Analog

The representation of information in

variable intensity and/or frequency by
a continuous signal.
Antenna
Equipment that sends and/or receives
signals from a satellite.
Aperture
A cross sectional area of an antenna
exposed to the satellite signal.
Apogee
The highest point in the satellites orbit
(km! the point in the orbit of a
satellite "here it is farthest from the
ob#ect about "hich it revolves.
ASCII (American Standards
Code for Information
Interchange)
A code "ith seven information signals
and one parity check signal.
Asynchronous Transmission
$ata transmission in "hich each
information character or byte is
individually synchroni%ed& usually by
the use of start or stop elements.
ATP Acceptance Test 'rocedure
Attenuation
The loss in po"er of electromagnetic
signals bet"een transmission and
reception points.
AZ-EL ount
Antenna mount that requires t"o
separate ad#ustments(of a%imuth and
elevation(to move from one satellite to
another.
A!imuth
The angle bet"een an antenna beam
and the meridian plane& measured
along a hori%ontal plane.
"and#idth
The range of frequencies utili%ed for
the transmission of a signal or group of
inter(related signals expressed in )ert%
()%.
"ase$and
A video or audio signal transmitted at
its original frequency.
"E% ("it Error %ate)
The percentage of received bits that
are in error during transmission!
expressed as a number referenced to a
po"er of ten.
"eam#idth
The angular coverage of an antenna
beam. Earth station beams are usually
specified at the half(po"er (or (* d+
point. ,atellite beams are based on the
area to be covered.
"isync
+inary ,ynchronous -ommunications
(+,-.
"it A single unit of information.
"PS& +inary 'hase ,hift .eying.
"T' ("usiness Tele(ision)
-orporate communications tool
involving video transmissions of
information via satellite. -ommon uses
of business television are for meetings&
product introductions and training.
Carrier
A continuous frequency capable of
being modulated "ith a second data(
carrying signal.
Cassegrain
Antenna comprised of t"o reflectors&
the parabolic reflector and an
hyperbolic subreflector at the focus
point& "hich reflects signals back into
the feed.
C-"and
/requencies of approximately 0 to 1
2)% for satellite do"nlink and uplink
transmission& respectively.
Channel
'ath for electrical communication
bet"een t"o facilities.
Circular Polari!ation
A mode of transmission in "hich signals
are do"nlinked in a rotating corkscre"
pattern. A satellites transmission
capacity can be doubled by using both
right(hand and left(hand circular
polari%ation.
CP) -entral 'rocessing 3nit.
C*+ (Carrier-to-+oise %atio)
4efers to the ratio of the satellite
carrier (or signal to noise level in a
given channel. 3sually measured in d+
at the 56A output.
Colocation
'lacement of several satellites near
each other in orbit. This allo"s a single
fixed antenna to receive signals from
all of the satellites "ithout tracking.
,AA $emand Assignment 7ultiple Access.
d"
$ecibel. A unit of signal measurement
that expresses a ratio bet"een t"o
electrical signals or levels
logarithmically.
d"- An expression of po"er in d+ relative to
one "att.
,*C (,o#n Con(erter)
Equipment that performs frequency
conversion to a lo"er (8/ band.
,CE $ata -ircuit Terminating Equipment.
,elay
The time it takes for a signal to go from
the sending station through the
satellite to the receiving station.
,emodulator
Equipment that converts the 4/ signal
from the carrier into baseband signals
(video& audio& or data for further
processing or amplification.
,igital
The representation of information in
binary form (ones and %eros&
discontinuous in time.
,o#nlin.
Transmission of information from a
satellite to earth for reception by earth
stations.
,PS& $ifferential 'hase ,hift .eying.
,ri(er
A soft"are module that manages an 8/9
port to an external device.
,TE $ata Terminal Equipment.
,T/ (,ual Tone
ultifre0uency)
A method of signaling and basis for
operation of push(button telephone
sets.
,uple1 2peration
7ethod in "hich transmission is possible
simultaneously in both directions of a
telecommunications channel. 2enerally&
t"o frequencies in radio
communications are required.
Earth Station
Any system (combination of satellite
antenna& amplification& conversion& and
reception electronics that can either
transmit to or receive signals from
orbiting satellites.
Eclipse
:hen a satellite passes through the line
bet"een the earth and the sun or the
earth and another satellite.
EI%P (Effecti(e Isotropic
%adiated Po#er)
4efers to measure of satellite signal
strength on the ground.
Ele(ation
The angle bet"een an antenna beam
and the hori%ontal plane.
Encoder
Equiment that converts a baseband
analog input into a digital data stream.
Encryption
The process of coding& ;scrambling&; or
altering a signal electronically so it can
only be decoded by recipients "ho have
the equipment and kno"ledge to
reverse the encryption code.
/*, 4atio of antenna focal length to
antenna diameter. A higher ration
means a shallo"er dish.
/,A (/re0uency ,i(ision
ultiple Access
4efers to the use of multiple carriers
"ithin the same transponder "here
each uplink has an assigned frequency
slot and band"idth.
/EC (/or#ard Error
Correction)
A technique that ensures the
transmitted message is received at the
receiving end "ithout error.
/eeds $evice mounted at the focus point of
the antenna that gathers signals
reflected from the dish.
/EP /ront End 'rocessor.
/ocal Length
$istance from the feed to the center of
the dish.
/ootprint
The area of the earth<s surface that a
satellite<s signal is expected to cover.
,ho"n as an E84' contour map xpressed
in d+:.
3ain 8ncreased signal po"er usually the
result of amplification! measured in
decibels.
3eostationary
4efers to a geosynchronous satellite
angle "ith %ero inclination& so the
satellite appears to hover over one spot
on the earths equator.
3eosynchronous
4efers to the orbit in "hich the speed
of a satellites orbit is synchroni%ed
"ith the speed of the earths rotation
so that they are al"ays positioned
above the same spot on the earth. /or
this to occur& the satellite must be in
orbit ==&*>> miles over the equator&
7ost communications satellites are in
geosynchronous orbit.
34! (3igahert!) 9ne billion cycles per second.
3*T (3ain-to-+oise
Temperature)
4atio of the gain of an antenna
compared to the receive system noise
temperature! expressed in d+ per
degree ..
4ert! (4!) 9ne cycle per second.
4PA (4igh-Po#er Amplifier)
Earth station equipment that amplifies
the transmit 4/ signal.
4PC (4igh-Po#er Con(erter)
?,AT 4/ equipment that upconverts and
amplifies transmit signals.
4u$
The central earth station satellite
transmission facility that is the focal
point for communicating to remote
locations "ithin a satellite
communications net"ork.
I/ (Intermediate /re0uency)
The frequency of a satellite receiver
after do"nconversion or a satellite
modulator before upconversion.
I/L (Interfacility Lin.)
A cable that provides communication
bet"een the 9$3 and 8$3.
I*2 8nput/9utput
IP 8nternet 'rotocol.
.$ps 9ne thousand bits per second.
.4! (&ilohert!) 9ne thousand cycles per second.
&u-"and
/requencies approximately in the @= to
@0 2)% range for satellite reception and
transmission& respectively.
LA+ 5ocal Area 6et"ork.
LLC 5ogical 5ink -ontrol.
L+A (Lo# +oise Amplifier)
Equipment that receives the satellite
signal reflected by the antenna and
amplifies it to the level needed by the
satellite receiving equipment.
L+" (Lo# +oise "loc.
,o#ncon(erter)
,atellite receiving equipment that
converts all signals from the 56A to the
lo"er 8/ frequencies.
L+C (Lo# +oise Con(erter)
'art of the earth station transmission
subsystem consisting of an 56A and
do"nconverter.
$ps 9ne million bits per second.
5C (onitor and Control)
Equipment that monitors and controls
,kystar net"ork traffic and hub and
?,AT equipment status.
4! (egahert!) 9ne million cycles per second.
odem
(odulator*,emodulator)
Equipment that converts bet"een
digital data and audio tones for
transmission and reception over analog
channels.
odulator Equipment that converts audio& video&
or data signals (baseband into an 4/
signal.
S& 7inimum ,hift .eying.
T"/ (ean Time "et#een
/ailure)
Average length of time for "hich a
system& or a component of a system&
"orks "ithout fault.
TT% (ean Time To
%espond)
Average time taken to arrive on site to
correct a fault in a system or
component.
ultiple1ing A technique that combines multiple
data channels on a single transmission
channel.
)6 7ultiplexer equipment.
+oise
Extraneous and un"anted signal
disturbances.
PA*T,A
'ermanent Assignment Time $ivision
7ultiple Access.
P2P 'oint of 'resence.
P2S 'oint of ,ale.
Protocol /ormal set of rules governing the
format& timing& sequence& and error
control of messages on a data net"ork.
PS& 'hase ,hift .eying.
P'C 'ermanent ?irtual -ircuit.
7PS& Auadrature 'hase ,hift .eying.
%A 4andom Access.
%A*T,A
4andom Access Time $ivision 7ultiple
Access.
%/ (%adio /re0uency) The frequency range from @> k)% to @>>
2)% used for transmitting data& audio&
or video.
%edundancy
A secondary system of backup
equipment that performs similarly to a
primary system& thereby preventing
net"ork do"ntime and system outages.
%esponse Time The elapsed time bet"een the end of
an inquiry and the beginning of the
response.
%/I 4adio /requency 8nterference.
%/T (%adio /re0uency
Terminal)
Equipment including an antenna& 3/-&
$/-& )'A& and 56A "hich provides the
up and do"n conversion of signals in a
satellite(based net"ork.
%*2 (%ecei(e 2nly)
4eferring to an earth station that
receives transmissions only and does
not transmit.
%outing
The process of selecting the correct
circuit path for a message.
SAC (Satellite Access
Controller)
,kystar equipment that contains the
satellite transmission facility
components and data net"ork
components.
SCPC ,ingle -hannel 'er -arrier.
S,LC ,ynchronous $ata 5ink -ontrol.
S+A ,ystem 6et"ork Architecture.
S*+ (Signal-to-+oise %atio)
4elative po"er of the signal to the
noise in a channel.
SSPA (Solid-State Po#er
Amplifier)
A lo"er po"ered transmitter used for
amplification of 4/ signals at a remote
site.
S'C ,"itched ?irtual -ircuit.
Synchronous
:hen characters or bits are transmitted
at a fixed rate "ith the transmitting
and receiving devices synchroni%ed.
TCP*IP
Transmission -ontrol 'rotocol/8nternet
'rotocol.
T, Time $ivision 7ultiplexing.
T,A (Time ,i(ision
ultiple Access)
4efers to a form of multiple access
"here a single carrier is time shared by
many users. ,ignals from earth stations
reaching the satellite consecutively are
processed in time segments "ithout
overlapping.
Teleconference
A meeting involving at least one uplink
and a number of do"nlinks at different
locations.
Telemetry The use of telecommunications for
automatically indicating or recording
measurements at a distance from the
measuring instrument.
Terrestrial Inteference
8nterruptions in a satellite signal caused
by high po"er land(based micro"ave
links in the 0 2)% band.
Trac.ing
3sing earth(based equipment to follo"
a satellites position.
Transfer 2r$it
An intermediate elliptical orbit used to
reach geosynchronous orbit& "here the
apogee is the same altitude as the final
operating orbit.
Transponder
The circuitry on a satellite that
receives the uplink signal& amplifies it&
then retransmits it as the do"nlink
signal.
T-TA
Traveling :ave Tube Amplifier. ,atellite
electronic components that provide
po"er for the transponders (in "atts.
)*C ()p con(erter)
Equipment that performs frequency
conversion to a higher (4/ band.
)plin.
Transmission of information from an
earth station to a geostationary
communications satellite.
'SAT ('ery Small Aperture
Terminal)
A small earth station& usually less than
=.0 meters& used for satellite
communications.
689:
'rotocol! a set of packet s"itching
standards.