Abstract
Low earth orbit satellite (LEOS) systems promise to provide global communication, including voice and data services from Iridium and high capacity broadband services from Teledesic. In design of LEOS systems, the choice of satellite altitude is an important consideration, which has a significant impact on system performance. Among the factors affected by satellite altitude choice are system capacity, user‐to‐user delay, power system design and communication services that can be offered. This paper analyzes the effects of satellite altitude on quality of service, frequency reusability and power system sizing. It is found that a choice of low altitude has a positive impact on system capacity and power system requirements. As a consequence, satellite mass and launch cost can be reduced for satellites in lower orbits due to the lower power requirements. In terms of user‐to‐user delay, the results are in favor of medium altitudes, while very high altitudes are not a good choice relative to these measures.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W.S. Adams and L. Rider, Circular polar constellation providing continuous single or multiple coverage above a specified latitude, The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences 35(2) (1987) 155‐192.
A.H. Ballard, Rosette constellations of earth satellites, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems 16(5) (September 1980) 656‐673.
D.C. Beste, Design of satellite constellations for optimal continuous coverage, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems 14(3) (May 1978) 466‐473.
O. Chakraborty, Survivable communication concept via multiple low earth-orbiting satellites, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems 25(6) (November 1989) 879‐889.
D.B. Crosbie, The new space race: satellite mobile communications, IEE Review 39(3) (May 1993) 111‐114.
B. Gavish, Telecommunications ‐ a revolution in progress, Operations Research 43(1) (1995) 29‐32.
B. Gavish, LEOS ‐ low earth orbit satellite based communication systems ‐ research opportunities, European Journal of Operational Research 99 (1997) 166‐179.
B. Gavish and J. Kalvenes, Altitude considerations in LEOS systems, in: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Telecommunication Systems ‐ Modeling and Analysis (Nashville, TN, 1995) pp. 416‐425.
B. Gavish and J. Kalvenes, Crosslink configuration effects on LEOS based communication systems, Telecommunication Systems (in print).
B. Gavish and J. Kalvenes, Height considerations in low earth orbit satellite systems, in: Proceedings of the 4th Industrial Engineering Research Conference (Nashville, TN, 1995) pp. 1047‐1056.
B. Gavish and J. Kalvenes, LEOS ‐ optimal satellite launch policies: the dynamic case, under review in Operations Research.
B. Gavish and J. Kalvenes, LEOS ‐ optimal satellite launch policies: the static case, Management Science 43(8) (1997) 1164‐1176.
L.S. Golding and L.C. Palmer, Personal communications by satellite, International Journal of Satellite Communications 10(5) (September‐ October 1992) 283‐291.
E. Hess, Project 21: LEO, MEO or GEO?, Satellite Communications (October 1993) 42‐46.
J. Kaniyil, J. Takei, S. Shimamoto, T. Usui, I. Oka and T. Kawabata, A global network employing low earth-orbiting satellites, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications 10(2) (February 1992) 418‐427.
R.J. Leopold, Low-earth orbit global cellular communications network, in: Proceedings of the 13th Aerospace Testing Seminar (Institute of Environmental Science, Mount Prospect, IL, October 1991), pp. 59‐65.
G. Maral, J.-J. de Ridder, B.G. Evans and M. Richharia, Low earth orbit satellite systems for communications, International Journal of Satellite Communications 9 (1991) 209‐225.
Z. Markowic and W. Hope, Small, low earth orbit communication satellites ‐ an evaluation, in: IREECON' 92, Australia's Electronics Convention Proceedings, Vol. 1 (Edgecliff, NSW, IREE, 1992) pp. 178‐181.
M.A. Pullman, K.M. Peterson and Y. Jan, Meeting the challenge of applying cellular concepts to LEO satcom systems, in: SUPERCOMM/ICC' 92, Discovering a New World of Communications, Vol. 2 (IEEE, New York, June 1992) pp. 770‐773.
C.M. Rush, How WARC' 92 will affect mobile services, IEEE Communications Magazine (October 1992) 90‐96.
S. Sugawara, Satellite network seeks to link remote areas, Washington Post (March 21, 1994).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gavish, B., Kalvenes, J. The impact of satellite altitude on the performance of LEOS based communication systems. Wireless Networks 4, 119–213 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019151905814
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019151905814