Abstract
Geostationary communications spacecraft are now relatively commonplace, and a significant and rapidly growing fraction of the world’s telecommunications traffic is routed through them. The principal characteristic of the geostationary orbit (GEO) that makes it so suitable for communications spacecraft, is that the spacecraft position is essentially fixed relative to an Earth-fixed observer. This has the great advantage that continuous coverage of a certain portion of the globe is maintained throughout the satellite’s lifetime.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Further Reading
(a) Martin, J.: 1978, “Communication Satellite Systems”, published by Prentice Hall.
Sachdev, D.K.: 1981, “Satellite Communication Technology-Challenges for the 1980s”, J of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol.18, No.2, pp.110-117.
(c) Soop, M.: 1983, “Introduction to Geostationary Orbits”, ESA SP-1053.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pocha, J.J. (1987). Introduction. In: An Introduction to Mission Design for Geostationary Satellites. Space Technology Library, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3857-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3857-1_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8215-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3857-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive