Aspects of direct satellite television broadcasting

The principle of a television broadcast satellite system is explained with a description given of both the space segment (the satellite) and the ground segment (principally the home receiver). The system described was intended for the TV supply of the Federal Republic of Germany, but the design seems to be attractive also for other regions (such as Iran, China, Brazil, Australia, etc.), especially if they are somewhat larger in area. In this context, the payload carrying capacity of the high-power television satellite is considered with lifetime and stationkeeping as parameters.