communications satellite (redirected from Communications satellites)

communications satellite artificial satellite that functions as part of a global radio-communications network. Echo 1, the first communications satellite, launched in 1960, was an instrumented inflatable sphere that passively reflected radio signals back to earth. Later satellites carried with them electronic devices for receiving, amplifying, and rebroadcasting signals to earth. Relay 1, launched in 1962 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was the basis for Telstar 1, a commercially sponsored experimental satellite. Geosynchronous orbits (in which the satellite remains over a single spot on the earth's surface) were first used by NASA's Syncom series and Early Bird (later renamed Intelsat 1), the world's first commercial communications satellite.

In 1962, the U.S. Congress passed the Communications Satellite Act, which created the Communications Satellite Corporation (Comsat). Agencies from 17 other countries joined Comsat in 1964 in forming the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (Intelsat) for the purpose of establishing a global commercial communications network. Renamed the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization in 1974 and a private corporation since 2001, Intelsat now has a network of 28 satellites in geosynchronous orbits that provides instantaneous communications throughout the world. It has orbited several series of Intelsat satellites, beginning with Intelsat 1 (Early Bird) in 1965.

Inmarsat was established in 1979 to serve the maritime industry by developing satellite communications for ship management and distress and safety applications. Inmarsat was originally an intergovernmental organization called the International Maritime Satellite Organization but later changed its name to the International Mobile Satellite Organization to reflect its expansion into land, mobile, and aeronautical communications. In 1999 it became a private company as Inmarsat, and the International Mobile Satellite Organization became responsible for overseeing Inmarsat's public service obligations. Inmarsat's users now include thousands of people who live or work in remote areas without reliable terrestrial networks. Inmarsat presently has ten satellites in geosynchronous orbits.

In addition to the Intelsat and Inmarsat satellites, many others are in orbit, some managed by private companies and others by government-owned operators. These are used by individual countries, organizations, and commercial ventures for internal communications or for business or military use. A new generation of satellites, called direct-broadcast satellites, transmits directly to small domestic antennas to provide such services as cablelike television programming.

Bibliography

See G. D. Gordon, Principles of Communications Satellites (1993); D. H. Martin, Communications Satellites, 1958–1995 (1996); B. G. Evans, ed., Satellite Communication Systems (3d ed. 1999).

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communications satellite

The satellite's solar panels are arrays of solar cells that provide the electrical energy needed …

(credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)

Earth-orbiting system capable of receiving a signal (e.g., data, voice, TV) and relaying it back to the ground. Communications satellites have been a significant part of domestic and global communications since the 1970s. Typically they move in geosynchronous orbits about 22,300 mi (35,900 km) above the earth and operate at frequencies near 4 gigahertz (GHz) for downlinking and 6 GHz for uplinking.

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A radio relay station in orbit above the earth that receives, amplifies and redirects analog and digital signals contained within a carrier frequency. There are three kinds. Geostationary (GEO) satellites are in orbit 22,282 miles above the earth and rotate with the earth, thus appearing stationary. The downlink from GEOs back to earth can be localized into small areas or cover as much as a third of the earth's surface.

Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites reside no more than 1,000 miles above the earth and revolve around the globe every couple of hours. They are only in view for a few minutes, and multiple LEOs are required to maintain continuous coverage. Medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellites are in the middle, taking about six hours to orbit the earth and in view for a couple of hours. See Teledesic, Iridium, DSS, DirecPC and bent pipe architecture.

Communications Satellite

There are hundreds of commercial communications satellites in orbit providing services for both industry and consumers.