Satellite Communication System Design

About this course:

The satellite communications field offers exciting technical and business opportunities. This practical, applications-oriented course provides a rigorous background in satellite communications principles and theory, and discusses current, future, and pioneering communication satellites, including L-band, C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band systems. This course explores the use of satellites for TV, telephone, data transmission, and Internet access. Topics include antenna farms and trade-offs of phased array versus MBA and other approaches; link calculations; IMs; PIMs; modulation techniques; earth terminal design; packet switching networks for satellites; and on-board processing versus transponder designs. Instruction covers communication hardware design/testing for low-noise amplifiers, mixers, filters, multiplexers, DSP equipment, frequency synthesizers, solid-state amplifiers, tubes, etc. The course also covers such concepts as EIRP, G/T, and noise figure, and describes tradeoffs of satellite versus fiber-optic and other communication links. Instruction examines the marketplace and ITU/FCC regulations.