An article to understand the satellite communications industry An article to understand the satellite communications industry

As a senior satellite communications engineer, are you looking for an article that provides a comprehensive introduction to your industry? Today we will post this article to offer you with a comprehensive analysis of the satellite communications industry, including an introduction to the principles and classification of satellite communications, an introduction to the satellite communications industry chain, the current status of the satellite communications industry, the size of the satellite communications market, and the current competitive landscape of the satellite communications industry. We believe that the detailed introduction in this article will give you more in-depth details of the satellite communications industry. Please go ahead for the following detailed introduction.

1. Introduction to satellite communication principles

Satellite communication refers to communication between radio communication stations on the earth (including on the ground and in the lower atmosphere) using satellites as relays. Satellite communications are used in a wide range of applications, including radio and television, mobile communications, Internet access, military communications, etc.

Satellite communication is a communication method that uses satellites as relays and consists of a space segment, a ground segment, and a user segment. The space segment consists of satellites with different orbits, uses, and frequency bands; the ground segment refers to radio communication stations on the surface of the earth, including ground stations, airborne stations, and ship (ship) stations, which are responsible for satellite signal reception and processing and satellite attitude control. ;The user segment includes different types of user equipment.

The signal transmission process is that the baseband signal sent by the user segment is processed by the transmitting ground segment and converted into a radio frequency signal and then sent to the space segment. The space segment then performs low-noise, frequency conversion, power amplification and other processing on the received radio frequency signal and then sends it to the receiving ground. segment, and then process it into a baseband signal and send it to the user segment.

2. Satellite communication classification

2.1 Classified by track height

Communication satellites can be divided into low-orbit satellites (LEO), medium-orbit satellites (MEO), and high-orbit satellites (GEO) according to their orbits.

-Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) communication satellite: Also known as geostationary orbit satellite, it is located 35,786 kilometers above the earth, runs at a speed synchronous with the earth’s rotation, provides fixed coverage, and is suitable for broadcasting , TV, Internet access and other applications.

Geostationary satellites have wide coverage. A single satellite can cover more than 40% of the earth’s surface. Three satellites can achieve global coverage and provide stable coverage, which is conducive to providing services to fixed areas. Although high-orbit satellites have mature technology and long lifespan, they suffer from high delays, high losses, and extremely scarce orbital resources.

-Medium Earth Orbit (MEO): It is a satellite communication system in which the communication satellite is located in a medium-altitude orbit between geosynchronous orbit and low earth orbit. The satellite is between 2000-35786 kilometers above the ground. The satellite coverage is larger than that of low-orbit communication satellites, making it a better solution for establishing global or regional satellite communication systems.

Feature of Medium Earth Orbit

Delay and bandwidth balance: The orbital distance of the MEO satellite system is higher, and the signal transmission delay is higher than that of LEO, but still lower than that of the GEO satellite system. The MEO satellite system therefore provides a balance between latency and bandwidth and is suitable for applications requiring moderate latency and bandwidth.
Global coverage: MEO satellite systems usually consist of multiple satellites distributed in different orbits, which can achieve global coverage. Suitable for communications in remote areas, maritime and high latitude areas.
Navigation satellites: Some well-known MEO satellite systems include the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Galileo, which provide high-precision global navigation and location services. The MEO satellites of these systems are used to transmit navigation signals to support positioning of equipment such as GPS receivers.
Radio and television transmission: MEO satellite systems are also used for radio and television transmission, they can transmit television signals and radio programs by covering a wide geographical area.
Military Communications: MEO satellite systems play an important role in the field of military communications and intelligence transmission as they provide reliable communications and location information services.

-Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is a satellite communication system in which communication satellites are located in orbits relatively low from the earth’s surface, usually operating at altitudes ranging from hundreds to thousands of kilometers. The well-known LEO satellites Communication projects include SpaceX’s Starlink, British company OneWeb and Amazon’s Kuiper, and China Star Network. Different from traditional geostationary earth orbit satellite communications (Geostationary Earth Orbit, GEO), the orbit of the LEO satellite communications system is closer to the earth’s surface, which brings some important advantages and characteristics:

Low-latency communication: Due to the lower orbital distance of LEO satellites, LEO satellite communication has a lower signal delay, about 20ms-50ms. This makes LEO satellite systems particularly suitable for applications that require real-time communications, such as online gaming, video calls, remote operations, and driverless cars
High bandwidth: LEO satellite systems generally offer higher bandwidth because they can use higher frequency bands of airwaves and communication signals do not need to travel through the atmosphere. This makes LEO satellite communications very useful when handling high-bandwidth needs such as large volumes of data, high-definition video streaming and Internet access.

-Global coverage: Since the orbits of LEO satellite systems are mostly polar orbits, they can provide global coverage, including remote areas and high latitudes. This gives LEO satellite communications significant advantages in providing communication services to users around the world.

-Satellite network: LEO satellite communication systems usually adopt satellite network topology, which consists of multiple satellites forming a satellite constellation, and signal relay and routing between satellites can be carried out between them. This network structure is redundant and can provide higher reliability and stability.

-Scalability: LEO satellite communication systems are relatively easy to expand, and network capacity can be increased by increasing the number of satellites to meet growing communication needs

-Dealing with space debris: Because LEO’s lower orbit helps reduce the accumulation of space debris, because abandoned satellites usually re-enter the atmosphere and burn up in a shorter period of time.

2.2 classified by band width

Communication includes broadband communication and narrowband communication. According to the frequency band division standards of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), satellite communications often use L (1-2GHz), S (2-4GHz), C (4-8GHz), X (8-12GHz), and Ku (12-18GHz) , K (18-27GHz), Ka (27-40GHz) and other electromagnetic waves.

Narrow band communications are mainly in L/S/C frequency bands and are mainly distributed in GEO orbits. Due to their low transmission rate and small rain attenuation, they are mainly used for television, radio and Internet of Things applications.

Broadband communication is mainly based on Ku/Ka frequency band, and the transmission rate can reach hundreds of Mbs, so it can meet the needs of Internet multimedia applications for high-speed data transmission. In the communication frequency bands of satellite broadband, C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band are gradually saturated. In order to meet the increasing demand for frequency orbit resources, the Q/V band (39-46GHz/46-75GHz) has the characteristics of large bandwidth and high capacity. , is the current main layout direction in the field of communication satellites.

Table 2 Overview of radio frequencies used in satellite communications

ITU	IEEE	Frequency/GHz	Application
Ultra High Frequency(UHF)	UHF	0.3-1	Television, space telemetry, radar navigation, point-to-point communications, mobile communication
	L	1-2
	S	2-3
Super High Frequency(SHF)	S	3-4	Microwave relay for mobile communications, satellite and space communications, radar
	C	4-8
	X	8-12
	Ku	12-18
	K	18-27
	Ka	27-40
Extremely High Frequency(EHF)	Q	33-50	Radar, microwave relay, radio astronomy
	V	50-75
	W	75-100

2.3 Satellite manufacturing

Satellite manufacturing includes satellite platform manufacturing and payload manufacturing.

-Satellite platform: including structure and thermal control, attitude and orbit control, power supply and distribution, measurement and control, and data management subsystems. It is the main component to realize the basic functions of the satellite.

1) The cost of satellite structure and thermal control subsystem accounts for about 5%-10% of the entire satellite.

2) The attitude and orbit control subsystem can control the attitude and orbit position of the satellite, including star sensors, sun sensors, magnetic torquers, momentum wheels, thrusters and other components, accounting for about 30%-40% of the entire satellite cost.

3) Measurement and control, data transmission, and data management systems account for about 10%-15%.

-Payload: A payload is an instrument, equipment, or subsystem that directly performs a specific satellite mission. There are many types of payloads. The payloads of communication satellites are mainly communication transponders and antennas. According to different satellite missions, they are divided into communication, navigation, remote sensing or scientific research loads. Usually the payload accounts for about 50% of the entire satellite cost.

2.4 Satellite launching

The satellite launch includes 2 parts of rocket and launch service.

-Launch vehicle manufacturing: The manufacture of rockets to launch satellites, usually provided by governments or private companies.

-Satellite launch Services: Companies that provide launch services to assist customers in placing satellites into designated orbits.

For the current mainstream liquid rocket, the structural cost is mainly divided into four parts: power system, electrical system, structure and ground system. Among them, the power system accounts for 70% of the overall cost of the rocket, followed by the electrical system accounts for 15%, the structure accounts for about 8%, and the ground system accounts for about 7%.

2.5 Satellite ground station

The ground station mainly includes gateway station and measurement and control station, and will be interconnected with the ground network. According to relevant data, ground equipment accounts for 45% of the cost of the satellite industry chain, and its value is relatively high.

The gateway station is the data center of the satellite communication satellite-ground system. It is responsible for the distribution and collection of satellite communication business data. It can complete the exchange of internal data of the satellite communication network and the data routing of external networks.

-Ground station construction: Construction of ground stations for communication with satellites, including antennas, communication equipment, data processing equipment, etc.

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-Ground station operations: Operate and maintain ground stations to ensure stable communications with satellites.

Satellite communications service provider.

-Satellite Operator: A company that owns and operates satellites to provide communications services to customers.

-Satellite communication equipment suppliers: Provide satellite terminal equipment, such as satellite phones, satellite modems, etc.

Satellite ground station composition diagram

2.6 Satellite operations

Satellite operation services include space segment operations and ground segment operations.

-Space segment operation: refers to the satellite itself, which is used for data communication between the sky and the ground, mainly including various satellite transponder leasing services such as communication, navigation and remote sensing. Satellite owners sell or lease the satellite’s physical bandwidth (MHz) and transponders to large customers without establishing a ground network and not facing end customers.

-Ground segment operations: Purchase satellite gateway stations and other ground equipment, complete satellite communication ground networking, and provide services directly to end customers, including selling satellite TV terminals, broadband terminals, mobile communication terminals, and providing communication services and value-added services.

2.7 Satellite communication services

-Voice and data communications: Provides communication services such as telephone, Internet, and email.

-Satellite Radio and Television: The transmission of television signals and broadcast content via satellite.

-Scientific research and Earth observation: Satellites are used in scientific research, meteorological monitoring, Earth observation and other fields.

-Satellite maintenance and operation: Monitor and maintain satellites to ensure their stable operation.

Satellite updates and replacements: As technology evolves, satellites may need to be updated or replaced. Every link in the satellite communications industry chain is interrelated and works together to provide reliable satellite communications services. The industry has many players on an international scale, including government agencies, private businesses, and international organizations, catering to communication and data transmission needs in different fields and needs.

3. Current status of satellite communications industry

The satellite communications industry currently exhibits the following characteristics:

-Global coverage: Satellite communication systems provide global coverage and are particularly suitable for remote areas, maritime and military communications.

-Increased bandwidth: With the advancement of technology, the bandwidth of satellite communication systems continues to increase, meeting the needs of high-bandwidth applications, such as high-definition satellite TV, satellite Internet, and mobile communications.

-Increasing competition: Competition in the satellite communications field is fierce, with multiple international satellite operators and technology companies competing, and emerging companies also emerging.

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