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SATCOM Basics
•Military UHF Satellites are in geosynchronous orbits at a range of 22,300 miles,
appearing almost stationary to users on the earth.
• Uplink is the transmit frequency to the satellite. Downlink the receive frequency
from the satellite. Uplink and Downlink frequencies are different. The satellite
cannot transmit and receive on one frequency, there must be frequency
separation.
• Area of coverage for a satellite is called the footprint. Each footprint area
current has two online satellites located in it. There are four footprints for UHF
SATCOM operations: CONUS, LANT, IO, and PAC.
• Satellites are commonly referred to by their longitudinal position such as ‘172
east’ or ‘105 west’.
• Usually no more than four satellites are ‘visible’ from any point on the earth.
• Military satellites support MIL-STD-188-181A, 181B, and 181C for dedicated
access 5 kHz and 25 kHz satellite channels.
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