Propagation data for the design of 11/14 GHz satellite communication systems

A propagation experiment has been conducted with the 11 and 14 GHz beacons of the OTS2 satellite and a network of 5 rain gages. The attenuation and rain data obtained demonstrate the feasibility of long term attenuation statistics prediction on the basis of information which includes the vertical and horizontal extent of precipitation. The measured joint probability statistics for attenuation and cross polarization indicate that, for attenuation values greater than 2 dB, rain is the major cause of depolarization, while for lower values the anomalous cross polarization effects conventionally attributed to high altitude ice particles are dominant. An investigation of the individual monthly cumulative distribution of attenuation has determined that this variation is described by the conditional exponential law.