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Commercial Space Transportation QUARTERLY LAUNCH REPORT

Special Report:

GEO Markets and Functions

3rd Quarter 1996 United States Department of Transportation •Federal Aviation Administration Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation 800 Independence Ave. SW Room 331 Washington, D.C. 20591 Special Report SR-1 GEO Satellite Markets and Functions

The has transformed markets. The explosive Table 1. GEO Satellite Services, Markets, demand for global communication has spawned and Functions accelerating technical and fierce competition for telecommunication revenues. GEO Satellite Markets Communication Deregulation of in the U.S. Services and in other countries combined with advances in International Relay technology have contributed to enhancements in Intra-national Relay computer capability and affordability, an Mobile Telephone Services explosion in use of the , and the wide Broadcast and Cable Relay availability and use of mobile phones, facsimile Direct-to-Home Television Services machines, smart , and other electronic Direct Services communication tools. Data Communications Personal/Mobile, VSAT, Data Communications Services in geosynchronous (GEO) are a GEO Satellite Government-Dedicated Functions vital link in the world’s telecommunication infrastructure. This Special Report summarizes Military Intelligence the functions of satellites in Civil Meteorological and describes the current satellite population in Civil Technology Research terms of the markets it serves. Civil Scientific

GEO Satellite Functions · Geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is the orbit at International and Intra-national Telephone 22,282 miles above the in which a satellite Relay . GEO satellites relay telephone calls completes its orbit in 24 hours -- the period of the across oceans or large land masses that lack Earth’s rotation. Geosynchronous orbit is terrestrial telephone line infrastructure. advantageous for communication services Today, most satellite relay of international because satellites in GEO can always “see” their telephone calls is provided by the international ground stations and just three satellites can organization, . Additional intra- provide coverage of most of the globe. More national telephone relay is provided by than 500 GEO satellites have been launched since satellites owned by countries such as Indonesia the first launch of and China, which have widely dispersed 1 in 1963. populations.

GEO satellites provide several different kinds of · Mobile Telephone Services . GEO satellites telephone, television, radio, and data also provide some mobile telephone services. communication services. They are also used by The vast majority of mobile today governments for military, weather, and use ground-based cellular networks, but applications. GEO satellite functions are listed in satellites provide telephone services to ships Table 1. at sea through the international organization, . There is also a limited market today Telephone Services for satellite mobile telephone services to augment cellular services. There are many planned and proposed systems to provide GEO satellites relay telephone signals via the satellite mobile telephone services in the terrestrial and also provide future, using satellites in both GEO and low phone-to-satellite mobile telephone services. Earth orbit (LEO).

Federal Aviation Administration • Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Special Report SR-2 Television and Radio Data Communications

There are three television transmission media: Satellite data communications is a diversified broadcast, cable, and direct-to-home. market that serves many users. Many service The services provided using these media compete areas fall under the category of data and overlap. Broadcast and cable entities produce communications, including broad categories of their own programming. Broadcast and cable computer networking, , facsimile, paging, channels are typically transmitted via the same and voice communications. These services do not satellites and the signals transmitted via satellite require a dedicated satellite and can be delivered are very similar. Some cable signals are also re- from the satellite to one point or multiple points. packaged and re-transmitted by direct-to-home Data delivery can be fixed or mobile. The users (primarily by direct broadcast satellite) TV for the various types of providers. GEO satellites also currently relay a services are primarily business but also include number of radio channels. personal and educational users.

· Broadcast and Relay . GEO Civil Government Applications satellites relay broadcast and cable TV signals to ground stations that then transmit them to customers. Broadcast TV typically involves Three general civil mission areas take advantage transmissions to rooftop antennas. of GEO: meteorology, technology research, and Cable TV services use coaxial cables attached communications. directly to homes. Broadcast and cable · channels are typically transmitted via the Meteorology . GEO provides a near ideal same satellites; the signals are very similar. platform for long-duration Earth observations, but the relatively large distance to GEO limits · Direct-to-Home Television . Many broadcast the resolution of imaging data. Most civil and cable channels can also be received meteorological programs (e.g., US, China, directly by outdoor satellite dishes attached Russia) use a combination of GEO and - to the home. Generally, standard broadcast orbiting LEO systems to provide complete and cable signals never intended for coverage of developing weather systems. direct reception at the home. However, this · approach to television distribution became Technology Research . Civil and military space popular in geographic regions where reception authorities have a long history of sponsoring of normal broadcast signals was difficult. research dedicated to developing and Today, some cable programming is also advancing received, repackaged, and retransmitted technology. Most US communication satellite digitally to homes using direct broadcast technology research was terminated in the satellites (DBS), also in GEO. DBS is provided (NASA’s Advanced Communications by dedicated or near-dedicated satellites. Technology Satellite, launched in 1993 to study multiple beam communications Direct Radio . A related category of service and satellite-switched operations in the Ka- is radio. GEO satellites currently relay a band is an exception). Japan, France, and the very small number of some audio signals, continue to sponsor much as they relay television signals. In the the development of systems to study future, GEO satellites will provide mobile advanced communication technologies. New audio services broadcast directly from a entrants to the space field also use dedicated satellite to the end-user via experimental communication satellites to handsets or automobile tuners. establish the basic infrastructure for a space .

· Communications . Many governments are substantial consumers of communications Federal Aviation Administration • Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Special Report SR-3

services. As the market value of GEO · Intelligence . Both the US and Russia use GEO communications satellites was established satellites to provide early warning of missile during the 1970s and , most civil launches. Use of GEO allows these satellites authorities transferred control of their GEO to “stare” at the Earth for extended periods, communications programs to governmental providing constant monitoring of launches and and quasi-governmental post, telegraph and other major thermal events (e.g., above- telephone (PTT) organizations. These ground nuclear explosions). Similarly, GEO organizations provided services to the assets are used to gather intelligence on radio remainder of the government, as well as to and transmissions from areas of military meet non-governmental requirements. In activity. Information about electronic some instances, these PTTs are virtually intelligence satellites (ELINTS) is particularly indistinguishable from government closely held, and the details available in open organizations. In other cases, they possess sources are sketchy at best. many of the characteristics of private commercial concerns. However, in almost all Ownership and Operation cases, the use of PTT assets in GEO are subject to at least some sort of commercial This analysis has yielded an estimate of 238 market. As a result, for the purpose of this currently active operational GEO satellites. It is study, PTTs are incorporated into all analyses important to remember that in estimating the of the commercial communications number of GEO satellites, the population changes marketplace. frequently. There are two or three launches of GEO satellites each month and inactive GEO Geosynchronous orbit is of limited value for other satellites may sometimes be sold and reactivated. kinds of civil space activities. For example, no (For the purpose of this report, the cut-off for current or planned space science missions (e.g., in listing satellites as current (or operational) was the disciplines of astrophysics, , and December 31, 1995. Since that time, several planetary science) require the use of GEO. GEO systems have been launched.)1 Similarly, human space activity to date has been confined to LEO and trans-Lunar and Lunar . Of the 238 operational GEO satellites, 168 are communications satellites and 70 are military or Military Government Applications civil/non-communications satellites. A listing by ownership shows that 68 of the communications satellites are also owned by government There are two primary uses of GEO for organizations. Many communications satellite defense/military purposes: communications and systems are administered on a partial to full for- intelligence gathering. profit basis by governmental and quasi- governmental PTT organizations. Similarly, Military Communications . Military international non-profit consortia (e.g., Intelsat, organizations frequently use the unique Inmarsat) compete in the growing commercial characteristics of GEO to facilitate strategic marketplace for satellite communications and tactical communications. (These systems capabilities. generally employ military-reserved and are not considered in this GEO assets used to conduct strictly civil missions forecast to be part of the larger category of – meteorology or government-sponsored commercial and quasi-commercial communications technology research – are communications.) The US, Russia, NATO, the categorized as “civil” in Figure 1 below and as , Saudi Arabia, Italy, and the “government/non-communications” in Figure 2. People’s Republic of China have all deployed, or are considering deploying, GEO assets for military communications. 1 Currently, these systems include: PanAmSat (PAS) 3R (1/12), Measat 1 (1/12), 2 (1/14), 31 (1/25), C1 (2/1), - Star B (2/5), and (3/14). Federal Aviation Administration • Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Special Report SR-4

capacity (which can represent both backup capability and unleased that are “on Civil the market”). These percentages are based on 7% capability normalized to 36-MHz Commercial equivalents. 26% Military 22% Telephone, Domestic Relay Telephone, Intntl 5% Relay Government /Non- 18% Communications 29% Telephone, Mobile 0%

Non-Profit 14% PTT 31% Figure 1. Operational GEO Satellites by Television, Relay Sponsor 26% Unused The functions performed by these satellites were 8% Data determined based on a compilation of many Communication Television, DBS sources of information about current transponder 5% 9% use.2 This information was then analyzed to determine typical use patterns (in terms of television, telephone, and data communications Figure 2. Current Satellite Functions and backup transponders) for five classes of on- (Percentage of On-Orbit Capability, 1996) orbit satellites. Transponder-by-transponder data were very good for television uses but sketchier The current active GEO satellite population was for telephone and data communication. estimated by comparing and integrating data from Percentage values for each service were a range of sources. The FAA Office of determined based on this analysis. These Commercial Space Transportation’s STAR percentage values were modified somewhat for database was used as the basis for accounting for television and data communication to reflect operational GEO systems. Information on additional information generated through analyses operational satellites was supplemented by data of market trends and industry revenues. from open sources, particularly the International Satellite Directory (Design Publishers, 1996 The capability of the currently active, on-orbit Edition), Jane’s Space Directory (11th Edition, communications and government-owned satellites 1995-1996) and The World Satellite Directory identified in this analysis is used for about 23% (Phillips Business Publishing, Inc., 1995). telephone, 35% television, 5% data communications, 29% government non- communications functions, and about 8% unused ______

2 A transponder is the active telecommunications The analysis presented in this Special Report was component of a satellite that is responsible for conducted by Futron Corporation. converting the signal from its up-link to its corresponding down-link frequency and then amplifying the signal for retransmission. The usual capacity of a transponder is in the 36- 54 MHz range but can be as wide as 500 MHz.

Federal Aviation Administration • Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation