Design of Circular Orbit Satellite Link for Maximum Data Transfer

The present paper provides an analytical expression for the amount of theoretically transmittable data to/from a LEO or MEO satellite and a fixed ground station, during one pass, averaged over an infinite number of passes. The paper shows that this mean transmittable data amount can have a maximum as a function of the satellite orbit altitude, when the other parameters of the communications system are fixed. The paper identifies a maximization method, with which it is possible to find the altitude, at which the mean transmittable data amount is maximized. The paper also shows that, for fixed satellite orbit altitude, it is possible to find the corresponding transmission bandwidth that maximizes the mean transmittable data amount.