TABLE OF CONTENTS The purpose of this chapter and Chapters 7 and 8 is to explain how a satellite works and to review the factors in its design. These chapters should familiarize the reader with the key concepts and terminology that are common in the satellite industry. As a first definition, a spacecraft is the actual piece of hardware that is launched into orbit to become an artificial satellite for the purpose of providing a radio repeater station.
The physical elements that a communications spacecraft comprises can be divided into two major sections: the communications payload (or just the payload), containing the actual radio communications equipment used for reception and transmission of radio signals, and the spacecraft bus (referred to as the bus), which provides the supporting vehicle to house and operate the payload. The emphasis in this chapter is on the requirements and specifications of the payload and how the general types of hardware designs can meet those requirements. Chapter 7 provides detailed information on spacecraft antennas because they probably are the most important single element of the payload regarding its communication mission. Chapter 8 covers the various approaches to the design and operation of the bus in sufficient detail to give the reader an appreciation for the subsystems that ensure safe and continued operation of the payload. We begin with a general introduction to spacecraft design.
The design, manufacture, and operation of a communications satellite are no simple matter, complicated by...
