Rain attenuation model assessment for wideband gapfiller satellite communications link

The wideband gapfiller satellite communication links will employ several frequencies in the X-, K-, and Ka-bands. Appropriate rain models are required to evaluate the propagation degradation due to rain at these frequencies. This paper reviews some of the study results reported by the NASA-ACTS (National Aeronautics and Space Administration-advanced communications technology satellite) researchers for K- and Ka-band propagation. The ACTS measured attenuation data in the K- and Ka-bands is compared with data obtained from well-established rain model attenuation predictions. Based on such comparisons, recommendations are made for gapfiller applications, especially at communication frequencies of 20.0, 21.2 and 30.0 GHz.