TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter describes orbital mechanics and their significance with regard to satellite use for mobile communications. Namely, here are introduced the fundamental laws governing satellite orbits and the principal parameters that describe the motion of the Earth's artificial satellites. The types of satellite orbits are also classified, presented and compared from the MSC system viewpoint in terms of coverage and link performances.
During the last two decades, commercial MSC networks have utilized GEO extensively to the point where orbital portions have become crowded; coordination between satellites is becoming constrained and could never solve the problem of polar coverage. On the other hand, Non-GEO MSC solutions have recently grown in importance because of their orbit characteristics and coverage capabilities in high latitudes and polar regions.
The platform is an artificial object located in orbit around the Earth at a minimum altitude of about 20 km in the stratosphere and a maximum distance of about 36,000 km. The artificial platforms can have a different shape and designation but usually they have the form of aircraft, airship or spacecraft. In addition, there are special space stations and space ships, which are serving on more distant locations from the Earth's surface for scientific exploration and research and for cosmic expeditions.
Orbital mechanics is a specific discipline describing planetary and satellite motion in the Solar system, which can solve the problems of calculating and determining the position, speed, path, perturbation and other orbital parameters of planets and satellites. In...
