A proposal for an active communication satellite system based on inclined elliptic orbits

Satellites in the 24-hour stationary orbit will have to be stabilized in attitude relative to the earth, and kept in the correct station in their orbit, if their full potential is to be realized. If attitude stabilization and station keeping can be achieved, there are many advantages in using inclined elliptic orbits; this paper describes the design of a communication satellite for use in a 63-deg orbit with apogee 12 600 miles and perigee 300 miles, within a weight limitation of 550 lb. The optimum frequency for a commercial communications system, in which due allowance is made for adverse weather conditions, is shown to be about 2 kMc/s. The optimum distribution of weight in the satellite is obtained by considering the W/lb factors for various types of repeaters and solar cell arrays. It is shown that a design based on a semi-sun-seeking concept, in which rotation about the earth-satellite axis is used to maximize the output from the solar cell array, could have a radiated power of 12 W and a capacity of up to 1000 telephone channels.