Joint results of 20 GHz recent earth-space propagation experiments in Canada and europe

Propagation effects such as rain attenuation or the influence of gases and clouds cause deeper fades in the Ka-band than at lower frequencies. Communication systems provide means to mitigate such propagation impairments, but a better experimental characterization of propagation effects can lead to better design and operation of fade mitigation techniques (FMT). In this collaborative paper, the main results of four long-term propagation campaigns are presented. The experiments are carried out in Ottawa, Canada (satellite Anik F2), Aveiro, Portugal, Madrid, Spain and Toulouse, France (satellite HotBird 6 in the last three cases).