Ku-band helicopter satellite communications for on scene disaster information transmission

Helicopter videoing is one of the most popular methods to acquire on scene information for disaster management and relief. We developed an on scene disaster information transmission system using Ku-band helicopter satellite communications. The main obstacle for a helicopter satellite communication link is the interruption by the rotating blades of the helicopter. To overcome the blade interruption, we use a time diversity transmission technique at the forward link and a blade-synchronized transmission technique at the return link. Furthermore, onboard position estimation is done for the on scene videoing pictures. Some primary field experiments have been done with satisfactory results.