Gas jets, ion thrusters, or momentum wheels are used to provide active attitude control on
communications satellites.
The basic shape of the structure depends of the method of stabilization employed to keep the
satellite stable and pointing in the desired direction, usually to keep the antennas properly
oriented toward earth. Two methods are commonly employed: spin stabilization and threeaxis or
body stabilization

Spin Stabilization

A spin stabilized satellite is usually cylindrical in shape, because the satellite is required to be
mechanically balanced about an axis, so that it can be maintained in orbit by spinning on its axis.
For GSO satellites, the spin axis is maintained parallel to the spin axis of the earth, with spin
rates in the range of 30 to 100 revolutions per minute.

The spinning satellite will maintain its correct attitude without additional effort, unless
disturbance torques are introduced. External forces such as solar radiation, gravitational
gradients, and meteorite impacts can generate undesired torques. Internal effects such as motor
bearing friction and antenna subsystem movement can also produce unwanted torque in the
system.

Impulse type thrusters, or jets, are used to maintain spin rate and correct any wobbling or
nutation to the satellite spin axis.

Three-axis Stabilization

A three-axis stabilized satellite is maintained in space with stabilizing elements for each of the
three axes, referred to as roll, pitch, and yaw.

The entire body of the spacecraft remains fixed in space, relative to the earth, which is why the
three-axis stabilized satellite is also referred to as a body stabilized satellite.

Active attitude control is required with three-axis stabilization. Control jets or reaction wheels
are used, either separately or in combination, to provide correction and control for ach of the
three axes. A reaction wheel is basically a flywheel that absorbs the undesired torques that
would shift spacecraft orientation.

Orbital Control

Orbital control, often called station keeping, is the process required to maintain a satellite in its
proper orbit location. It is similar to, although not functionally the same as, attitude control.

GSO satellites will undergo forces that would cause the satellite to drift in the east-west (longitude)
and north-south (latitude) directions, as well as in altitude, if not compensated for with active
orbital control jets. Orbital control is usually maintained with the thruster system.

The non-spherical (oblate) properties of the earth, primarily exhibited as an equatorial bulge, cause
the satellite to drift slowly in longitude along the equatorial plane. Control jets are pulsed to impart
an opposite velocity component to the satellite, which causes the satellite to drift back to its
nominal position. These corrections are referred to as east-west station keeping maneuvers, which
are accomplished periodically every two to three weeks.
Latitude drift will be induced primarily by gravitational forces from the sun and the moon. These
forces cause the satellite inclination to change about 0.075◦ per month if left uncorrected. Periodic
pulsing to compensate for these forces, called north-south station keeping maneuvers, must also
be accomplished periodically to maintain the nominal satellite orbit location.

Thermal Control

Orbiting satellites will experience large temperature variations, which must be controlled in the
harsh environment of outer space. Thermal radiation from the sun heats one side of the spacecraft,
while the side facing outer space is exposed to the extremely low temperatures of space. Much of
the equipment in the satellite itself generates heat, which must be controlled. Low orbiting satellites
can also be affected by thermal radiation reflected from the earth itself.

The satellite thermal control system is designed to control the large thermal gradients generated in
the satellite by removing or relocating the heat to provide an as stable as possible temperature
environment for the satellite.

Several techniques are employed to provide thermal control in a satellite. Thermal blankets and
thermal shields are placed at critical locations to provide insulation. Radiation mirrors are placed
around electronic subsystems, particularly for spin-stabilized satellites, to protect critical
equipment. Heat pumps are used to relocate heat from power devices such as traveling wave power
amplifiers to outer walls or heat sinks to provide a more effective thermal path for heat to escape.
Thermal heaters may also be used to maintain adequate temperature conditions for some
components, such as propulsion lines or thrusters, where low temperatures would cause severe
problems.

Transponder

The transponder in a communications satellite is the series of components that provides the
communications channel, or link, between the uplink signal received at the uplink antenna, and
the downlink signal transmitted by the downlink antenna. A typical communications satellite will
contain several transponders, and some of the equipment may be common to more than one
transponder.

Each transponder generally operates in a different frequency band, with the allocated frequency
spectrum band divided into slots, with a specified center frequency and operating bandwidth. A
typical commercial communications satellite today can have 24 to 48 transponders, operating in
the C-band, Ku-band, or Ka-bands. The number of transponders can be doubled by the use of
polarization frequency reuse, where two carriers at the same frequency, but with orthogonal
polarization, are used. Both linear polarization (horizontal and vertical sense) and circular
polarization (right-hand and left-hand sense) have been used.

The communications satellite transponder is implemented in one of two general types of

configurations: the frequency translation transponder and the on-board processing transponder.
Frequency Translation Transponder

The first type, which has been the dominant configuration since the inception of satellite
communications, is the frequency translation transponder. The frequency translation transponder,
also referred to as a non-regenerative repeater, or bent pipe, receives the uplink signal and,
after amplification, retransmits it with only a translation in carrier frequency.

Figure below shows the typical implementation of a dual conversion frequency translation
transponder, where the uplink radio frequency, fup, is converted to an intermediate lower
frequency, fif , amplified, and then converted back up to the downlink RF frequency, fdwn, for
transmission to earth.

Frequency translation transponders are used for Fixed satellite service (FSS), Broadcast satellite
service (BSS), and Mobile satellite service (MSS) applications, in both GSO and NGSO orbits.
The uplinks and downlinks are codependent, meaning that any degradation introduced on the
uplink will be transferred to the downlink, affecting the total communications link.

On-board Processing Transponder

Figure below shows the second type of satellite transponder, the on-board processing
transponder, also called a regenerative repeater demod/remod transponder, or smart
satellite. The uplink signal at fup is demodulated to baseband, fbaseband .

The baseband signal is available for processing on-board, including reformatting and error-
correction. The baseband information is then remodulated to the downlink carrier at fdwn,
possibly in a different modulation format to the uplink and, after final amplification,
transmitted to the ground.

The demodulation/remodulation process removes uplink noise and interference from the
downlink, while allowing additional on-board processing to be accomplished. Thus the uplinks
and downlinks are independent with respect to evaluation of overall link performance, unlike
the frequency translation transponder where uplink degradations are codependent, as discussed
earlier.
In any satellite transmission, there are always losses from various sources. Some of those losses
may be constant, others are dependent of statistical data and others vary with the weather
conditions, especially with rain.

Major losses in satellite communications

PROPAGATION LOSSES
There are three major issues to take into account as far as propagation losses concern.
Free space losses
Atmospheric losses
Pointing losses

FREE SPACE LOSSES

Free space loss is the dominant component in the loss of the strength of the signal. It doesn’t
refer to attenuation of signal, but to its spreading through space.
Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP), which may be considered the input power in one
end of the link.

The maximum power flux density at a distance r is given by:

where:
= maximum power flux density
G = transmission antenna gain
PS = radiated power from the antenna
r = distance between the satellite and the receiving station
Considering an isotropic radiator with an input power equal to G.P S the same flux density would
be produced.
EIRP = G.PS

Once EIRP is usually expressed in dBW, it is possible to write:

EIRP (dBW) = PS (dBW) + G (dB)

The eirp serves as a single parameter ‘figure of merit’ for the transmit portion of the
communications link.

The first step in the calculations for free space loss (FSL) is to determine the losses in clear-sky
conditions. These are the losses that remain constant with time. As said before, FSL derive from
the spreading of signal in space.

The received power is given by:

where:
PR = received power
Aeff =effective aperture of the receiving antenna

From the equations above, it is possible to write:

The effective aperture of the antenna is provided by:

So, the received power may also be calculated by:

In dB, this equation can be rewritten as:

In this equation, EIRP refers to the transmitter, GR to the receiver and the last term of the second
member of the equation to the free space spreading losses.

FSL are given by the following expression:

where λ=c/f

When the frequency f is represented in MHz and the distance r in km, the above expression for
free space loss comes as:
FSL = 32.4 + 20log(r) + 20log(f)
ATMOSPHERIC LOSSES

This kind of losses derives from the absorption of energy by atmospheric gases. They can
assume two different types:
Atmospheric attenuation;
Atmospheric absorption.
Here, Attenuation is weather-related, while absorption comes in clear-sky conditions.

Likewise, these losses can be due to ionospheric, tropospheric and other local effects.

IONOSPHERIC EFFECTS

All radio waves transmitted by satellites to the Earth or vice versa must pass through the
ionosphere, the highest layer of the atmosphere, which contains ionized particles, especially due
to the action of sun’s radiation. Free electrons are distributed in layers and clouds of electrons
may be formed, originating what is known as travelling ionospheric disturbances, what provoke
signal fluctuations that are only treated as statistical data. The effects are:
 Polarization rotation;
 Scintillation effects;
 Absorption;
 Variation in the direction of arrival;
 Propagation delay;
 Dispersion;
 Frequency change

These effects decrease usually with the increase of the square of the frequency and most serious
ones in satellite communications are the polarization rotation and the scintillation effects.
Polarization rotation

When a radio wave passes through the ionosphere, it contacts the layers of ionized electrons that
move according to the Earth’s magnetic field. The direction these electrons move will no longer
be parallel to the electric field of the wave and therefore the polarization is shifted, in what is
called Faraday rotation.

Scintillation effects

Differences in the atmospheric refractive index may cause may cause scattering and multipath
effect, due to the different directions rays may take through the atmosphere. They are detected as
variations in amplitude, phase, polarization and angle of arrival of the radio waves.

Feeder Losses

Feeder loss indicates the signal loss caused by various devices that are located on the path of the
antenna to the receiver. Any device using an external antenna for service provision at either the
base station side or terminal side must consider feeder loss.

Feeder losses occur in the several components between the receiving antenna and the receiver
device, such as filters, couplers and waveguides. These losses are similar to the ones which occur
also in the emission, between the emitting antenna and the output of the high power amplifier
(HPA). Such losses will occur in the connecting waveguides, filters, and couplers.

Antenna misalignment losses

When a satellite link is established, the ideal situation is to have the earth station and satellite
antennas aligned for maximum gain, as shown in Fig. There are two possible sources of off-axis
loss, one at the satellite and one at the earth station, as shown in Fig.

The off-axis loss at the satellite is taken into account by designing the link for operation on the
actual satellite antenna. The off-axis loss at the earth station is referred to as the antenna
pointing loss. Antenna pointing losses are usually only a few tenths of a decibel.

In addition to pointing losses, losses may result at the antenna from misalignment of the
polarization direction.

The polarization misalignment losses are usually small, and it will be assumed that the antenna
misalignment losses, denoted by [AML], include both pointing and polarization losses resulting
from antenna misalignment.
(a) Satellite and earth-station antennas aligned for maximum gain;
(b) earth station situated on a given satellite “footprint,” and earth-station antenna misaligned.

Global Positioning System (GPS):

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite based navigation system that can be used to
locate positions anywhere on earth. Designed and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, it
consists of satellites, control and monitor stations, and receivers. GPS receivers take information
transmitted from the satellites and uses triangulation to calculate a user’s exact location.

GPS is used on incidents in a variety of ways, such as:

 To determine position locations; for example, you need to radio a helicopter pilot the
coordinates of your position location so the pilot can pick you up.
 To navigate from one location to another; for example, you need to travel from a
lookout to the fire perimeter.
 To create digitized maps; for example, you are assigned to plot the fire perimeter and
hot spots.
 To determine distance between two points or how far you are from another location

Three Segments of GPS:

Space Segment — Satellites orbiting the earth

The space segment consists of 29 satellites circling the earth every 12 hours at 12,000 miles in
altitude. This high altitude allows the signals to cover a greater area. The satellites are arranged
in their orbits so a GPS receiver on earth can receive a signal from at least four satellites at any
given time. Each satellite contains several atomic clocks.

Control Segment — The control and monitoring stations

The control segment tracks the satellites and then provides them with corrected orbital and time
information. The control segment consists of five unmanned monitor stations and one Master
Control Station. The five unmanned stations monitor GPS satellite signals and then send that
information to the Master Control Station where anomalies are corrected and sent back to the
GPS satellites through ground antennas.
User Segment — The GPS receivers owned by civilians and military

The user segment consists of the users and their GPS receivers. The number of simultaneous
users is limitless.

GPS RECEIVER

There exists only one-way transmission from satellite to users in GPS system. Hence, the
individual user does not need the transmitter, but only a GPS receiver. It is mainly used to find
the accurate location of an object. It performs this task by using the signals received from
satellites.

The block diagram of GPS receiver is shown in below figure.

The function of each block present in GPS receiver is mentioned below.

Receiving Antenna receives the satellite signals. It is mainly, a circularly polarized antenna.

Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) amplifies the weak received signal

Down converter converts the frequency of received signal to an Intermediate Frequency (IF)
signal.

IF Amplifier amplifies the Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal.

ADC performs the conversion of analog signal, which is obtained from IF amplifier to digital.
Assume, the sampling & quantization blocks are also present in ADC (Analog to Digital
Converter).

DSP (Digital Signal Processor) generates the course acquisition (C/A) code.

Microprocessor performs the calculation of position and provides the timing signals in order to
control the operation of other digital blocks. It sends the useful information to Display unit in
order to display it on the screen.
How GPS Determines a Position:

The GPS receiver uses the following information to determine a position.

Precise location of satellites

When a GPS receiver is first turned on, it downloads orbit information from all the satellites
called an almanac. This process, the first time, can take as long as 12 minutes; but once this
information is downloaded, it is stored in the receiver’s memory for future use.

Distance from each satellite

The GPS receiver calculates the distance from each satellite to the receiver by using the distance
formula: distance = velocity x time. The receiver already knows the velocity, which is the speed
of a radio wave or 186,000 miles per second (the speed of light).

Triangulation to determine position

The receiver determines position by using triangulation. When it receives signals from at least
three satellites the receiver should be able to calculate its approximate position (a 2D position).
The receiver needs at least four or more satellites to calculate a more accurate 3D position.

GPS POSITION LOCATION PRINCIPLES

The basic requirement of a satellite navigation system like GPS is that there must be four
satellites transmitting suitably coded signals from known positions. Three satellites are required
to provide the three distance measurements, and the fourth to remove receiver clock error. Figure
below shows the general arrangement of position location with GPS. The three satellites provide
distance information when the GPS receiver makes three measurements of range, Ri, from the
receiver to three known points. Each distance Ri can be thought of as the radius of a sphere with
a GPS satellite at its center. The receiver lies at the intersection of three such spheres, with a
satellite at the center of each sphere.

General arrangement of position locations with GPS. The aircraft must receive signals from four
GPS satellites to be able to determine its position.
A basic principle of geometry is that the intersection of three planes completely defines a point.
Thus three satellites, through measurement of their distances to the receiver, define the receiver
location close to the earth's surface.

VSAT
A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a device known as small private earth station that is
used to transmit & receive data signal through a satellite. It refers to receive/transmit terminal
installed at dispersed sites connecting to a central hub via satellite using small diameter antenna
dishes (0.6 to 3.8 meter).

VSAT is used for both broadcast & interactive applications of effective data, voice and video
transfer. VSATs are used to transmit narrowband data (e.g., point-of-sale transactions using
credit cards, polling or RFID data, or SCADA), or broadband data (for the provision of satellite
Internet access to remote locations, VoIP or video).

VSATs can be transportable, on-the-move (utilising phased array antennas) or mobile maritime
communications.

Why to use VSAT:-

 The dish is small, easily transportable and installation lead- time is much shorter if
compared to terrestrial links.

 VSAT network allows rapid, low-cost network re-configuration and expansion to meet
new or unexpected business requirements.

 Cost effective transmission and network operations are made possible by use of the EX-C
band satellite frequency and Frequency Times Division Multiple Access (FTDMA),
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) or Time Division Multiple Access
(TDMA) transmission techniques.
Components Of VSAT:

Earth Segment:
Outdoor Unit (ODU): It basically consist of antenna
b) Indoor Unit (IDU): It contains the interface between the VSAT and the user’s equipment
(PC’s, TV’s Telephone).

Space Segment:
A Geostationary Earth Orbital (GEO) Satellite with a directional antenna integrated which
revolves around the equator at the same rotational speed as the earth.

VSAT Network Architecture:-

An Earth Station acts as a hub. This ES has a very powerful antenna of 15- to 36-foot-wide
which employs routing capabilities and has high-speed connection to wired backbone in orders
to serve as a gateway to/from the VSAT network.

Each end user is interconnected with the ES via satellite, forming a star topology.

The hub controls the entire operation of the network. For one user to communicate with another,
each transmission has to first go to hub station and then retransmits it via the satellite to the other
end user’s VSAT.
VSATs are generally distinguished from the other types of earth stations by the use of smaller
antenna apertures, which are capable of operating with closely spaced satellites. They are most
often designed to operate in the 6/4 GHz, 14/11-12 GHz and 30/20 GHz frequency bands. The
actual values of their antenna diameters might vary based on the standards of regional or national
regulatory bodies, satellite spacing and coordination agreements reached with adjacent satellite
operators.

Network topologies used with VSATs

Star type topology:-

In this topology, there is a “hub” earth station where the user traffic from a group of VSATs is
concentrated and which assumes control of the VSATs, as shown in figure below.

When communicating between VSATs, the “double hop” path must be employed (order 2N
latency). In many cases, the frequency spectrum is shared between VSATs based on a demand
driven protocol.
The transmission speed of outbound (i.e., hub to VSAT) and inbound (i.e., VSAT to hub) traffic
is often asymmetric for such networks in order to avert bottlenecking of data traffic at the hub. It
should also be noted that VSATs with different characteristics (i.e., antenna diameter,
transmission power and so forth) may operate in the same network.

Mesh type topology

In this topology, a group of VSATs can communicate with each other without involving a hub
earth station (i.e., “single hop” connection) as shown in figure below (order N latency).

There is a network control and monitoring centre (NCMC) earth station (or more than one
NCMC earth station in redundancy) for management and control of the group of VSATs.

In many cases, the frequency spectrum is shared between VSATs on demand basis. The
transmission speeds may vary from station to station independent of type.
Hybrid topology

A network with a hybrid topology uses characteristics of both star and mesh topologies. For
example, depending on the number of stations in the network, it may be more efficient to have
the edges of the network use a star topology while connecting the “centres” of the stars by means
of a mesh network.

Point-to-point topology

In this topology, only two earth stations on a point-to-point connection are associated as shown
in figure below. Either one end or both ends of the connections are VSATs.
Basically, the frequency spectrum is not shared but dedicated to the connection and VSATs
operate in stand-alone mode without control by other earth stations.
However, one earth station plays a role of “master” earth station that controls the other earth
station (“slave”) in some cases.
The VSAT transmission is enabled when the following conditions are met:

i. the VSAT determines that it is correctly receiving and interpreting a specified command signal
generated by the NCMC;

ii. the VSAT confirms that no faults have been detected that could result in harmful interference;

iii. the initial transmission parameters such as frequency, power, modulation, timing and coding
schemes and so forth are in compliance with expected performance.

Conditions i) and iii) are not applicable in a point-to-point topology when a VSAT operates in a
stand-alone mode.

Applications of VSAT:-

1) Computer Communications.
2) Reservation Systems.
3) Billing Systems.
4) Electronic Mail.
5) Video Conferencing.