Power control in a highly elliptical orbit satellite system

Considers the implementation and performance of power control in a communication satellite system employing a highly elliptical orbit. In particular, the paper refers to the EAS/Archimedes land mobile system as studied by the BAe consortium. The purpose of power control is to adjust the EIRP from the satellite, ideally for each call, in order to eliminate unnecessary margins from the link. This will allow more efficient use of the satellite power and hence more channels may be provided. In satellite communication systems a power control loop is often used to counteract the effects of fading on the feeder link. This can be implemented by providing a receiver to monitor the downlink signal level, and adjusting the uplink power to give the correct value. The aim of such a system is to ensure that all of the carriers are at the same power level in the transponder. The Fixed Earth Station (FES) must control its total power output (control of each carrier is not required providing that they are all at the same level)