Walter Ciesluk - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Walter Ciesluk

IEEE Communications Magazine, 1999

Satellite and Space Communications (SSC) Committee has provided a forum for technical interchange... more Satellite and Space Communications (SSC) Committee has provided a forum for technical interchange T" among those working in this field for nearly 40 years. It began in the early 1960s soon after it was recognized that the rocket capabilities demonstrated by the Soviet Union and United States in the late 1950s could readily be used to launch communications satellites. From that time, the development and impact of satellite communications has been revolutionary. In the early days, the major activity was associated with business, political and technical issues associated with the development and introduction of the first communications satellites. The technical community was occupied with the tradeoff studies associated with satellite orbits, frequency bands, and link design. However, the first communications satellites came along quickly with low earth orbit launches of Telstar and Relay in 1962, the first synchronous orbit satellite, Syncom, in 1963, and the launch of INTELSAT 1 and MOLNIYA 1 in 1965. Since that time, the field of satellite communications has continued to grow rapidly. Satellites have become dramatically larger, capable of increased capacity and employing rapidly developing light weight electronics technology, spacecraft control, and power generation and storage devices. Significant development went into sophisticated space-borne regional and spot-beam dual polarized antennas at both C-and Ku-band to increase payload capacity through frequency reuse techniques. Next, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) networks and applications, and direct broadcast satellite systems and technologies, were introduced. Quickly, the exploitation of the Ka-band frequencies for future growth became an important topic within the satellite communications community. During the 1970s and 1980s, major engineering efforts were devoted to the development of higher power amplifiers, lighter weight, improved performance microwave filters and circuit switches, and electric power generation and storage devices, which contributed to larger communications satellite payloads that fit the launch constraints of available launch vehicles. Eventually, systems that provide communications services to mobile terminals (e.g., ships, land vehicles, and aircraft) were developed. These systems exploited one of the major attributes of communications satellites, i.e., the capability to offer wireless services over a large service area. Today, communications satellites carry about one-third of voice and essentially all international television traffic. Significant advances in video compression and data protocol enhancement technology have made new and many previously

IEEE Communications Magazine, 1999

Satellite and Space Communications (SSC) Committee has provided a forum for technical interchange... more Satellite and Space Communications (SSC) Committee has provided a forum for technical interchange T" among those working in this field for nearly 40 years. It began in the early 1960s soon after it was recognized that the rocket capabilities demonstrated by the Soviet Union and United States in the late 1950s could readily be used to launch communications satellites. From that time, the development and impact of satellite communications has been revolutionary. In the early days, the major activity was associated with business, political and technical issues associated with the development and introduction of the first communications satellites. The technical community was occupied with the tradeoff studies associated with satellite orbits, frequency bands, and link design. However, the first communications satellites came along quickly with low earth orbit launches of Telstar and Relay in 1962, the first synchronous orbit satellite, Syncom, in 1963, and the launch of INTELSAT 1 and MOLNIYA 1 in 1965. Since that time, the field of satellite communications has continued to grow rapidly. Satellites have become dramatically larger, capable of increased capacity and employing rapidly developing light weight electronics technology, spacecraft control, and power generation and storage devices. Significant development went into sophisticated space-borne regional and spot-beam dual polarized antennas at both C-and Ku-band to increase payload capacity through frequency reuse techniques. Next, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) networks and applications, and direct broadcast satellite systems and technologies, were introduced. Quickly, the exploitation of the Ka-band frequencies for future growth became an important topic within the satellite communications community. During the 1970s and 1980s, major engineering efforts were devoted to the development of higher power amplifiers, lighter weight, improved performance microwave filters and circuit switches, and electric power generation and storage devices, which contributed to larger communications satellite payloads that fit the launch constraints of available launch vehicles. Eventually, systems that provide communications services to mobile terminals (e.g., ships, land vehicles, and aircraft) were developed. These systems exploited one of the major attributes of communications satellites, i.e., the capability to offer wireless services over a large service area. Today, communications satellites carry about one-third of voice and essentially all international television traffic. Significant advances in video compression and data protocol enhancement technology have made new and many previously