Propagation measurements at the Appleton Laboratory /UK/ using SIRIO carrier transmissions near 11.6 GHz

This paper is concerned primarily with a description of the measurements of atmospheric attenuation obtained using the carrier transmissions from the Italian satellite SIRIO during its second year of operation. The data complement and update those already published for the first year of measurements. Two stations at the Appleton Laboratory, namely the mainstation equipped with a 3 m diameter tracking aerial and a substation equipped with a 1 m diameter fixed aerial, were involved in SIRIO measurements until June 1978 when the mainstation became dedicated for use with the Orbital Test Satellite. Hence the results presented here originate mainly from the substation, although some comparisons of simultaneous fadings along the SIRIO and OTS paths are also described. Considerably more heavy rainfall occurred during 1979 than during 1978, and, for purposes of planning link budgets for future satellite systems, the data for 1979 are regarded as being more representative of those which would apply during a typical year.