Infrared satellite links are examined to measure earth surface temperatures. The low earth orbits would offer low cost and Brandon orbits would offer the convenience of stationary ground antennas. A square array of ground stations is considered (‘Quad Diversity’) to relieve laser attenuation, and higher order diversity is considered. Jalali’s ten micron silicon laser links are studied for high reliability, terrestrial temperature measurements, and low cloud attenuation for clean terrestrial power. Even lower attenuation is found for satellite-aircraft links.
Infrared satellite communication system performance is estimated from Barbaliscia's worldwide millimeter wave attenuation maps. The attenuation maps are used to derive new results for total liquid water content in clouds, which in turn is used to estimate 10 micron and 1 micron attenuation. The liquid water content of severe cloud cover is found to be fatal for most laser satcom, but cloud cover at the 80 percentile level would allow attractive 10 micron satellite communication throughout most of the Rocky Mountain states and the state of Maine. Site diversity, with sites separated by 100 km, would allow the infrared system to approach normal satcom reliability standards.
Millimeter wave systems in the 30 - 47, 95 - 100, and 140 GHz regions are found attractive for satellite communications on the basis of expected cost per information bit. Loss comparisons with optical systems may be found with Chu and Hogg's analysis. Chan's economic comparison of millimeter wave and optical systems implies that 10 micron systems may be competitive for cloud thickness less than 300 meters.
Radio wave attenuation for space vehicles during atmospheric re-entry is discussed. Attenuation as a function of frequency and altitude are shown. Attractive millimeterwave regions are discussed. An equation for attenuation during re-entry is listed.
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