Satellite Communication Course – Learn from scratch

Satellite Communication is an essential part of information transfer around the world. It allows a myriad of communication technologies to function. Connecting large and remote areas to the information grid is just one of the advantages it has over other communication systems. In this course, we will understand how this communication is established and maintained.

Course content

What is satellite communication? – Simple introduction and FAQs

An introduction to the course where apart from answering the quintessential question of what is satellite communication we go a bit further to to answer some more interesting questions.

History of communication satellites – Timeline & major events

A brief look at some of the pioneers of satellites and a review of significant events in the history of communication satellites.

Geosynchronous vs Geostationary orbits – Types of orbits (1/2)

Can you guess which orbits in the image alongside are Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits? There is only one difference between two orbits. Let’s find out what it is.

Low earth orbit, medium and high earth orbits – Types of orbits (2/3)

We continue with the different types of orbits with an introduction to the classification of orbits purely on the basis of their elevation.

Molniya Orbits and Sun-synchronous orbit – Types of Orbits (3/3)

For some special applications and requirements, special orbits like the sun-synchronous and Molniya orbits are used. It is necessary to understand these orbits to see how existing basic orbits can be tweaked according to the requirements.

Kepler’s Laws for Satellites – Space Segment

We move on to understand the parameters associated with a satellite in orbit. Kepler’s Laws for satellites are the most fundamental pieces of empirical laws that are responsible for keeping a satellite tethered to earth.

More details

This course is currently under-development. 

What will you learn in this course?

  • Get familiar with different orbits and orbital mechanics for satellite communication
  • Understand everything about how satellites are launched into various types of orbit.
  • Evaluate and understand all the main parameters related to the communication link between a satellite and earth.
  • Understand the preparation of the link budget
  • Get an overview of the space segment and earth segment of satellite communication
  • Understand frequency allocation, satellite services, and communication bands.
  • Understand the various satellite subsystems
  • Identify major satellite communication programs and understand the scope of application of satellites
  • Evaluation of SNR in satellite links

What is the target of this course?

This course is part of the Communications and Signal processing track. We have designed this track and its constituent courses to equip learners with the basic requirements of entry-level jobs or internships in the field of communication and signal processing.

Are there any pre-requisites for this course?

What’s the course structure like?

  • Types of orbits
  • Space segment
  • Ground segment
  • Propagation effect
  • Link Budget
  • Multiple Access Techniques
  • Capacity enhancement
  • Nonlinearity, Synchronization
  • TCP over satellite
  • ITU regulations, Standards, and examples

I would like to suggest some topics to be covered, how can I do that?

You can visit the contact page linked in the footer of this webpage. Just select “Suggest Topics” from the subject dropdown menu of the form, mention the course and why you think your suggestion makes sense to be part of the curriculum.