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Globalstar for the Military

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Globalstar for the Military I I Globalstar for the Military I Rich Hendrickson Kent Penwarden Loral Qualcomm Satellite Services, Inc. I Palo Alto, California cables have extended these networks world­ I ABSTRACf wide between regions served by wireline Globalstar, a new satellite-based mobile telephone companies. Terrestrial cellular I voice/data telephone service, is being radio has expanded the scope of these planned by LQSS for operation in 1998. It networks to mobile users, typically in will let military personnel, using handheld, populated urban centers. I ship-board, or vehicular mobile terminals in With Globalstar, DoD will have the even the most remote areas of the world, to opportunity to extend the reach of its stay in contact with each other and with telecommunications networks to the most personnel who are on established remote regions of the world, without being I communication networks. A constellation of constrained to telephones connected directly 4810w-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites and an to the wire-line networks. Communications advanced method of digital signal formatting equivalent to terrestrial cellular radio will be I will provide low-cost and reliable voice, data, available over areas vastly greater than those fax and position-locating services to military served by terrestrial cell sites. While not personnel in most areas of the world. intended for war fighting applications, the I Globalstar will interoperate with existing Globalstar satellite system will serve as a local (domestic or foreign), long-distance, backup and supplement to military public, private, terrestrial-cellular, DoD, and communications systems. I specialized telecommunications networks. The system will permit the military, for its 2. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION general purpose communications, to share I with commercial MSS (Mobile Satellite In the Globalstar world, from handheld, ship­ Services) at low cost. board, and vehicular terminals, military and other DoD personnel will be able to place This paper includes an overview of the telephone calls from distant lands and seas to I Globalstar system and describes possible any telephone on existing DoD applications. telecommunications networks. (See Figure 1.) Personnel can be located and called, or I 1. INTRODUCflON can call any other handset or telephone in the DoD has established highly survivable world. One telephone number can be communications systems for serving the assigned to an individual, not a place. Digital I needs of the U.S. Armed Forces in war signal formatting with spread-spectrum fighting conditions. However, most DoD modulation will allow the ready application communication takes place during times of of DoD security measures such as STU-III I peace and outside of regions of conflict. For telephones to an already private system. that reason, the DoD places a significant The low altitude of the Globalstar LEO volume of traffic over commercial satellites permits the use of low-power I telecomm u nication s networks. handsets. Globalstar provides multiple­ Geosynchronous satellites and under-sea satellite coverage to allow true "space" I 1 I Globalstar for the Military I diversity to mitigate against· blocking and capable of being extended to avoid I shadowing, to enhance traffic call capacity, propagation blockage by the user's head and and to provide fail-safe operation. Globalstar to minimize radiation effects, and it will be takes advantage of CDMA (Code-Division collapsible for stowing. Multiple Access) call transmission format to I increase spectrum usage. Globalstar includes Platform-Mounted Terminals a simple satellite design, which does not rely Globalstar mobile terminals will be equally I upon expensive, less flexible, and potentially applicable for vehicle operation, for less reliable satellite-ta-satellite call transfers. shipboanJ operation, or for aircraft operation. The Globalstar ground segment can be either The primary differences between handsets shared commercial, or dedicated military, and platform-mounted mobile tenninals will I fixed-site gateways, or be transportable be in the packaging and the power supply. gateways to serve special contingency Packaging will separate the antenna from the operations anywhere on earth. Gateways will transceiver to mount the antenna external to I serve mobile stations within a range of many the platform envelope. Antennas could be hundreds of kilometers and will provide mounted to the top of masts to clear local access to terrestrial networks either directly or trees or superstructure obstacles. Aircraft I by way of a fixed satellite service link. antennas would have to be integrated with the 2.1 Mobile Teoninals airframe, but the small-sized, patch antennas will allow for flush, surface mounting. I Three basic categories of Globalstar mobile Terminal power will be obtained from the terminals will be handheld, vehicular, and vehicle battery and/or power system. fixed. All Globalstar mobile terminals will share essentially the same signal processing Fixed Terminals I and RF characteristics, so that they will Globalstar fixed terminals will be those appear to the Globalstar LEO satellites and intended for permanent installations in gateways as equivalent terminals, although I remote regions having no access to terrestrial type identification can be associated with the telecommunications networks. Power could tenninal identification in network control. be derived from solar panels or other local I Mobile tenninals can be built with dual-mode power source. The antenna, the solar panel, - and even multi-mode - operation for and terminal would be packaged for pole compatibility with any terrestrial radio mounting, with the antenna high enough to I network, including existing analog cellular clear the adjacent trees. radio in the USA and other parts of the world. 2.2 Satellites I Handheld Terminals Constellation The Globalstar LEO satellite constellation Handheld tenninals will be in appearance and will be comprised of 48 satellites arranged in operation much like terrestrial cellular radio I 8 orbital planes. (See Figure 2.) The circular handsets, with a few notable differences. A 0 low-power transmitter of approximately 0.2 orbital planes will be inclined 52 from watt average power will maximize both equatorial. The constellations are designed to I battery life and safety. A patch antenna will provide at least one satellite in view above provide dual-frequency-band operation: L­ 100 elevation angle for all latitudes up to 700. band for the up-link and S-band for the Multiple satellite coverage will be nearly I down-link. It will have a horizontal omni­ always available. The circular orbit altitude directional and vertical hemispherical pattern will be approximately 1400 kilometers (756 for communicating with the LEO satellites as nautical miles) with a period of 114 minutes. I they pass overhead. The antenna will be I 2 I I Globalstar for the Military I PCN (Personal Communications Networks), Satellite Communications Payload FTS-2000, DISN (Defense Information The Globalstar LEO satellites will be small in System Network), and FSS (Fixed Satellite I size and uncomplicated. The Services). Globalstar gateways will serve as communications payload is designed to relay Globalstar network nodes for routing signals signals between the user terminals and the through satellites and beams to the designated I gateway earth stations through linear "bent­ user terminals. pipe" transponders. Communications with Commercial gateways will be owned and the Globalstar gateway earth stations will be operated by the providers of MSS (Mobile by way of separate C-band frequencies for I Satellite Services) for geographically-defmed both the up and down-links. service areas. With the diversity inherent in For communication with mobile user the' Globalstar system, more than one service I terminals. a satellite will have multiple provider can operate in the same or antenna beams, formed by flat arrays of overlapping service areas. DoD and other active and passive antenna elements. which agencies could own and operate their own I will produce multiple footprints on the gateways, typically at bases in remote regions surface of the earth. Each footprint will of the world, or they could share gateway provide L-band up-link and S-band down­ functions with friendly foreign and domestic I link communication. The ensemble of a commercial operators. Transportable single satellite's footprints will cover an area gateways could provide autonomous in­ on the surface of the earth of approximately theater service to rapidly-deployed forces 26 x 106 km2 (10 x 106 mi2). where a user at anywhere on earth (useful up to 700 latitude). I a range of 2900 km (1800 mi) will still view the satellite at minimum of 100 elevation RF Subsystem angle. Three 2.4-meter antennas at each gateway site I will track three satellites in view at anyone Satellite Operational Control time. An RF subsystem will consist of Two Globalstar Satellite Operations Control LNA's and HPA's mounted on an antenna I Centers. to be located on the east and west assembly and, within the gateway equipment coasts of CONUS. will provide for shelter. frequency synthesizers will provide constellation management, with 1) ephemeris the frequency division mUltiplexing for the I determination, 2) planning and scheduling feeder-link signals while modems will be operations for active, retired, and spare provided for every active satellite beam. satellites in orbit, and 3) in-orbit testing. I T&C (Telemetry & Command) stations. Routing Matrix
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