🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1hfromINN3a5@mirror.digex.com> prb@access.digex.com (Pat) writes:
>In article <BzqBvs.J8H@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>
>Actually, henry.  both of you are sticking to the clarke orbit model.
>
>Most of the effort in the Telecom industry is oriented towards
>LEO comm sats.  store and forward or multiple fast relay satellittes.
[deleted]
>Oncve again,  for LEO  commsats,  rendevous is quite feasible.
>
>you could even use the shuttle to  grab them up.

I'd note that we haven't actively been using LEO commsats since Telestar
for video or other high bandwidth downlinks. The Iridium concept is a
narrow band quasi-cellular phone proposal. Seamless handoff for video
and high bandwidth data is a thorny problem, but can likely be solved
as we move from analog to digital transmissions. High bandwidth still
requires high link budgets, however, and Earth stations are not necessarily
going to get cheaper unless the satellites get much more powerful, and
larger, than is currently projected for LEO. Clarke orbit has the real
advantage of allowing high gain fixed dishes to set the link margin.

Gary

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