Earth Station Principles for the Space Professional

DURATION: TWO DAYS
COURSE NO.: 2015

This course provides the program manager or project professional with introductory and in-depth knowledge of the configuration and operation of a typical earth (ground) station for both geosynchronous (GEO) and low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The presentation materials are organized for attendees to quickly develop an understanding of the role of earth stations to transmit and receive data, the relationship to the corresponding orbiting satellites and the interconnection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Previous knowledge of earth station or terrestrial microwave technology is helpful, but not required. Attendees will be exposed to an array of information on the architecture and organization of the earth station as it is today and its evolution through the next decade. Course materials look at functional block descriptions of the earth station and its major components including the antenna, transmitter, receiver, and data processing systems. Special attention is given to the transition to small unattended earth (station) terminals supporting new specialized mobile communications services such as those provided by currently operational satellite constellations. Typical station architecture is presented for further understanding of the economic principles behind system reliability, preventative maintenance and repair. This class is often coupled with course number 3035 (Telecom Network Architecture for the Space Professional). Please contact Launchspace for special pricing.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Include extensive notes and reference materials.

Program managers, design engineers, systems and administration personnel with either technical or financial responsibilities in planning the next generation of telecommunications connectivity.

You will be exposed to comprehensive information on the architecture and organization of the earth station as it is now and how it will be in the next generation which will result in transportable and unattended systems utilizing new low and medium earth orbit (LEO/MEO) and geosynchronous (GEO) satellites. Special attention will be given to the economic and cost factors in trade-off of hardware versus system capability.

1. Introduction and Overview.
   

   Course introduction and objectives. Earth station terminology.

2. Evolution of the Earth Station.
   

   Universal definition of an earth station. History. Types of earth station. Performance characteristics and trade-offs. Applications and uses. Physical location and siting. Major classes of earth stations. Economic/cost factors in the selection process.

3. Simplified Overall Description of an Earth Station.
   

   Satellite-Earth interface. GEO/MEO/LEO satellite cahracteristics. Deep space sensor/spacecraft characteristics. Earth station relationship with terrestrial network. Representative earth station configurations. Physical attributes and technical parameters. Representative vendors/suppliers.

4. Functional Organization of the Earth Station.
   

   Detailed block diagram. Functiona description of block diagram elements. Antenna/pedistal structure. Transmitter/receiver assemblies. Frequency conversion standards. Encryption process. Network management functions. TT&C through earth station commands. Description of the integrated (fly-away) earth station terminal. Commercial versus military terminals. Emergence of the personal earth station. System uptime/operational availability. Derivation of the link budget/link margin and figure of merit earth station performance. Improved reliability as a function of redundancy. Calculation of system outage (downtime) parameters. Scheduled versus unscheduled maintenance. Security alarm and controlled access issues. System operational performance record reporting and reporting procedures.

5. Major Earth Station Systems.
   

   Nomenclature and characteristics. Antenna. Pedistal/mount. RF driver/amplifier. RF power amplifier. Detector/receiver. Up converter/down converter. Signal/traffic modems. Single ended and power combined amplifiers. Switching networks for redundant systems.

6. Principles of Earth System Reliability.
   

   Common system failure modes. Environmental and weather related failures. Scheduled maintenance as a key to improved uptime. Antenna reflector/feedhorn, pedestal and waveguide maintenance. Relocation of site equipment as a factor in reliablity. Solid state versus vacuum tube power amplifier controversy. Hot and cold standby equipment. Invaluable sources for additional information on equipment reliability.

7. Interconnection to the Public Telephone Networks.
   

   The concept of seamless connectivity. Public switched telephone network (PSTN). Wired/wireless/cellular/satellite. Network partnerships and strategic alliances. Hardware standards and protocol. Software security and privacy.

8. New Developments in Earth Station Architecture.
   

   VSAT as the new standard GEO earth station terminal. NEXGEN 2000. Full mesh network connectivity. New satcom service providers and their hardware partners. Emergence of the LEO constellation for remote telcom connectivity. Cellular telephone as a multi-use earth station? The earth station in the year 2005. GENSAT-project engineering software.

9. Review and Summary.
   

   Key earth station attributes to remember. The next decade. How you can benefit from these changes in hardware/software and services. Questions and analysis of material presented.