Overview

Satellite communications is an outgrowth of the quasi-scientific, political space race. The first objects that were launched by mankind were satellites that emitted a simple, repeating radio tone. The United States launched itself into a space race with the Soviet Union in 1957 upon the launching of the Soviet satellite called Sputnik. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite launched into space.

Satellite communications was a natural outgrowth of this race. If man were to travel through space, work in orbit around the Earth, and land on the moon, a means of communicating between those on Earth and in space would be necessary. Essentially, satellite communications enable people to communicate over large distances. World War II drove the development of satellite communications. First, the war caused the rapid development and growth of rocket/missile technology, which enabled the launching of artificial satellites. Second, the war heralded an incredible growth in radio communications technology. Instead of carrying entertainment programs, radio during the war was used to transmit encoded messages either via special manually developed codes or via specially encrypted signals. The war also drove the development and growth of microwave communications. Figure 9-1 is an illustration of a satellite network.

Figure 9-1: Satellite network

By combining both technologies and with the space race as the driving force the telecommunications industry could facilitate the development of the satellite communications industry. The objectives of satellite communications include achieving the greatest coverage and capacity at the lowest possible cost. Satellite communications systems can be broken into two...