Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems
Compared to well-established geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) satellite networks, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites bring new challenges to overcome, such as the distortion of the satellite footprint with varying elevation angle. The impact of the elevation angle on system behavior is not suffic...
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10973616/ |
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| author | Agnes Fastenbauer Megumi Kaneko Philipp Svoboda Markus Rupp |
| author_facet | Agnes Fastenbauer Megumi Kaneko Philipp Svoboda Markus Rupp |
| author_sort | Agnes Fastenbauer |
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| description | Compared to well-established geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) satellite networks, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites bring new challenges to overcome, such as the distortion of the satellite footprint with varying elevation angle. The impact of the elevation angle on system behavior is not sufficiently studied in literature, and guidelines to parameterize LEO systems are lacking. This paper addresses these gaps by providing a framework to analyze the satellite footprint behavior of arbitrary multi-beam satellite systems with large antenna arrays and analyzing the system behavior of a LEO satellite operating in the Ka-band (30GHz) for varying elevation angle and serving area size. The analysis considers the directivity and antenna array steering of the antenna array and the curvature of the Earth. The provided framework allows repeatable analysis and offers a means to parameterize systems in terms of serving area size, beam design, and operating elevation angles. Analysis over elevation angles confirms the strong influence of the satellite elevation angle on the system performance and indicates that elevation angle dependence of LEO systems needs to be considered in the evaluation of future technologies. It is shown that the system drifts from a noise-limited regime at high elevation angles to an interference-limited regime with decreasing elevation angle. The findings suggest a minimum elevation angle of 30° for practical systems, as lower elevation angles show excessive propagation loss and severe interference due to beam distortion. Link budget analysis further indicates that systems require highly directional antennas with large gain to serve handheld user devices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-557bbb612c004791ab16a2f564b49b01 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj-art-557bbb612c004791ab16a2f564b49b012025-08-20T02:29:29ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113717237173710.1109/ACCESS.2025.356325210973616Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication SystemsAgnes Fastenbauer0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0586-4401Megumi Kaneko1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4943-4769Philipp Svoboda2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2277-0378Markus Rupp3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9003-7779Institute of Telecommunications, Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, AustriaNational Institute of Informatics, Tokyo, JapanInstitute of Telecommunications, Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Telecommunications, Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, AustriaCompared to well-established geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) satellite networks, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites bring new challenges to overcome, such as the distortion of the satellite footprint with varying elevation angle. The impact of the elevation angle on system behavior is not sufficiently studied in literature, and guidelines to parameterize LEO systems are lacking. This paper addresses these gaps by providing a framework to analyze the satellite footprint behavior of arbitrary multi-beam satellite systems with large antenna arrays and analyzing the system behavior of a LEO satellite operating in the Ka-band (30GHz) for varying elevation angle and serving area size. The analysis considers the directivity and antenna array steering of the antenna array and the curvature of the Earth. The provided framework allows repeatable analysis and offers a means to parameterize systems in terms of serving area size, beam design, and operating elevation angles. Analysis over elevation angles confirms the strong influence of the satellite elevation angle on the system performance and indicates that elevation angle dependence of LEO systems needs to be considered in the evaluation of future technologies. It is shown that the system drifts from a noise-limited regime at high elevation angles to an interference-limited regime with decreasing elevation angle. The findings suggest a minimum elevation angle of 30° for practical systems, as lower elevation angles show excessive propagation loss and severe interference due to beam distortion. Link budget analysis further indicates that systems require highly directional antennas with large gain to serve handheld user devices.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10973616/6GbeamformingLEOlow Earth orbitmulti-beam satellitenon-terrestrial network |
| spellingShingle | Agnes Fastenbauer Megumi Kaneko Philipp Svoboda Markus Rupp Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems IEEE Access 6G beamforming LEO low Earth orbit multi-beam satellite non-terrestrial network |
| title | Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems |
| title_full | Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems |
| title_short | Impact of Elevation Angle on Multi-Beam LEO Satellite Communication Systems |
| title_sort | impact of elevation angle on multi beam leo satellite communication systems |
| topic | 6G beamforming LEO low Earth orbit multi-beam satellite non-terrestrial network |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10973616/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agnesfastenbauer impactofelevationangleonmultibeamleosatellitecommunicationsystems AT megumikaneko impactofelevationangleonmultibeamleosatellitecommunicationsystems AT philippsvoboda impactofelevationangleonmultibeamleosatellitecommunicationsystems AT markusrupp impactofelevationangleonmultibeamleosatellitecommunicationsystems |