Angle diversity for millimeter wave satellite communications

A new 48 satellite LEO concept is presented for millimeter wave satellite communication. Twenty-four would be launched for high elevation angles at all times in the northern temperate zone. A complementary set of 24 would be launched for high elevation angle coverage in worldwide temperate zones. The 48 LEOs would also feature a constant ground track for convenient ground station pointing. Elevation angles which average 52 degrees throughout the temperate zones allow atmospheric attenuation to drop to reasonable levels, even at frequencies in the 30-45 GHz region. A rain autocorrelation function for angle diversity is also derived. Switched angle diversity is shown to offer promising communication performance at 40 GHz even at a demanding 0.997 availability.