Field and Wave Electromagnetics 2nd Edition by David Cheng

Exercise 28

The antenna at the earth station of a satellite communication link having a gain of 55 (dB) at 14 (GHz) is aimed at a geostationary satellite 36,500 (km) away. Assume that the antenna on the satellite has a gain of 35 (dB) in transmitting the signal back toward the earth station at 12 (GHz). The minimum usable signal is 8 (pW).
a) Neglecting antenna ohmic and mismatch losses, find the minimum satellite transmitting power required.
b) Find the peak transmitting pulse power needed at the earth station in order to detect the satellite as a passive object, assuming the backscatter cross section of the satellite including its solar panels as 25 (m 2 ) and the minimum detectable return pulse power to be 0.5 (pW).