ECE120 Research Work - Satellites

DOMESTIC SATELLITE

MABUHAY – AGILA II PHILIPPINES SATELLITE

The ability to communicate beyond barriers of time and distance is essential to Asian businesses that want to tap global markets. As one of Asia's leading satellite communications companies, Mabuhay Satellite Corporation, provides the Asia Pacific region with advanced satellite telecommunications technologies and offers comprehensive business solutions to companies and clients.

The Belief

Satellite telecommunications is indispensable in the growth of the Asia Pacific region. MSC believes in delivering the best and latest in satellite telecommunications services, keeping the region abreast with the best the world has to offer.

The Company

Mabuhay Satellite Corporation (MSC) is a Filipino company borne from a multi-nation joint venture composed of the telecommunications and broadcast industries of the Philippines, Indonesia and China. Local and foreign owned companies, led by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), High Rise Realty Development Corporation, Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel), Beijing High Den Enterprises Limited, Walden Group of Companies, GMA Network Inc., Philippine Satellite Corporation (PSC) Cable Entertainment Corporation (CEC), Siy Yap Group (SYG) and Philippine Communications Satellite Corporation (PCSC) have banded together to put up one of the most powerful and advanced communications satellites in Asia.

The principal objective of the corporation is to launch the first Philippine satellite and to utilize the resources available to space age technology, providing the Philippines with state-of-the-art telecommunications and bringing the country to the threshold of the 21st century. With the launching of the satellite, augmented by the wireless optic and digital technologies now in place on land and in sea, the Philippines rightfully takes it place among the nations of the world as having one of the most developed and modern telecommunications infrastructure.

The Technology

The Mabuhay Satellite Corporation provide direct-to-home broadcast services through Ku-band, allowing Filipinos in remote areas to receive high quality transmission as well as provide back-up systems for the nation's telephony network. MPSC has invested in the development of newer and more diversified satellite-implemented technologies and employed only the best people and the best machines, guaranteeing its satellite and telecommunications services.
The company's space segments provide communication links throughout the Philippine archipelago with VSAT systems, and is empowered with voice and data facilities for personal and corporate use that allows for Internet access with downlink capabilities of up to 15 Mbps.

Giving Satellite Service a Whole New Meaning

Armed with advanced business solutions and broadcast technology, Mabuhay Satellite Corp. is preparing the Asia-Pacific region to face the new millennium. As one of Asia's leading satellite communications companies, MPSC has laid the foundation of a new telecommunications infrastructure for Asia, giving this dynamic, fast-growing region access to advanced communications technology.

MSC not only provides the coverage customers need but also offers value-added services that go beyond standard satellite services. This enables MPSC to offer comprehensive solutions for diverse customers' communications requirements.

MSC can provide full transponder service for large volume users available on a full-time basis. It can also support fractional transponder requirement for the recurring needs of smaller volume users. A full-time, as well as occasional video or broadcast service can also be supported using Agila II. MPSC also offers special event services on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Coverage

Strategically located in the heart of Asia, MSC serves the Asia Pacific Rim through the Agila II satellite, which is powerful enough to reach an estimated population of over 2 billion people.

Launched in August 1997, Agila II offers one of the widest and most powerful C-band coverage over the Asia-Pacific Rim, which includes the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Malaysia, Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia. Its C-Band spot beam over Hawaii serves as a gateway to the US Mainland.

Agila's Ku-band coverage is provided to the Philippines, coastal China, Taiwan and northern Vietnam.

MSC gives powerful Ku-band coverage with on-board automatic rain-fade compensation to assure a robust link in all weather conditions.

In addition, MSC provides:

· network design engineering assistance.

· a one-stop linking service to help you find solutions for specific requirements working with leading technology partners, equipment suppliers, VSAT service providers, Integrators, Multimedia Operators and Suppliers, Broadcast Operators and Internet Gateway Operators.

It also provides redundant transponder back-up and redundant earth station services. MSC's sales team has extensive satellite earth station integration experience. Its customer-focused and responsive US-trained personnel and a 24-hour sales support and hotline ensure constant, reliable service.

Power

Agila II is a high-power spacecraft based on the Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 series of satellites. It is a typical three-axis stabilized satellite weighing 1.7 metric tons with a beginning of life DC power of 10kW and end life power of over 8kW after 15 years. Agila II is the largest spacecraft in the FS-1300 series; both in overall dimensions and the total number of active transponders with a carrying capacity of 54 transponders, 30-C-band transponders operating at 27 watts and 24 Ku-band transponders at 110 watts.

For enhanced reliability, the spacecraft is equipped with redundant equipment, a fail-safe self-monitoring satellite control system, flight-proven control algorithms, automated SCE functions using time-tagged commands for routine operations and station keeping maneuvers and automatic rain fade compensation to assure a robust link for the satellite traffic.

Providing Agila II's support is the Mabuhay Satellite Control Center, located in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, two hours away by car from Metro Manila. The Center provides spacecraft control functions, on-station operations and payload configuration.

The Mabuhay Space Center is manned by high trained satellite engineers specially selected through competitive examinations and rigid interviews. The first batch of Mabuhay engineers were sent to Space Systems/Loral in California and later to Telsat of Canada for refined education in satellite technology, control, and management as well as hand-on experience in satellite maneuvering. MSC's dedication to the industry ensures that the technology and the personnel are among the best in the world.

THE PALAPA-C SATELLITE FOR INDONESIA

PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (SATELINDO) chose Boeing Satellite Systems in April 1993 after an eight-month competition. The spacecraft, called Palapa-C, are versions of the successful Boeing 601 model of body-stabilized satellites. Construction was done at Boeing Satellite System's manufacturing facilities in El Segundo, Calif. Boeing also augmented the new master control station at Daan Mogot near Jakarta.

The first satellite was launched on Jan. 31, 1996, on an Atlas booster and placed at 113° East longitude. The second was launched on May 15, 1996 on an Ariane rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. The rockets carry the spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft's own liquid apogee motor then raises it to geostationary orbit 36,000 km (22,300 miles) above the equator.

Height stowed	15 ft 5 in (4.7 m)
Width stowed	11 ft 11 in (3.6 m)
Solar array deployed	68 ft 10 in (21 m)
Antennas deployed	24 ft 8 in (7.5 m)
Weight Beginning of life on orbit	3905 lb (1775 kg)

Stowed (left); In Orbit (right)

The Indonesian satellites carry the name "Palapa," a word that signifies unity. The country has more than 13,000 islands, and satellites are the most efficient and effective way of uniting them with communications services. Each succeeding generation of Palapa satellites was significantly larger and more powerful than the one it replaced, as demand for services grew.

Each Palapa-C spacecraft, for example, carries 30 C-band transponders, compared to Palapa-B's 24. In addition, the new satellites carry four Ku-band transponders for business networking. Each Palapa-C satellite has 24 active and six spare C-band transponders to operate in the 3700-4200MHz/5925-6425 MHz range, and six active plus two spares in the extended C-band region (3400-3640MHz/6425-6665 MHz). The former are powered by 21.5-watt solid-state power amplifiers and the latter by 26-watt SSPAs. In Ku-band, each satellite was built with six-for-four redundancy, and 135-watt traveling wavetube amplifiers for operations in the 10950-11690MHz/13750-14490 MHz range. Average radiated power in C-band is 37 dBW; in Ku-band, it's 50 dBW. The coverage area includes not only Indonesia, but also southeast Asia and parts of China, India, Japan, and Australia.

Like other Boeing 601 model satellites, Palapa-C is built with a cube-shaped central body that contains the electronics payload and supports the antennas and two solar wings. From the tip on one three-panel wing to the other, each satellite extends 21 meters (68.8 feet). These wings provide 3,730 watts of power. The satellite carries three antenna systems comprising four octagonal-shaped reflectors and their corresponding single feedhorns. The four are shaped reflectors with dual surfaces to process signals with both horizontal and vertical polarization. The shaped-reflector technology precludes the need for multiple feedhorns. The antenna systems provide coverage in the standard C-band (two 85-inch reflectors), extended C-band (one 70-inch reflector), and Ku-band (one 60-inch reflector).

The Boeing 601 body is composed of two main modules.The bus module is the primary structure that carries launch vehicle loads and contains the propulsion, attitude control and electrical power subsystems. The payload module is a honeycomb structure that contains the payload electronics, telemetry, command and ranging equipment, and the isothermal heat pipes. Reflectors, antenna feeds, and solar arrays mount directly to the primary module, and antenna configurations can be placed on three faces of the bus. Such a modular approach allows work to proceed in parallel, thereby shortening the manufacturing schedule and test time.

REGIONAL SATELLITE

ASIA CELLULAR SATELLITE (ACeS)

The Asia Cellular Satellite (ACeS) is owned by ACeS International Ltd, a consortium that includes Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) of the Philippines, the Pasifik Satelit Nusantara of Indonesia, Jasmine International of Thailand and Lockheed Martin of the USA.

The ACeS system uses the most recent technological breakthrough to maximize its communications capability. The system is comprised of one geosynchronous satellite, a Satellite Control Facility (SCF), a Network Control Center (NCC), gateways that interconnect with terrestrial telecommunications networks worldwide, and the user terminal. The ACeS Garuda 1 Satellite is considered one of the most powerful satellite systems ever built for commercial use. The Garuda satellite built by Lockheed Martin, features two 12-meter antennas, on board digital processing and up to 140 spot beams covering the whole of Asia. It is also capable of supporting 11,000 simultaneous telephone voice channels and up to two million subscribers.

The Satellite Control Facility monitors and controls the satellite while the Network Control Center consists of the hardware, software and facilities required in the management and control of the ACeS telecommunication system resources. The SCF and NCC, located at the ACeS facility in Batam Island, Indonesia, share a 15-meter parabolic antenna.

The ACeS gateways provide the primary interface between the ACeS system and other terrestrial communication networks such the Public Switch Telephone Netwok (PSTN) and Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The ACeS system provides commercial service in the Asia-Pacific region thru its three national gateways — in the Philippines, Indonesia, and in Thailand.

The ACeS idea:

Asia is a very large, heavily populated, uncontiguous continent. The land is riddled by vast amounts of water, mountains, valleys, swamps and other geophysical curios. Most of the countries are developing nations with struggling economies and infrastructure.
To address this situation, The ACeS R190, a small handheld, dual band (ACeS-GSM 900) mobile phone and the ACeS FR-190, a fixed user terminal, have been developed. Users all across Asia, within the Garuda Satellite footprint will have basic telephony capability. As stated by Mr. Adi R. Adiwoso, CEO of ACeS International Limited, “Basic telephony needs should be provided equally for anyone, anywhere at anytime.

The ACeS Coverage:

The ACeS coverage area is over 11 million square miles extending from Pakistan and India in the west, to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea in the east, and from Japan and China in the north down to Indonesia in the south.
These countries have a combined population of approximately three billion people, the majority of whom are currently underserved by telecommunication services. ACeS will help satisfy this demand, supporting services and providing terminals, which are low in cost. Focusing on the needs of the Asian market, ACeS coverage specifically serves regional needs and complements the existing telecommunication infrastructure system.

ACeS System Call Flow

When you make a call on the ACeS system from the ACeS terminal (fixed or mobile), the call goes up to the satellite, down to your home gateway and then on to your destination through the PSTN or PLMN interconnection.
When you call someone on the ACeS system, the process is reversed. From the PSTN or PLMN interconnection, the call is routed to the home gateway, up to the Garuda 1 satellite, then down to the user. If the user is roaming on a GSM system, then the call does not go up to Garuda, but instead is routed to the handling operator, then on to your mobile user terminal.

The ACeS Satellite:

The ACeS system uses a Garuda geostationary satellite incorporating state-of-the-art design and production techniques to maximize communications capability. The Garuda satellite provides 11,000 simultaneous telephone channels and is capable of supporting up to 2 million subscribers. Utilizing the Lockheed Martin Corporation A2100XX spacecraft bus and weighing approximately 4500 kg, the Garuda Satellite is one of the most powerful commercial communication satellites ever produced.
The Garuda satellite was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, by International Launch Services via the Proton rocket with a Block 1 DM upper stage on February 12, 2000. With a service life designed to be 12 years, the communications payload features two 12-meter antennas which will provides links with the user terminals via 140 satellite spot beams. The payload also features an advanced digital signal processor for on-board routing and switching of calls to spot beams.

The ACeS Gateway:

The ACeS gateways provide the primary interface between ACeS and other telecommunication networks. They provide the interface with the PSTN (public switched telephone networks) and PLMN (public land mobile networks), allowing users to call anyone anywhere in the world.

Each gateway essentially provides an individual satellite-GSM network over the entire service area with its home subscribers registered at the gateway, and visitor subscribers able to roam to the gateway from other ACeS gateways or GSM networks.
The ACeS system consists of three national gateways located in Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Each gateway has a 12-meter antenna for links with the satellites, as well as other management functions including:

• Subscriber management
• User terminal management
• Numbering management
• Call rating
• Customer service/inquiries
• Traffic monitoring
• SIM generation
• Billing, payments, settlements, and fraud detection

ORION 3

Customer	Loral Space & Communications New York, NY
Spacecraft	Hughes 601HP
Launch Date Vehicle Site	May 4, 1999 Delta III Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Orbital Slot	139 Degrees E Longitude
Contract life	15 years

Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc., (HSCI) signed a contract Jan. 15, 1997, to provide Orion 3, a Hughes 601HP satellite, as well as ground station support and launch services. Loral Space and Communications Ltd. would own the spacecraft.

Orion 3 was to be delivered on-orbit via a Boeing Delta III rocket. The launch on May 4, 1999 was unsuccessful due to underperformance by the rocket booster and the satellite was left in a useless orbit. Hughes was to provide hardware and software to the Loral Skynet satellite control centers in Hawley, Pa. and Three Peaks, Calif.; to the primary telemetry tracking and control station in Kapolei, Hawaii; and to the backup control station near Seoul, South Korea.

Stowed (left); In Orbit (right)

The new satellite, Orion 3, was to expand Loral's fleet and was the company's first satellite to serve the Asia-Pacific region. It would have provided business communications services to users in all major Asia-Pacific markets, including Korea, China, India, Japan, Australia, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Hawaii.

With 10 kilowatts at begining of life, Orion 3 was one of the most powerful satellites Hughes built, employing such innovations as gallium arsenide solar cells and advanced battery technology. The payload consisted of 10 C-band transponders for broad distribution services, such as television programming, plus 33 Ku-band transponders with three different power levels. These were to be used primarily for private business network applications and direct-to-home video services.

HSCI was the international marketing arm of Hughes Space and Communications Company, the world's largest manufacturer of commercial communications satellites. In October 2000, The Boeing Company acquired three units within Hughes Electronics Corporation: Hughes Space and Communications Company, Hughes Electron Dynamics, and Spectrolab, Inc., in addition to Hughes Electronics' interest in HRL, the company's primary research laboratory. The four are now part of Boeing's newest subsidiary, Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc.

Boeing Satellite Systems is also a major supplier of spacecraft for communications and space exploration to the U.S. government, and builds weather satellites for the United States and Japan.

PAYLOAD
C-band	10 active (4 spare) 55 w TWTAs
Ku-band	8 active (3 spare) 50 w TWTAs 8 active (3 spare) 80 w TWTAs 17 active (7 spare) 140 w TWTAs

POWER
Solar Beginning of life Panels	10 kw 2 wings, each w/4 panels of dual-junction gallium arsenide cells
Batteries	29-cell NiH, 350-Ahr

DIMENSIONS
In orbit	L, solar arrays: 88 ft (26 m) W, antennas: 30.6 ft (9.3 m)
Stowed	H: 19.1 ft (5.9 m) W: 8.8 ft x 11.8 ft (2.7 m x 3.6 m)
Mass Launch	9485 lb (4300 kg)

INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE

THE EARLY BIRD

Early Bird, the world's first commercial communications satellite, was built for the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) by the Space and Communications Group of Hughes Aircraft Company, later Hughes Space and Communications Company, and now Boeing Satellite Systems. The satellite was launched into synchronous orbit on April 6, 1965. It was placed in commercial service on June 28. Early Bird's design stemmed from the Syncom satellites Hughes had built for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to demonstrate the feasibility of communications from synchronous orbit. On station in orbit 22,300 miles above the equator, Early Bird provided line of sight communications between Europe and North America. As a communications repeater, Early Bird handled communications that were representative of all types of common carrier network traffic, including telephone, television, telegraph, and facsimile transmissions.

Diameter	0.71 m (2 ft. 4 in.)
Height	0.59 m (1 ft. 11 in.)
Weight in Orbit	34 kg (76 lb)

As the forerunner of a synchronous satellite system that would furnish communications to all the populated areas of the world, Early Bird, with capability of 240 circuits or one TV channel, successfully demonstrated the concept of synchronous satellites for commercial communications. While designed for an operational lifetime of only 18 months, the satellite was in continuous, full-time service for nearly 4 years. It was placed on reserve status in January 1969, but recalled into service in June of that year for use during the Apollo 11 mission. Two months later the satellite was again retired from active service and placed in orbital reserve by COMSAT. The satellite is currently inactive.

Features

• Spin stabilized--gyroscopic action eliminated need for complex attitude control systems
• Solar power for constant operation
• Provided point-to-point communications

The primary advantage of a synchronous orbit communications satellite is that ground installations are greatly simplified. By virtue of the satellite's "fixed" position, complex and expensive tracking antennas are not required. However, in order to hold its position in relation to the Earth's axis, the satellite must be placed directly above the equator. Since Early Bird was launched from Cape Kennedy, which is north of the equator, certain maneuvers were necessary to properly position the satellite. These were performed by means of commands from the Earth station located at Andover, Maine. The launch vehicle for Early Bird was the Thrust Augmented Delta (TAD), a three-stage rocket built by Douglas Aircraft Company. Launched with its apogee motor in a forward position, Early Bird was aligned by the Delta's third stage at an angle of 16.7 degrees to the equator and spin stabilized. It was separated from the third stage at 26 minutes, 32 seconds after liftoff and coasted to its first apogee of 23,081 miles. During the elliptical orbits, Early Bird was precisely oriented by ground control.

With the firing of the apogee motor on the sixth apogee, Early Bird was thrust into an almost circular equatorial orbit near 32 degrees W longitude with an eastward drift rate of 1.5 degrees per day. Final synchronization to slow the drift rate and more nearly match the earth's rotation rate was accomplished on April 14, 1965. This maneuver placed Early Bird at its planned position, 28 degrees W longitude. The attitude of the satellite was then changed to concentrate the antenna beam on the Andover and European earth stations. The earth station at Andover was equipped with Hughes-developed telemetry and command equipment. Launching services and facilities were provided by NASA in accordance with an agreement with COMSAT.

APSTAR II

The APSTAR II satellite was designed to serve two-thirds of the world's population--from China, Japan, and Vietnam on the east; to Russia, Eastern Europe, and India on the west; and to Australia on the south. APT Satellite Company, Ltd., of Hong Kong, ordered the high-power Hughes HS 601 spacecraft model in November 1993, as well as satellite control facility equipment and operator training.

APSTAR II was to complement the smaller Hughes-built APSTAR I and be used primarily for television broadcasting. APSTAR II was launched Jan. 26, 1995, on a Long March 2E rocket from Xichang, China, but it was destroyed in an explosion shortly after liftoff.

The APT/Hughes business relationship began in May 1992 with the signing of a contract for APSTAR I and an option for a second satellite. APSTAR I is an HS 376 spin-stabilized model having 24 transponders operating in C-band for a variety of communication traffic such as voice, data, and facsimile. The APSTAR I coverage encompasses North and Southeast Asia. APSTAR II, which was designed to be significantly larger and more powerful, used the body-stabilized HS 601 design. Its coverage area extended into Europe, Russia, India, and Australia. After the loss of APSTAR II, APT ordered APSTAR IA from Hughes. It is another HS 376 model similar to the first, with extended coverage to India and Pakistan. All three spacecraft were built at Hughes Space and Communications Company facilities in El Segundo, Calif. In 2000, the company became Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc.

Height stowed	4 m (13 ft 3 in)
Width stowed	2.7 m x 3.6 m (8 ft 10 in x 11 ft 9 in)
Solar arrays deployed	26 m (86 ft)
Antennas deployed	7 m (23 ft)

Stowed (left); In Orbit (right)

APSTAR II was to have provided video services for program distribution and syndication; data services for business applications; and services for video, radio, data, and telephone transmission. The C-band payload, using 52-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs), had 26 active and six spare transponders. The Ku-band payload had six active channels (with two spares) powered by 50-watt TWTAs and two high-power channels (with one spare) powered by 120-watt TWTAs.

Like others in the Hughes 601 series, the APSTAR II satellite consisted of a cube-shaped center payload section, with the solar panel wings extending from the north and south sides, and an antenna array. The Hughes 601 is composed of two modules: the primary structure, which carries all launch vehicle loads and contains the propulsion system, bus electronics, and battery packs; and a payload module, which holds communications equipment and isothermal heat pipes. Reflectors, antenna feeds, and solar arrays mount directly to the primary module, and antenna configurations can be placed on three faces of the bus. Such a modular approach allows work to proceed in parallel on both structures, thereby shortening the manufacturing schedule and test time.

APSTAR II was designed to generate 4300 watts with its two solar wings, each carrying four panels of K-4 3/4 solar cells. The APSTAR II configuration included two dual-surface, hexagonal reflectors, each with a diameter of 2.1 meters, located on the east and west sides. A 30-cell nickel-hydrogen battery was included to power the spacecraft during eclipse. APSTAR II used Hughes' advanced shaped-reflector technology, which concentrates the satellite's beam over targeted land areas while avoiding uninhabited oceans. Hughes' patented, highly efficient design eliminates the need for multiple feedhorn configurations.

For launch, the solar arrays and antennas were folded alongside the spacecraft, forming a compact arrangement of 2.7 meters by 4 meters by 3.6 meters. With the solar wings unfolded and the antennas deployed, APSTAR II measured 26 meters from end-to-end and 7 meters across. The bipropellant propulsion system included an integral 490-Newton (110 lbf) Marquardt liquid apogee motor plus thirteen 22-Newton (5 lbf) thrusters for stationkeeping.

APT Satellite Company was formed in 1992 by the China Yuan Wang (Group) Corp., China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corp., Ever-Victory System Company, and the Chia Thai Group of Thailand to purchase APSTAR I. APSTAR I's mission is to provide infrastructure telecommunications, business communications, and television to the Asia Pacific region. With additional investment from companies in Singapore, Macao, and Taiwan, APT purchased APSTAR II for higher power and expanded coverage.