Adjacent Satellite Interference – What Levels of Interference

Should Satellite Network Operators Expect?

Peter C. Zilliox, Senior System Scientist

Dan Vorderbrueggen, Senior System Engineer

Introduction
The Andrew earth station antenna (ESA)
customer service team is routinely asked to verify
that one of our ESA products is not the root
cause for generating adjacent satellite
interference.
It is a scientific fact that all earth-to-space uplink
transmissions cause interference to other shared
spectrum users operating on adjacent satellites.
Interference is present even at those satellites
parked many degrees away in the geostationary
orbital parking lot. The interference is generated
as a result of the physics associated with
microwave optics and the fact that we share the
same RF spectrum relying upon spatial diversity
to mitigate interference.
This paper explores the issues associated with
RF coordination for operating satellite earth
station networks within the same radio spectrum
by using geostationary satellites. Specifically, this
paper addresses the magnitudes of the expected
interference and dispels the notion that
interference should not be present at all.
Although not addressed here, the same analysis
technique is applicable for the levels of
interference expected to be observed within a
cross-polarized transponder on board a
frequency reuse satellite.
…
Baseline System Model
It is necessary to start with a baseline set of
satellite operational parameters that will be used
for comparisons between various interference
scenarios. This model is simplified and presented
as a means to establish a technical basis for
comparison between various operating points
that operators may select for their networks and
analyze interference mitigation techniques.
The model considers only antennas that are
compliant to the ITU (International
Telecommunications Union) and FCC (Federal
Communications Commission) regulatory statues
governing off-axis gain performance. The
simplified satellite operating parameters are
shown in Table 1.
The entries presented in the table are the critical
electrical performance parameters that are
design options for the satellite manufacturer. In
some cases, the parameters may be selected via
ground control after the spacecraft is on station
and operating.

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Table 1. Baseline Satellite Operating Parameters Model

Parameter Baseline Units Comment

Value
2
SFD (saturation flux −85 dBW/M The gain setting of a satellite. Typical values range
density) from −76 to –100, depending on the “pad” or gain
settings that often can be changed from the
ground. The larger absolute value, the better the
satellite’s ability to work with smaller sized ground
stations but at the expense of being more
susceptible to interference.

G/Tsat 2.0 dB/K Indicates the size of the regional coverage of the
satellite’s receive antenna. This parameter is
determined prior to launch by the design of the
spacecraft’s antenna and is generally not
adjustable via ground command. Global receive
coverage produces a −16, and very small regional
coverage spot beam produces a value in excess of
+10. Typically, US CONUS domestic coverage
beams yield a value of 0.

EIRP (effective 38 dBW This is a metric showing how much downlink

isotropic radiated power the satellite can send back to the earth. It is
power) a function of the power rating of the satellite’s
output amplifier and the size of the downlink
coverage region (beam size). This value is limited
by international agreement to mitigate interference
into terrestrial-based microwave systems that
share the spectrum. These values vary from 25 to
40 dBW for C-band operations.

AGC (automatic gain None dB AGC controls the satellite’s transponder gain as a
control) function of the incident signal level. This technique
is used to mitigate some of the detrimental effects
of uplink path fading. C-band systems rarely use
AGC, so it is not considered in this baseline model.
However, when it is in use, AGC systems are
extremely susceptible to interference when the
transponder is not loaded with traffic (very
common occurrence during Ku-band SNG
(satellite news gathering) truck operations.

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Regulatory Requirements for Off-Axis Gain activities. Consider the FCC in the United States,
for example. For the antenna to conform with the
FCC regulatory statues (without a waiver), the
The earth station terminal may be designed to
antenna’s off-axis gain must fall within a radiation
increase its transmit effective isotropic radiated
pattern envelope defined by FCC Rules and
power (EIRP) by merely selecting an increased
Regulations Part 25.209.
area (or size) antenna. In this manner, the EIRP
gain is achieved without affecting the necessary
This paragraph states the antenna’s off-axis gain
RF power presented to the antenna. The on-axis
shall not exceed:
gain of any antenna is proportional to its area, as
follows:
For: 1 7.3 degrees Gant (dBi) = 29
− 25 log ( )
Gant =
[4πAeff ]
λ
2
For: 7 9.2 degrees Gant (dBi) = +8

For: 9.2 48 degrees Gant (dBi) = 32

Where: Gant = antenna’s isotropic gain, rational − 25 log ( )
number For : 48 180 degrees Gant (dBi) = −10
= RF wavelength, meters
Aeff = effective aperture = (actual area) x
(efficiency), square meters
Off-Axis Gain and Off-Axis Link Budgets
From this expression, it can be seen that the on- toward Other Satellites
axis gain of the antenna is directly proportional to
the area of an antenna. The area of a circular
aperture antenna is proportional to the square of The allowable antenna off-axis gain can be
its diameter. So, for example, when comparing related in terms of the size an antenna would
two antennas, if one has double the diameter of need to be to produce the required off-axis gain
the other, it will exhibit four (4) times more on- values but do so as a main beam. Table 2
axis gain (given the same efficiency). Continuing presents the values of allowable off-axis gain
with this example, with equal levels of RF power (see FCC reference above) as a function of
applied to each antenna, the larger one will angular distance from the main beam.
produce four times more EIRP or, logarithmically,
6 dB more EIRP. Additionally, Table 2 translates that allowable
gain value into an antenna size with equivalent
Question: Given that equal RF power is applied main beam gain. For example, if a C-band
to these two different antennas, which one antenna is operating with 100 watts of RF power
generates more adjacent satellite interference? applied to it, the level of uplink EIRP toward the
adjacent satellite, only 2.2 degrees off the
Answer: They both produce the same level of antenna’s main axis, would be the same as
interference to other satellites! applying 100 watts of RF power to a 23 cm
diameter antenna pointed directly toward the
Why: For parabolic circular aperture earth station adjacent satellite.
antennas, the off-axis gain envelope of an
antenna is NOT related to the antenna’s size or
the main beam on-axis gain. The off-axis gain on
an antenna is determined by the surface
accuracy of the optics, shape and dimensioning
of the optics, and obstructions within the optical
path associated with the antenna’s design and
manufacture. Licensing authorities routinely set
performance limits on an antenna’s off-axis
envelope to facilitate spectrum coordination

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 6. Calculate the downlink EIRP due to the
Table 2. Off-Axis Effective Antenna interference on the adjacent satellite.
Performance EIRPdown = EIRPsaturated −
[SRFadjsat − (EIRPeff − Ls)] +
[difference between the input and
Regulatory Off-
output operating back-off point]
Axis Pattern Equivalent
Off-Axis Envelope Antenna Diameter
7. Calculate the downlink SNR the
deg dBi cm interference exhibits at a monitoring
1 29.0 62 receive earth station pointed at the
2.2 20.4 23 adjacent satellite
SNR = EIRPdown − Ldpath +
3.2 16.4 14 G/T(mon.station) − k − B
4.3 13.2 10
5.3 10.9 8
6.3 9.0 6 8. Combine the uplink SNR and downlink
SNR components to calculate the
7.3 7.4 5 observed (SNR + N)-to-N ratio that would
be observed at the monitoring earth
Calculating the Expected Interference station’s spectrum analyzer
Observable on an Adjacent Satellite (SNR+N)-to-N ratio = 1 + SNR,
rational numbers
The expected observable [interference + noise] to Where:
[noise] ratio that would be seen by a monitoring SNR = interference signal-to-
earth station can be calculated using the noise ratio observed at the monitor
following procedure. station, dB
EIRP = uplink effective isotropic
1. Using the uplink EIRP, determine the radiated power, dBW
feed power (FP) necessary within the FP = feed power at uplink
signal bandwidth. antenna, dBW
FD = EIRP − [antenna’s main T = discrimination angle between
beam gain], dBW target and adjacent satellites
Lupath = uplink path loss to
2. Determine the antenna’s discrimination adjacent satellite, dB
angle to the adjacent satellite. Ldpath = downlink path loss to
monitoring earth station, dB
3. Calculate the off-axis antenna gain at the SFDadjsat = saturated flux density
discrimination angle. setting for the adjacent satellite
Off-axis antenna gain = 29 − 25 G/T(mon.station) = receive figure of
log ( ), dBi merit of the monitoring earth station,
dB/K
4. Calculate the effective EIRP of the k = Boltzmann’s constant, −228.6
interference toward the adjacent satellite. dB−K/Hz
EIRPeff = PF + off-axis antenna B = noise bandwidth, dB−Hz
gain Ls = spreading loss due to range
2
to satellite, dB/M
5. Calculate in the SNR at the input of the
adjacent satellite.
SNRsat – EIRPeff − Lupath + G/T
(sat) − k − B

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Adjacent Satellite Interference Example
Consider a 9.3 meter full transponder service (36
MHz) C-band uplink. Calculate what the
observation of the interference will be on an
adjacent satellite as it will be displayed on a
spectrum analyzer. Note, the spectrum analyzer
will display the (signal + noise)-to-noise ratio.
Let:
• the adjacent satellite be separated 2
degrees of longitude from the target
satellite
• the earth station and satellite geographic
positions result in a 2.2 degree antenna
discrimination angle, ( )
• the uplink path loss, Lupath = 200.1 dB
• the downlink path loss, Ldpath =196.3 dB
• the spreading loss, Ls = 162.5 dB
• the Tx antenna gain = 53.7 dBi
Substituting the baseline parameters (see Table
1) into the analysis procedure, the expected
interference level present at the adjacent satellite
input can be calculated as follows:
1. The uplink EIRP, necessary to
saturate a target satellite, is the
saturation flux density minus the
spreading loss:
EIRP = SFD − Ls = −85 −
(−162.5) = 77.5 dBW
FD = EIRP − [antenna’s main
beam gain] = 77.5 − 53.7 = 23.8
dBW
2. Let the antenna’s discrimination
angle to the adjacent satellite, =
2.2 degrees. (2 degrees from the
center of the earth, 2.2 degrees from
the earth’s surface)
3. Calculate the effective EIRP of the
interference toward the adjacent
satellite
Off-axis antenna gain = 29 − 25 log
( ) = 20.4 dBi
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4. Calculate the effective EIRP of the
interference toward the adjacent
satellite
EIRPeff = PF + off-axis antenna gain
= 23.8 + 20.4 = 44.2 dBW
5. Calculate in the SNR at the input of
the adjacent satellite
SNRu = EIRPeff −Lupath +
G/T(sat) −k − B
= 44.2 − 200.1 + 2.0 + 228.6
− 10 log (36,000,000)
= −0.68 dB
6. Calculate the downlink EIRP due to
the interference on the adjacent
satellite
EIRPdown = EIRPsaturated − [SFDadjsat −
(EIRPeff −Ls)] + [difference between
the input and output operating back-
off point]
= 38 − [−85 − (44.2 −
162.5)]
= 9.8 dBW
7. Calculate the downlink SNR the
interference exhibits at a monitoring
receive earth station pointed at the
adjacent satellite
SNRd = EIRPdown −Ldpath +
G/T(mon.station) − k − B
= 9.8 − 196.3 −196.3 + 29 +
228.6 −10 log (36,000,000)
= −4 dB
8. Combine the uplink SNR and
downlink SNR components to
calculate the observed (SNR+N)-to-N
ratio that would be observed at the
monitoring earth station’s spectrum
analyzer.
1
SNR = =
1 1
+
SNRu SNRd
10 log [(SNR+N)-to-N ratio] = 1 + SNR, rational addressed. However, under certain scenarios, an
numbers ALC circuit can cause interference in excess of
1 dB (as observed on a 20 dB above the values calculated by the above
spectrum analyzer) technique.

This result is comforting given that this example
used equally performing adjacent satellites. So,
spectrum coordinating two adjacent satellites
should cause very little interference to each
other’s networks.
In summary, the question is NOT “Why is there
adjacent satellite interference?” The question
really is “How much adjacent satellite interference
is being observed versus how much interference
was expected?”

Changing the Parameters in the Baseline

System Model

From the above analysis and examples, it is clear

that the interference levels are very dependent on
certain critical parameter values. All of the system
parameters influence the level of interference;
however, four critical parameters are:

1. the longitudinal differences between

adjacent satellites
2. the SFD differences between adjacent
satellites
3. the G/T differences between adjacent
satellites
4. the G/T of the monitoring earth station

The figures depict a graphical representation of

the interference producing “sensitivity” for each
critical parameter.

Note that special diversity is extremely effective

for mitigating the interference. Also, note the
importance of matching the G/T and SFD
operating points of each satellite and the resulting
effect on minimizing the interference.

Summary and Conclusion

The analysis for adjacent satellite interference

presented here is applicable for all FSS (fixed
satellite system frequency bands. The baseline
assumptions would have to be adjusted
accordingly for typical parameters associated
with X, Ku, K, and Ka bands.

Additionally, the detrimental effect that a

satellite’s ALC (automatic level control) function
would have on interference has not been

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 Separation Between Satellites (degrees)
SATUR EIRP (dB) : 38
6 Mon E/S G/T (dB/K) : 29
Typical G/Tsat (dB) : 2
Typical SFD : -85
5

4
(INTF + N) / N (dB)

0
1 2.2 3.2 4.3 5.3 6.3 7.3
Separation Between Target and Interferred satellite (degrees)

Figure 1. Discrimination Angle vs. Interference

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 Mon E/S G/T (dB/K) : 29
Observed (Intf + N) (dB) Typical G/Tsat (dB) : 2
N SATUR EIRP (dB) : 38

2.5

2 Off-Axis
Separation
(Intf + N) / N (dB)

2.2 Degrees
1.5 3.2 Degrees
4.3 Degrees

0.5

0
0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14
SFD Variance between Target & Interferred Satellite (dB)

Figure 2. SFD Values and How They Affect Adjacent Satellite Interference

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 Delta G/T between the Target and Interferred satellites
Mon E/S G/T (dB/K) : 29
Typical SFD : -85
1.6 SATUR EIRP (dB) : 38

1.4

1.2
Off-Axis
Separation
(Intf + N) / N (dB)

1
2.2 Degrees
0.8 3.2 Degrees
4.3 Degrees

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Change in G/T (dB)

Figure 3. Spacecraft G/T Values and How They Affect Adjacent Satellite Interference

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 SATUR EIRP (dB) : 38
G/T of the Observation ES Antenna Typical G/Tsat (dB) : 2
Typical SFD : -85

2.5

Off-Axis
(INTF + N) / N (dB)

Separation
1.5
2.2 Degrees
3.2 Degrees
4.3 Degrees
1

0.5

0
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Observation Earth Station Antenna G/T (dB/K)

Figure 4. How Observation Earth Station G/T Affects the Measured Adjacent Satellite
Interference

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