Satellite Communications Flashcards
7 cards from real Telecommunications practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Satellite Communications flashcards as text
What does GEO stand for in satellite communications?
Answer: Geostationary Earth Orbit
GEO stands for Geostationary Earth Orbit, where satellites orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator and remain stationary relative to Earth.
At what approximate altitude do geostationary (GEO) satellites orbit Earth?
Answer: 35,786 km
GEO satellites orbit at approximately 35,786 km above Earth's equator, which produces an orbital period of exactly 24 hours, matching Earth's rotation.
Which satellite orbit provides the lowest signal latency for communications?
Answer: LEO (Low Earth Orbit)
LEO satellites at 500–2,000 km altitude provide the lowest latency (~20–40 ms) because signals travel much shorter distances compared to MEO or GEO.
The C-band frequency range used in satellite communications covers approximately:
Answer: 4–8 GHz
C-band covers approximately 4–8 GHz and is widely used for satellite communications due to its resistance to rain fade and long-established infrastructure.
What is the primary advantage of Ku-band over C-band for satellite communications?
Answer: Smaller receive antenna size required
Ku-band's higher frequency (12–18 GHz) produces shorter wavelengths, allowing smaller dish antennas, which makes it practical for consumer satellite TV services like DirecTV.
A transponder on a communications satellite is designed to:
Answer: Receive, amplify, frequency-convert, and retransmit signals
A transponder receives the uplink signal, amplifies it, shifts it to a different downlink frequency, and retransmits it toward Earth, acting as a relay in space.
The round-trip signal delay for a communication path through a GEO satellite is approximately:
Answer: 240–280 milliseconds
A GEO satellite is ~35,786 km away; a round-trip signal travels roughly 143,000 km at the speed of light (~300,000 km/s), resulting in about 240–280 ms of latency.