Satellite-Aircraft Multipath and Ranging Experiment Results at L Band

Results of a flight test program involving a KC-135 jet airplane, the synchronous ATS-5
L
-band satellite, and a ground station are presented. Tests included over-ocean multipath measurements and one-way tone ranging within the 1545-1655 MHz frequency band. Amplitude characteristics, polarization, power spectral density, and selective fading properties were measured for sea-reflected and composite signal channels. CW tone-ranging performance was determined in both the thermal noise and multipath environments. Comparison of experimental results with theoretical expectation is given.