Q2Satellite Communication
Question
Q.2. Calculate the time required for signal transmit from earth station to GEO satellite.
Answer
Using the GEO altitude of about 35,786 km and the speed of light, the one-way signal propagation time from an earth station to a geostationary satellite is approximately 119.3 milliseconds.
The one-way propagation time from an earth station to a GEO satellite is calculated as t = h/c, where h is the GEO altitude (35,786 km above the equator) and c is the speed of light (3×10⁸ m/s): t = 35,786,000/3×10⁸ = 0.1193 s ≈ 119.3 milliseconds. This delay (and the corresponding round-trip delay of roughly 240 ms for a double-hop or 480 ms two-way voice conversation) is a well-known characteristic latency of GEO satellite links, distinguishing them from the much lower latency of LEO/MEO satellite systems.