ABSTRACT
For many years, the notion of satellite communications was a fantasy produced by the fertile mind of Arthur C. Clarke; 1 a brilliant idea but rather impractical. As with so many creative ideas, technology eventually caught up and now satellites are commonplace. For the communication engineer, however, they represent a challenging and stimulating field of work. Within satellite communication systems we find the whole gamut of technologies operating in a strange and demanding environment. Coupled with the essential requirement of demanding as little energy to run as possible, the system must be capable of withstanding the arduous journey from earth to orbit. Consequently a careful balance must be struck between the mechanical, structural, electronic, electrical and electromagnetic engineering requirements of the system 2 . However, in this chapter we will limit our attention to system considerations.
