EuCAP 2006 - European Conference on Antennas & Propagation

 
Session: Session 1P2P - Invited Papers (02b)
Type: Plenary
Date: Monday, November 06, 2006
Time: 14:00 - 15:30
Room: Hermes
Chair:
Co-chair:
Remarks:

Seq   Time   Title   Abs No
 
1   14:00   New Challenges in Propagation Research for Space Applications
Arbesser-Rastburg, B.
ESA-ESTEC, NETHERLANDS

Research of slant-path propagation effects is necessary for estimating link- budgets for satellite communications, satellite broadcast, satellite navigation, satellite remote sensing and deep space missions. The work is characterized by modelling of the channel of the statistical behaviour and by experimental verification and validation of the model.

The new challenges include the characterisation of:

  • propagation statistics at frequencies between 20 GHz and 85 GHz for fixed broadband satellite links
  • fade dynamics and spatial correlation of atmospheric conditions for the design of impairment mitigation techniques applicable to advanced satcom systems
  • the mobile satellite channel including new diversity and MIMO techniques t
  • he ionosphere (delay and scintillations) under quiet and disturbed conditions for global safety-of-life satellite navigation applications
  • the temporal and spatial variation of tropospheric delay for precision applications of sat-nav based positioning.

    The paper discusses these challenges and brings some relevant examples of ESA’s propagation activities, both, in modelling and experimentation. In addition, the conversion of new propagation insights into the recommendations of ITU-R is highlighted.

    		•  
     
    2   14:45   Propagation Issues for Mobile-Satellite Applications
    Rogers, D.V.1; Rogers, D.V.2
    1Comm. Research Centre Canada, CANADA;
    2CRC, CANADA

    Maritime mobile-satellite services have been offered successfully at L-band for several decades, demonstrating the commercial viability and utility of such offerings. Until a few years ago, interest in providing essentially worldwide personal communication services via constellations of land mobile-satellites was intense, and several systems to offer these services were implemented. While those systems have not been as successful as originally projected, an assortment of other mobile-satellite services or planned applications have emerged. Among the available examples are satellite radio, Ku-band aeronautical mobile-satellite services, advanced satellite navigation systems, multimedia satellite services, and high-data rate Ka-band LEO systems.

    These applications require propagation information related to both ionospheric and tropospheric impairments to enable reliable systems design. In addition, various techniques intended to enhance system performance, such as adaptive impairment mitigation and satellite MIMO, require an improved understanding of the mobile-satellite propagation environment. Consequently, there is continued interest in mobile-satellite propagation information and corresponding analyses. Some of the requirements are rather specialized and demanding. Improvements are needed in the understanding of the detailed physics of various propagation phenomena, in the reliability and applicability of impairment-prediction methods, and in the categorization of parameters that can be used to describe propagation environments for input to general prediction models.

    An overview of current mobile-satellite propagation issues is offered, along with some recent developments related to several of these issues. Implications regarding system needs and applicability of these results are summarized.