Date of Award

5-17-2000

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The need for higher bandwidth and smaller antenna size for satellite communications led NASA to fund the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and propagation research for K-band and Ka-band frequencies. From December 1993 to December 1998, seven sites in North America have collected and processed power measurements at 20.2 and 27.5 gigahertz from ACTS, a geostationary statellite located at 100 ̊West longitude. The thesis compares scintillation measurements to eight scintillation prediction models, proposes a cumulative distribution model to help predict the percentage of time scintillation exceeds a given threshold, examines the effects of frequency on scintillation magnitudes, and proposes a climate model based on moisture content to help predict scintillation magnitudes. The study concludes that the scintillation prediction models are dependent on the climate, the frequency dependence is a function of climate, and the moisture content in the atmosphere dictates the percentage of time large scintillation occurs.

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6729

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