Meteor-burst communication systems: Analysis and synthesis

Radio-wave propagation via scattering from ionized meteor trails was studied and employed as a means of communications for several decades. From the empirical and analytical data acquired, a propagation model to be used for communications link design can be extracted. This document derives and presents such a propagation model. Empirical data were obtained from the observation of meteor trail occurrences and intensities. The propagation model was developed as a function of the pertinent parameters by examining the transmission equation, the empirical data, and the geometric considerations. In this way, the characteristics of the meteor trail communication link were reduced to a manageable number of single and dual independent parameter equations and graphs that were suitable for system design and analysis. Examples were provided for utilizing the design equations in analyzing and synthesizing the meteor-burst communication link.