Satellite communications in the next decade

This paper describes a view of satellite communications missions in the 1990s. It is forecasted not only that future needs of satellite communication/broadcast services will grow, but also that requirements will become more diverse. Another aspect of future services can be the 'personalization' of satellite communications. In this paper, 37 representative future missions for provision of communication/broadcast services are surveyed. The link budgets for each mission are calculated using reasonable assumptions for both satellite antenna size and frequency band used. As a result, an illustration clarifying the diversification in technology requirements for future missions are obtained, which shows the relationship between scale of earth station, frequency and transmission rate. Finally some candidate missions for the early 1990s communication satellite services are postulated. Among the candidate missions, two missions are selected and discussed briefly, according to the results of preliminary studies: a personal communication system using the satellite, and a satellite broadcast service system in the Asian and Oceanian regions.