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Charles Bostian
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fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page i

Satellite
Communications
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page ii
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page iii

Satellite
Communications
Second Edition

Timothy Pratt
Charles W. Bostian
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Jeremy E. Allnutt
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
George Mason University

John Wiley & Sons

Satellite Communications
Second Edition

Authorized reprint by Wiley India Pvt. Ltd., 4436/7, Ansari Road, Daryaganj,
New Delhi – 110002.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. AUTHORIZED REPRINT OF THE EDITION PUBLISHED
BY JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of the publisher.
Limits of Liability/ Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make
no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of
the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without
limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be
created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies
contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting,
or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of
a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the
author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization
or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of
further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the
information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may
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Authorized India Edition

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fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page v

Dedication
To our wives: Maggie, Frieda, and Norma
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page vi
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page vii

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Timothy Pratt is a professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer En-
gineering at Virginia Tech, where he has been a faculty member since 1981. He received
his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Birmingham,
United Kingdom, and has taught communications subjects in the United Kingdom and the
United States. His research interests are in satellite communications, position location,
and avionics. Dr. Pratt is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of the IEE (London).

Charles W. Bostian is Clayton Ayre Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at

Virginia Tech where he has been a faculty member since 1969. His primary research in-
terests are in the areas of wireless communications and radiowave propagation. He is co-
author of the Wiley Text, Solid State Radio Engineering, published in 1980. Professor
Bostian received his degrees in electrical engineering from North Carolina State Univer-
sity and is a fellow of the IEEE.

Jeremy E. Allnutt is a professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

of George Mason University and Director of the MS in Telecommunications Program. His
primary interest is radiowave propagation effects on satellite links, which he pursued at
research establishments in England and Canada, before working at INTELSAT in the
United States from 1979 to 1994. Prior to joining George Mason University in 2000, he
was a professor at the University of York, England, and at Virginia Tech. Dr. Allnutt ob-
tained his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Salford University, England,
and is a Fellow of IEE and Senior member IEEE.

vii
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page viii
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page ix

PREFACE

There have been many new developments in satellite communications technology since
the first edition of this text was published in 1986. However, the underlying principles of
the transmission of radio signals via satellites remain the same. Thus the basic material
in the textbook relating to satellite orbits, look angles, transponders on communications
satellites, link budget calculations, SN and BER for analog and digital links, multiple
access techniques, error control, and the propagation of radio waves through the earth’s
atmosphere remains as important now as in 1986. What has changed is that new applica-
tions have been developed for satellite communication systems, and new satellites and
terminals have been built to implement the new systems.
The second edition of Satellite Communications makes no attempt to describe all
of the satellite systems now in operation. That would require an encyclopedia. The text
concentrates on the principles of satellite communication systems with the aim of pro-
viding the reader with a sound understanding of how a satellite communication system
successfully transfers information from one earth station to another. The first edition of
this text was written by Charles Bostian and Tim Pratt to support the courses we taught
on satellite communication. The book found wide popularity, both as a text for students
in senior year or beginning graduate courses at universities, and as a basic reference for
practicing engineers. In the second edition, we are honored to be joined by our friend
and colleague Jeremy Allnutt, with whom we have worked on satellite systems for over
25 years. He contributed the chapters on orbital mechanics, propagation, nongeostationary
satellite systems and VSAT networks.
Much material that was included in the first edition has been omitted in the second
to make way for chapters covering VSAT systems, LEO and NGSO systems, direct broad-
cast television, and satellite navigation. The advent of personal communications via low
earth orbit (LEO) satellites was not anticipated when the text was written in 1984, nor the
development of direct broadcasting from satellites using digital transmission. The growth
of very small aperture terminal (VSAT) systems has also occurred since 1986, and has
led to application of many of the techniques discussed in the first edition. The Global Po-
sitioning System (GPS) has become the dominant radio navigation aid, using a constel-
lation of 24 satellites to provide accurate position location everywhere on earth. Perhaps
the greatest change in technology over the past fifteen years has been the transition from
analog to digital transmission techniques. The transition is almost complete in the United
States, with only the distribution of video signals to cable TV head ends remaining as a
last bastion of analog transmission. The section in Chapter 5 of the first edition that cov-
ered FDM/FM/FDMA systems has been retained as an appendix because such systems
continue in operation in some parts of the world.
The emphasis throughout the text is on digital transmission techniques; Chapter 5
reviews the basic theory of digital radio transmission, which is fundamental to all digital
satellite systems. In parallel with the transition to digital satellite transmission, great
changes have occurred in terrestrial communication systems. Optical fibers were just start-
ing to come into use in 1986, and the Internet was still in its infancy. Cellular telephones
were barely in use. Many of the developments in terrestrial communication systems have
carried over to satellite systems, and much of the technology that was new in 1986 has
now matured and has been well described elsewhere.

ix
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page x

x PREFACE

Within the United States, satellites are not used for telephone (voice) links. The de-
velopment of terrestrial optical fiber links has made satellite transmission of telephone
traffic uneconomic, and the delay associated with GEO satellite link is a nuisance.
Domestic satellites serving the United States now carry video signals for distribution to
cable TV companies or direct to homes and serve networks of VSAT stations linked to
central hubs in major cities. The development of direct to home satellite broadcast tele-
vision (DBS-TV) has had a major impact on the marketplace. In the United States, digi-
tal DBS-TV transmissions are now received in 15 million homes (2001 figure), and in
Europe a similar number of homes receive satellite television programming. Video distri-
bution, to cable companies and direct to home, accounts for more than half of all the
worldwide earnings from satellite communication systems.
The authors would like to thank their colleagues and students who, over the years,
have made many valuable suggestions to improve this text. Their advice has been heeded,
and the second edition of Satellite Communication is the better for it. Many more worked
examples have been added to the second edition to illustrate how calculations are carried
out for each topic.
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xi

CONTENTS

Preface ix

1. Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 A Brief History of Satellite Communications 3
1.3 Satellite Communications in 2000 6
1.4 Overview of Satellite Communications 15
1.5 Summary 16
References 16

2. Orbital Mechanics and Launchers 17

2.1 Orbital Mechanics 17
Developing the Equations of the Orbit 17
Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary Motion 22
Describing the Orbit of a Satellite 23
Locating the Satellite in the Orbit 25
Locating the Satellite with Respect to the Earth 27
Orbital Elements 29
Example 2.1.1 Geostationary Satellite Orbit Radius 29
Example 2.1.2 Low Earth Orbit 29
Example 2.1.3 Elliptical Orbit 30
2.2 Look Angle Determination 30
The Subsatellite Point 31
Elevation Angle Calculation 32
Azimuth Angle Calculation 34
Specialization to Geostationary Satellites 35
Visibility Test 36
Example 2.2.1 Geostationary Satellite Look Angles 36
2.3 Orbital Perturbations 38
Longitudinal Changes: Effects of the Earth’s Oblateness 39
Inclination Changes: Effects of the Sun and the Moon 40
Example 2.3.1 Drift with a Geostationary Satellite 42
2.4 Orbit Determination 42
2.5 Launches and Launch Vehicles 43
Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELVs) 44
Placing Satellites into Geostationary Orbit 48
2.6 Orbital Effects in Communications Systems Performance 49
Doppler Shift 49
Example 2.6.1 Doppler Shift for a LEO Satellite 50
Range Variations 51
Solar Eclipse 51
Sun Transit Outage 53

xi
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xii CONTENTS

2.7 Summary 54
References 54
Problems 55

3. Satellites 57
3.1 Satellite Subsystems 57
Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) 57
Telemetry, Tracking, Command and Monitoring (TTC&M) 59
Power System 59
Communications Subsystems 59
Satellite Antennas 59
3.2 Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) 60
Attitude Control System 60
Orbit Control System 66
3.3 Telemetry, Tracking, Command, and Monitoring 68
Telemetry and Monitoring System 68
Tracking 68
Command 70
3.4 Power Systems 71
3.5 Communications Subsystems 72
Description of the Communications System 72
Transponders 75
3.6 Satellite Antennas 80
Basic Antenna Types and Relationships 80
Example 3.6.1 Global Beam Antenna 82
Example 3.6.2 Regional Coverage Antenna 83
Satellite Antennas in Practice 83
3.7 Equipment Reliability and Space Qualification 87
Space Qualification 87
Reliability 88
Redundancy 90
3.8 Summary 92
References 93
Problems 93

4. Satellite Link Design 96

4.1 Introduction 96
4.2 Basic Transmission Theory 100
Example 4.2.1 104
Example 4.2.2 104
4.3 System Noise Temperature and G/T Ratio 105
Noise Temperature 105
Calculation of System Noise Temperature 107
Example 4.3.1 110
Example 4.3.2 110
Noise Figure and Noise Temperature 111
Example 4.3.3 112
G/T Ratio for Earth Stations 112
Example 4.3.4 112
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xiii

CONTENTS xiii

4.4 Design of Downlinks 112

Link Budgets 113
Link Budget Example: C-Band Downlink for Earth Coverage Beam 115
4.5 Satellite Systems Using Small Earth Stations 117
Direct Broadcast TV 118
Example 4.5.1 123
4.6 Uplink Design 124
Example 4.6.1 127
4.7 Design for Specified CN: Combining CN and CI Values in Satellite Links 127
Example 4.7.1 129
Overall (CN)0 with Uplink and Downlink Attenuation 129
Uplink and Downlink Attenuation in Rain 130
Uplink Attenuation and (CN)up 130
Downlink Attenuation and (CN)dn 131
System Design for Specific Performance 131
Satellite Communication Link Design Procedure 131
4.8 System Design Examples 132
System Design Example 4.8.1 133
Ku Band Uplink Design 133
Ku Band Downlink Design 134
Rain Effects at Ku Band 135
Summary of Ku Band Link Performance 137
System Design Example 4.8.2 Personal Communication System Using
Low Earth Orbit Satellites 137
Inbound Link: Mobile Terminal to Gateway Station 141
Mobile Terminal to Satellite Link 142
Satellite to Gateway Station Link 143
Outbound Link 144
Downlink CN Budget 145
Optimizing System Performance 146
Link Margins with FEC 147
Rain Attenuation at Ku Band 147
Path Blockage at L-Band 149
Summary of L-band Mobile PCS System Performance 149
4.9 Summary 150
References 150
Problems 151

5. Modulation and Multiplexing Techniques for Satellite Links 156

5.1 Frequency Modulation 157
Waveform Equation for FM 158
Bandwidth of FM Signals: Carson’s Rule 159
Baseband SN Ratio for FM Signals 159
Pre-emphasis and de-emphasis 161
Pre-emphasis 162
5.2 Analog FM Transmission by Satellite 164
Television Signals 165
SN Ratios for FM Video Transmission 167
Example 5.2.1 168
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xiv

xiv CONTENTS

FM Threshold 168
SCPC FM Links 169
Example 5.2.2 170
Data Transmission Using Analog FM Channels 170
Example 5.2.3 171
5.3 Digital Transmission 172
Baseband Digital Signals 172
Baseband Transmission of Digital Data 172
Band-pass Transmission of Digital Data 179
Example 5.3.1 181
Example 5.3.2 181
Transmission of QPSK Signals through a Bandlimited Channel 182
Example 5.3.3 185
Example 5.3.3 185
5.4 Digital Modulation and Demodulation 187
Terminology 187
Modulation and Coding 187
Bit and Symbol Error Rates 188
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) 189
Probability of a Symbol Error 191
BPSK Bit Error Rate 194
QPSK Bit Error Rate 194
Example 5.4.1 195
Example 5.4.2 197
Generation of Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) Signals 198
QPSK Variants 199
5.5 Digital Transmission of Analog Signals 201
Sampling and Quantizing 201
Nonuniform Quantization: Compression and Expansion 204
Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Digital Voice Systems 206
Digital Television 208
5.6 Time Division Multiplexing 209
TDM Terminology: The U.S. T1 24-Channel System 209
Other TDM Systems 211
Channel Synchronization in TDM 212
5.7 Summary 212
References 213
Problems 214
6. Multiple Access 221
6.1 Introduction 221
6.2 Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) 223
Intermodulation 226
Intermodulation Example 228
Calculation of CN with Intermodulation 230
Example 6.2.1 Power Sharing in FDMA 231
Example 6.2.2 Channel Capacity with Demand Access FDMA 232
6.3 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) 233
Bits, Symbols, and Channels 234
TDMA Frame Structure 235
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xv

CONTENTS xv

Example 6.3.1 TDMA in a Fixed Station Network 237

Reference Burst and Preamble 238
Unique Word 239
Guard Times 241
Synchronization in TDMA Networks 242
Transmitter Power in TDMA Networks 243
Example 6.3.2 TDMA in a VSAT Network 244
Example 6.3.2 TDMA in a Fixed Earth Station Network 244
Satellite Switched TDMA 246
6.4 Onboard Processing 246
Baseband Processing Transponders 247
Satellite Switched TDMA with Onboard Processing 248
6.5 Demand Access Multiple Access (DAMA) 249
Example 6.5.1 FDMA-SCPC-DA 252
6.6 Random Access 254
6.7 Packet Radio Systems and Protocols 254
6.8 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 257
Spread Spectrum Transmission and Reception 258
DS-SS CDMA Capacity 262
Example 6.8.1 CDMA in a Fixed Earth Station Network 263
Example 6.8.2 CDMA in an LEO Satellite Network 263
Example 6.8.3 GPS 264
6.9 Summary 266
References 267
Problems 267
7. Error Control for Digital Satellite Links 273
7.1 Error Detection and Correction 273
7.2 Channel Capacity 275
7.3 Error Control Coding 277
Example 7.3.1 278
Linear and Cyclic Block Codes 279
Golay Codes 280
7.4 Performance of Block Error Correction Codes 281
7.5 Convolutional Codes 282
7.6 Implementation of Error Detection on Satellite Links 284
Example 7.6.1 287
7.7 Concatenated Coding and Interleaving 288
7.8 Turbo Codes 290
7.9 Summary 292
References 292
Problems 293
8. Propagation Effects and their Impact on Satellite–Earth Links 295
8.1 Introduction 297
8.2 Quantifying Attenuation and Depolarization 298
Example 8.2.1 301
8.3 Propagation Effects that Are Not Associated with Hydrometeors 306
Atmospheric Absorption 307
Cloud Attenuation 308
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xvi

xvi CONTENTS

Tropospheric Scintillation and Low Angle Fading 308

Faraday Rotation in the Atmosphere 310
Ionospheric Scintillations 312
8.4 Rain and Ice Effects 312
Characterizing Rain 312
Rain Climate Maps 314
Rainfall Rate Exceedance Contour Maps 315
Raindrop Distributions 315
8.5 Prediction of Rain Attenuation 317
Example 8.5.1 319
Example 8.5.2 323
Calculation of Long-Term Statistics for NGSO Systems 324
Scaling Attenuation with Elevation Angle and Frequency 325
Cosecant Law 325
Example 8.5.3 325
Squared Frequency Scaling Law 326
Example 8.5.4 326
ITU-R Long-Term Frequency Scaling of Rain Attenuation 326
8.6 Prediction of XPD 326
Canting Angle 328
Tilt Angle 328
Example 8.6.1 330
Example 8.6.2 331
Ice Crystal Depolarization 332
Rain Effects on Antenna Noise 332
Example 8.6.3 333
8.7 Propagation Impairment Countermeasures 333
Attenuation 333
Power Control 334
Signal Processing 335
Diversity 335
Depolarization 337
8.8 Summary 338
References 339
Problems 340

9. VSAT SYSTEMS 343

9.1 Introduction 343
9.2 Overview of VSAT Systems 345
9.3 Network Architectures 347
One-Way Implementation 347
Split-Two-Way (Split IP) Implementation 347
Two-Way Implementation 348
9.4 Access Control Protocols 349
Delay Considerations 351
9.5 Basic Techniques 354
Multiple Access Selection 355
Signal Formats 362
Modulation, Coding, and Interference Issues 362
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xvii

CONTENTS xvii

9.6 VSAT Earth Station Engineering 366

Antennas 366
Transmitters and Receivers 367
9.7 Calculation of Link Margins for a VSAT Star Network 370
9.8 System Design Procedure: Example 9.1 372
Description of System 373
System Parameters 373
Preliminary Calculations 374
Link CN Ratios 375
Inbound Links 376
Inbound Links with 270 Channels 378
Outbound Links 379
System Analysis 380
9.9 Some New Developments 383
9.10 Summary 384
References 385
Problems 385

10. Low Earth Orbit and Non-Geostationary Satellite Systems 388

10.1 Introduction 389
10.2 Orbit Considerations 391
Equatorial Orbits 391
Inclined Orbits 392
Elliptical Orbits 394
Molniya Orbit 396
Radiation Effects 398
Sun Synchronous Orbit 403
10.3 Coverage and Frequency Considerations 406
General Aspects 406
Frequency band 406
Elevation Angle Considerations 408
Number of Beams per Coverage 411
Off-Axis Scanning 412
Determination of Optimum Orbital Altitude 418
Radiation Safety and Satellite Telephones 420
Projected NGSO System Customer Service Base 420
10.4 Delay and Throughput Considerations 421
10.5 System Considerations 423
Incremental Growth 424
Interim Operations 424
Replenishment Options 424
End-to-End System Implementation 425
10.6 Operational NGSO Constellation Designs 425
Ellipso 425
Globalstar 426
New ICO 428
Iridium 428
Orbcomm 429
Skybridge 429
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xviii

xviii CONTENTS

Teledesic 430
Example 10.6.1 System Design 432
10.7 Summary 434
References 434
Problems 435

11. Direct Broadcast Satellite Television and Radio 439

11.1 C-Band and Ku-Band Home Satellite TV 440
11.2 Digital DBS TV 441
11.3 DBS-TV System Design 447
11.4 DBS-TV Link Budget 449
11.5 Error Control in Digital DBS-TV 450
11.6 Master Control Station and Uplink 452
11.7 Installation of DBS-TV Antennas 454
11.8 Satellite Radio Broadcasting 455
11.9 Summary 456
References 457

12. Satellite Navigation and the Global Positioning System 458

12.1 Introduction 458
12.2 Radio and Satellite Navigation 461
12.3 GPS Position Location Principles 463
Position Location in GPS 464
GPS Time 466
12.4 GPS Receivers and Codes 467
The CA Code 468
12.5 Satellite Signal Acquisition 470
12.6 GPS Navigation Message 472
12.7 GPS Signal Levels 473
12.8 Timing Accuracy 475
12.9 GPS Receiver Operation 476
12.10 GPS CA Code Accuracy 480
Dilution of Precision: HDOP, VDOP, and GDOP 481
12.11 Differential GPS 482
12.12 Summary 484
References 485
Problems 485

Appendix A Decibels in Communications Engineering 487

Appendix B FDM/FM/FDMA Analog Telephone Transmission 491

Baseband Voice Signal 491
Voice Signal Multiplexing 493
Frequency Modulation with Multiplexed Telephone Signals 496
Bandwidth Calculation for FDM/FM Telephone Signals 497
Telephone Performance Specifications 498
Practical Examples 499
Example B.1 499
fm.qxd 29/08/02 19:04 Page xix

CONTENTS xix

Example B.2 503

References 503

Appendix C Complementary Error Function erfc(x) and Q Function Q(z) 504

Equivalence Formulas and Tables of Values 504
References 504

Appendix D The Simple Attenuation Model 507

Example D.1 511
References 512

Glossary 513

Index 522
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Two developments in the twentieth century changed the way people lived: the automobile
and telecommunications. Prior to the widespread availability of personal automobiles, in-
dividuals had to travel on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback. Trains provided faster travel
between cities, but the lives of most people were centered on their hometowns and im-
mediate surroundings. A journey of 100 miles was a major expedition for most people,
and the easy mobility that we all take for granted in the twenty-first century was unknown.
Before the telegraph and telephone came into widespread use, all communication was
face-to-face, or in writing. If you wanted to talk to someone, you had to travel to meet
with that person, and travel was slow and arduous. If you wanted to send information, it
had to be written down and the papers hand carried to their destination.
Telecommunication systems have now made it possible to communicate with virtu-
ally anyone at any time. Early telegraph and telephone systems used copper wire to carry
signals over the earth’s surface and across oceans, and high frequency (HF) radio, also
commonly called short wave radio, made possible intercontinental telephone links. Arti-
ficial earth satellites have been used in communications systems for more than 35 years
and have become an essential part of the world’s telecommunications infrastructure. Satel-
lites allow people to talk by telephone and exchange electronic mail from anywhere in
the world and to receive hundreds of TV channels in their homes.
The origins of satellite communications can be traced to an article written by
Arthur C. Clarke in the British radio magazine Wireless World in 19451. At the time,
Clarke was serving in the British Royal Air Force, and was interested in long-distance
radio communication. He later became famous as the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey,
and other science fiction books2. In 1945, HF radio was the only available method for
radio communication over transcontinental distances, and it was not at all reliable.
Sunspots and ionospheric disturbances could disrupt HF radio links for days at a time.
Telegraph cables had been laid across the oceans as early as the mid-1800s, but cables
capable of carrying voice signals across the Atlantic did not begin service until 1953.
Clarke suggested that a radio relay satellite in an equatorial orbit with a period of 24 h
would remain stationary with respect to the earth’s surface and make possible long-
distance radio links. At the time Clarke wrote, there were no satellites in orbit nor rockets
powerful enough to launch them. But his ideas for what we now know as a geostationary
satellite system were not science fiction, as the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik
in 1957 was to prove. In 1965 the first geostationary satellite, Early Bird, began
to provide telephone service across the Atlantic Ocean, fulfilling Clarke’s vision of
20 years earlier.
Satellite communication systems were originally developed to provide long-distance
telephone service. In the late 1960s, launch vehicles had been developed that could place
a 500 kg satellite in geostationary earth orbit (GEO), with a capacity of 5000 telephone
circuits, marking the start of an era of expansion for telecommunication satellites.
Geostationary satellites were soon carrying transoceanic and transcontinental telephone calls.

1
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 2

2 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

For the first time, live television links could be established across the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans to carry news and sporting events.
The geostationary orbit is preferred for all high capacity communication satellite
systems because a satellite in GEO appears to be stationary over a fixed point on the
ground. It can establish links to one-third of the earth’s surface using fixed antennas at
the earth stations. This is particularly valuable for broadcasting, as a single satellite can
serve an entire continent. Direct broadcast satellite television (DBS-TV) and the distri-
bution of video signals for cable television networks are the largest single revenue source
for geostationary satellites, accounting for $17 B in revenues in 1998. By year 2001, nearly
200 GEO communication satellites were in orbit, serving every part of the globe. Although
television accounts for much of the traffic carried by these satellites, international and
regional telephony, data transmission, and Internet access are also important. In the pop-
ulated parts of the world, the geostationary orbit is filled with satellites every 2° or 3°
operating in almost every available frequency band.
GEO satellites have grown steadily in weight, size, lifetime, and cost over the years.
Some of the largest satellites launched to date are the KH and Lacrosse surveillance satel-
lites of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office weighing an estimated 13,600 kg (30,000
lb)3. By 2000, commercial telecommunications satellites weighing 6000 kg with lifetimes
of 15 years were being launched into geostationary orbit at a typical cost around $125 M
for the satellite and launch. The revenue earning capacity of these satellites must exceed
$20 M per year for the venture to be profitable, and they must compete with optical fibers
in carrying voice, data, and video signals. A single optical fiber can carry 4.5 Gbps, a ca-
pacity similar to that of the largest GEO satellites, and optical fibers are never laid singly
but always in bundles. But GEO satellites can compete effectively on flexibility of delivery
point. Any place within the satellite coverage can be served by simply installing an earth
terminal. To do the same with a fiber-optic link requires fiber to be laid. Fiber-optic trans-
mission systems compete effectively with satellites where there is a requirement for high
capacity or, equivalently, when the user density exceeds the required economic threshold.
GEO satellites have been supplemented by low and medium earth orbit satellites for
special applications. Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites can provide satellite telephone and
data services over continents or over the entire world, and by 2000 three systems were in
orbit or nearing completion, with a total of 138 LEO satellites. LEO satellites are also
used for earth imaging and surveillance. Although not strictly a satellite communications
system, the Global Positioning System (GPS), which uses 24 medium earth orbit (MEO)

SIDEBAR

The high capacity of both optical fibers and satellites, To put the reduction in the cost of an international tele-
and the steady move of telecommunications traffic phone call in perspective, we must remember that in-
from analog signals to digital has lowered the cost of comes have risen significantly over this time period.
long-distance telephone calls and increased enor- In the 1950s, a typical blue-collar wage was $1.50 per
mously the number of circuits available. In 1960, prior hour, so a blue-collar worker had to work for 40 min
to the advent of satellite communications, the United to pay for a call to Europe, ignoring any tax deduc-
States had 550 overseas telephone circuits. Calls to tions. In 2000, the average worker in the United States
Europe cost more than $1 per minute at 1960 prices, earned $11.00 per hour, and had to work less than 1
and had to be placed through an operator, with delays min to pay for the international call. The United States
of many hours being common. In 2000, virtually all now has hundreds of thousands of overseas telephone
international calls could be dialed by the end user, and circuits, and video links daily carry live news reports
rates to Europe had dropped to below $0.10 per minute. from all over the globe.
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 3

1.2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 3

satellites, has revolutionized navigation. GPS receivers have become a consumer product.
Eventually every car and cellular telephone will have a GPS receiver built into it so that
drivers will not get lost and emergency calls from cellular phones will automatically carry
information about the phone’s location.

1.2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF SATELLITE

COMMUNICATIONS

Satellite communications began in October 1957 with the launch by the USSR of a small
satellite called Sputnik I. This was the first artificial earth satellite, and it sparked the space
race between the United States and the USSR. Sputnik I carried only a beacon transmit-
ter and did not have communications capability, but demonstrated that satellites could be
placed in orbit by powerful rockets. The first satellite successfully launched by the United
States was Explorer I, lofted from Cape Canaveral on January 31, 1958 on a Juno I rocket.
The first voice heard from space was that of President Eisenhower, who recorded a brief
Christmas message that was transmitted back to earth from the Project Score satellite in
December 1958. The Score satellite was essentially the core of the Atlas ICBM (inter-
continental ballistic missile) booster with a small payload in the nose. A tape recorder on
Score had a storage capacity that allowed a 4 min message received from an earth station
to be retransmitted. The batteries on Score failed after 35 days in orbit.
After some early attempts to use large balloons (Echo I and II) as passive reflec-
tors for communication signals, and some small experimental satellite launches, the first
true communications satellites, Telstar I and II, were launched in July 1962 and May 1963.
The Telstar satellites were built by Bell Telephone Laboratories and used C-band transpon-
ders adapted from terrestrial microwave link equipment. The uplink was at 6389 MHz and
the downlink was at 4169 MHz, with 50-MHz bandwidth. The satellites carried solar cells
and batteries that allowed continuous use of the single transponder, and demonstrations
of live television links and multiplexed telephone circuits were made across the Atlantic
Ocean, emphatically demonstrating the feasibility of satellite communications.
The Telstar satellites were launched into what is now called a medium earth orbit,
with periods of 158 and 225 min. This allowed transatlantic links to operate for about 20 min
while the satellite was mutually visible. The orbits chosen for the Telstar satellites took
them through several bands of high energy radiation which caused early failure of the elec-
tronics on board. However, the value of communication satellites had been demonstrated
and work was begun to develop launch vehicles that could deliver a payload to geosta-
tionary orbit, and to develop satellites that could provide useful communication capacity.
On July 24, 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy defined the general guidelines
of U.S. policy in regard to satellite communications and made the first unambiguous ref-
erences to a single worldwide system. On December 20, 1961, the U.S. Congress rec-
ommended that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) should examine the
aspects of space communications for which international cooperation would be necessary.
The most critical step was in August 1962, when the U.S. Congress passed the Commun-
ications Satellite Act. This set the stage for commercial investment in an international
satellite organization and, on July 19, 1964, representatives of the first 12 countries to in-
vest in what became Intelsat (the International Telecommunications Satellite Organiza-
tion) signed an initial agreement. The company that represented the United States at this
initial signing ceremony was Comsat, an entity specifically created to act for the United
States within Intelsat. It should be remembered that, at this point, the Bell System had a
complete monopoly of all long-distance telephone communications within the United
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 4

4 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

States. When Congress passed the Communications Satellite Act, the Bell System was
specifically barred from directly participating in satellite communications, although it was
permitted to invest in Comsat.
Comsat essentially managed Intelsat in the formative years and should be credited
with the remarkable success of the international venture. The first five Intelsat series of
satellites (INTELSAT I through V) were selected, and their procurement managed, by
teams put in place under Comsat leadership. Over this same phase, though, large portions
of the Comsat engineering and operations groups transferred over to Intelsat so that, when
the Permanent Management Arrangements came into force in 1979, many former Comsat
groups were now part of Intelsat.
In mid-1963, 99% of all satellites had been launched into LEO. LEO, and the slightly
higher medium earth orbit (MEO), were much easier to reach than GEO with the small
launchers available at that time. The intense debate was eventually settled on launcher re-
liability issues rather than on payload capabilities. The first 6 years of the so-called space
age was a period of both payload and launcher development. The new frontier was very
risky, with about one launch in four being fully successful. The system architecture of the
first proposed commercial communications satellite system employed 12 satellites in an
equatorial MEO constellation. Thus, with the launch failure rate at the time, 48 launches
were envisioned to guarantee 12 operational satellites in orbit. Without 12 satellites in or-
bit, continuous 24-h coverage could not be offered. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days
a week—referred to as 247 operation—is a requirement for any successful communica-
tions service. A GEO systems architecture requires only one satellite to provide 247 op-
eration over essentially one-third of the inhabited world. On this basis, four launches would
be required to achieve coverage of one third of the earth; 12 for the entire inhabited world.
Despite its unproven technological approach, the geostationary orbit was selected by the
entities that became Intelsat.
The first Intelsat satellite, INTELSAT I (formerly Early Bird) was launched on April
16, 1965. The satellite weighed a mere 36 kg (80 lb) and incorporated two 64 GHz
transponders, each with 25-MHz bandwidth. Commercial operations commenced between
Europe and the United States on June 28, 1965. Thus, about 2 decades after Clarke’s land-
mark article in Wireless World, GEO satellite communications began. Intelsat was highly
successful and grew rapidly as many countries saw the value of improved telecommuni-
cations, not just internationally but for national systems that provided high quality satellite
communications within the borders of large countries.
Canada was the first country to build a national telecommunication system using
GEO satellites. Anik 1A was launched in May 1974, just 2 months before the first U.S.
domestic satellite, WESTAR 1. The honor of the first regional satellite system, however,
goes to the USSR Molniya system of highly elliptic orbit (HEO) satellites, the first of
which was launched in April 1965 (the same month as INTELSAT I). Countries that are
geographically spread like the USSR, which covers 11 time zones, have used regional
satellite systems very effectively. Another country that benefited greatly from a GEO re-
gional system was Indonesia, which consists of more than 3000 islands spread out over
more than a thousand miles. A terrestrially based telecommunication system was not eco-
nomically feasible for these countries, while a single GEO satellite allowed instant com-
munications region wide. Such ease of communications via GEO satellites proved to be
very profitable. Within less than 10 years, Intelsat was self-supporting and, since it was
not allowed to make a profit, it began returning substantial revenues to what were known
as its Signatories. Within 25 years, Intelsat had more than 100 Signatories4 and, in early
2000, there were 143 member countries and Signatories that formed part of the interna-
tional Intelsat community.
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 5

1.2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 5

The astonishing commercial success of Intelsat led many nations to invest in their
satellite systems. This was particularly true in the United States. By the end of 1983, tele-
phone traffic carried by the U.S. domestic satellite systems earned more revenue than the
Intelsat system. Many of the original Intelsat Signatories had been privatized by the early
1990s and were, in effect, competing not only with each other in space communications,
but with Intelsat. It was clear that some mechanism had to be found whereby Intelsat could
be turned into a for-profit, private entity, which could then compete with other commer-
cial organizations while still safeguarding the interests of the smaller nations that had come
to depend on the remarkably low communications cost that Intelsat offered. The first step
in the move to privatizing Intelsat was the establishment of a commercial company called
New Skies and the transfer of a number of Intelsat satellites to New Skies.
In the 1970s and 1980s there was rapid development of GEO satellite systems for
international, regional, and domestic telephone traffic and video distribution. In the United
States, the expansion of fiber-optic links with very high capacity and low delay caused vir-
tually all telephone traffic to move to terrestrial circuits by 1985. However, the demand
for satellite systems grew steadily through this period, and the available spectrum in
C band was quickly occupied, leading to expansion into Ku band. In the United States,
most of the expansion after 1985 was in the areas of video distribution and VSAT (very
small aperture terminal) networks. By 1995 it was clear that the GEO orbit capacity at
Ku band would soon be filled, and Ka-band satellite systems would be needed to handle
the expansion of digital traffic, especially wide band delivery of high-speed Internet data.
SES, based in Luxemburg, began two-way multimedia and Internet access service in west-
ern and central Europe at Ka band using the Astra 1H satellite in 20016. Several Ka-band
satellite systems are expected to be operational in the United States by 20037,8.
The ability of satellite systems to provide communication with mobile users had
long been recognized, and the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat)
has provided service to ships and aircraft for several decades, although at a high price.
LEO satellites were seen as one way to create a satellite telephone system with worldwide
coverage; numerous proposals were floated in the 1990s, with three LEO systems eventu-
ally reaching completion by 2000 (Iridium, Globalstar, and Orbcomm). The implementation
of a LEO and MEO satellite system for mobile communication has proved much more
costly than anticipated, and the capacity of the systems is relatively small compared to

SIDEBAR

The first step in the move to privatizing Intelsat was Intelsat is currently (2000) in the process of re-
the establishment of a commercial company called newing its major assets through the purchase of up to
New Skies. New Skies is based in the Netherlands seven INTELSAT IX satellites from SS-Loral to re-
and, on 30 November 1998, six satellites were trans- place the current fleet of INTELSAT VI, and some of
ferred from Intelsat ownership to New Skies. There the INTELSAT VII, satellites. Each of these satellites
was one INTELSAT V series satellite (IS-513 at carries the equivalent of 96 units of 36 MHz band-
183° E), one INTELSAT VII series satellite (IS-703 width. The satellites will be located at 62° E, 60° E,
at 57° E), two INTELSAT VIII series satellites 335.5° E, 325.5° E, 332.5° E, 342° E, and 328.5° E.
(IS-803 at 338.5° E and IS-806 at 319.5° E), the More details on the Intelsat fleet of satellites can be
INTELSAT-K satellite (in inclined orbit at 338.5° E), found at http://www.intelsat.int. Intelsat is moving
and a new satellite designed for direct broadcast serv- forward with plans to privatize the remainder of the
ices (K-TV at 95° E). New Skies has as their prime organization in the 2002/2003 time frame. Any reor-
businesses plan the provisioning of TV services, both ganization will contain strong safeguards for smaller
distribution and direct to home. users to the system.
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 6

6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

GEO satellite systems, leading to a higher cost per transmitted bit. Satellite telephone sys-
tems were unable to compete with cellular telephone systems because of the high cost
and relatively low capacity of the space segment. The Iridium system, for example, cost
over $5 B to implement, but provided a total capacity for the United States of less than
10,000 telephone circuits. Iridium Inc. declared bankruptcy in early 2000, having failed
to establish a sufficiently large customer base to make the venture viable. The entire Irid-
ium system was sold to Iridium Satellite LLC for a reported $25 M, approximately 0.5%
of the system’s construction cost. The future of the other LEO and MEO satellite telephone
systems also seemed uncertain at the time this book was written.
Satellite navigation systems, notably the Global Positioning System, have revolu-
tionized navigation and surveying. The Global Positioning System took almost 20 years
to design and fully implement, at a cost of $12 B. By 2000, GPS receivers could be built
in Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) form for less than $25, and the worldwide
GPS industry was earning billions of dollars from equipment sales and services. In the
United States, aircraft navigation will depend almost entirely on GPS by 2010, and blind
landing systems using GPS will also be available. Accurate navigation of ships, especially
in coastal waters and bad weather, is also heavily reliant on GPS. Europe is building a
comparable satellite navigation system called Gallileo.

1.3 SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS IN 2000

Tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 list the majority of the GEO, MEO, and LEO communication
satellites in orbit in 2000. The list is not exhaustive, and excludes satellites used solely
for military communications and surveillance, and those used primarily for weather fore-
casting and earth imaging. Not all the communications satellites are included, and exper-
imental and scientific satellites are omitted. In all, Tables 1.1 and 1.2 list a total of 172
geostationary communication satellites. When other satellites in geostationary orbit are
considered, there were close to 200 GEO satellites in operation in 2000 (Table 1.4).
GEO satellites have always been the backbone of the commercial satellite commu-
nications industry. Large GEO satellites can serve one-third of the earth’s surface, and can
carry up to 4 Gbps of data, or transmit up to 16 high power direct broadcast satellite tele-
vision (DBS-TV) signals, each of which can deliver several video channels. The weight
and power of GEO satellites have also increased. In 2000 a large GEO satellite could
weigh 10,000 kg (10 tons), might generate 12 kW of power, and carry 60 transponders,
with a trend toward even higher powers but lower weight. For example, in 2001 Space
System/Loral contracted with APT Satellite Company Ltd. in Hong Kong to build the
Apstar-V satellite, a GEO satellite serving Asia with a mass of 4845 kg when injected
into geostationary orbit and an expected lifetime of 13 years. Apstar-V will generate an
initial power of 10.6 kW, and carry 38 C-band transponders with 60-W output power and
16 Ku-band transponders at 141 W each5. Satellites generating 25 kW and carrying
antennas with hundreds of beams are planned for the time frame 2005–2010.
Television program distribution and DBS-TV have become the major source of rev-
enue for commercial satellite system operators, earning more than half of the industry’s
$30 B revenues for 1998. By the end of 2000 there were over 14 million DBS-TV cus-
tomers in the United States. The high capacity of GEO satellites results from the use of
high-power terrestrial transmitters and relatively high gain earth station antennas. Earth
station antenna gain translates directly into communication capacity, and therefore into
revenue. Increased capacity lowers the delivery cost per bit for a customer. Systems with
fixed directional antennas can deliver bits at a significantly lower cost than systems using
 TABLE 1.1 GEO Satellite Systems: U.S. Operators (after 3, 5)

Organization Satellites Type Transponders Orbit location

American Mobile AMSC-1 Mobile land 16 L band 101° W

Satellite Corp., communications
Reston, VA
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 7

http://www.AmMobile.com
Columbia Columbia 515 Telecommunications 12 C band 37.7° W
Communications Corp., (formerly Intelsat 515) 12 Ka band
Bethesda, MD
http://www.tdrss.com TDRSS-5, 6 Data relay 4, 12 C band 174.3° E, 47° W
Comsat Corp., Inmarsat 2F, 1–4 Mobile 9 GEO satellites Many locations
Bethesda, MD ship and aircraft L band
http://www.comsat.com Inmarsat 3F, 1–5 communications See Inmarsat entry
Comsat is the U.S.
provider of Inmarsat
and Intelsat Telecommunications 19 GEO satellites Many locations
Intelsat services C band and Ku band
See Intelsat entry
Directv Inc., DBS-1, 2, 3, Direct to home Ku band BSS band 110° W
El Segundo, CA Directv-3R digital television DBS-1, 2, 3, 3R:
http://www.directv.com broadcasting 16 HP transponders 101° W
Tempo 2 Tempo 2: 11
transponders 119° W
Echostar Echostar 1–5 Direct to home Ku band BSS band Echostar 1, 2: 119° W
Communications Corp., digital television 16 transponders per Echostar 3: 61.5° W
Littleton, CO broadcasting satellite Echostar 4: 148° W
http://www.dishnetwork.com Echostar 5: 110° W
GE Americom, GE-1, 1A, 2–8 Telecommunications, 24 C band 79° W through 139° W
Princeton, NJ video distribution, Up to 28 Ku band
http://www.geamericom.com GE-1E broadcasting, 16 Ku band 5° E
VSAT networks
GE Gstar 4 16 Ku band 105° W

(continued )

7
8
TABLE 1.1 (continued )

Organization Satellitesa Type Transponders Orbit location

GE-1A and GE-5 are

Satcom C-1, 3, 4, 5 designated for 24 C band 131° W through 139° W
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 8

broadcasting only
Satcom K-2 16 Ku band 85° W
Spacenet 3, 4 18 C band 85° W, 83° W
6 Ku band
Loral Skynet, Telstar 4, 5, 6, 7 Broadcasting, 24 C band 89° W, 97° W, 93° W,
Bedminster, NJ video distribution, 16 to 28 Ku band 129° W
http://www.loralskynet.com Telstar 11, 12 telecommunications 34, 38 Ku band 37.5° W, 34° W
PanAmSat Corp., Galaxy 1RR, 5, 6, 9 Telecommunications 24 C band 133° W, 125° W,
Greenwich, CT 74° W, 123° W
http://www.panamsat.com Galaxy 3R Telecommunications 24 C band, 8 Ku band 95° W
Galaxy 7 Telecommunications 8 C band, 32 Ku band 91° W
Galaxy 8L DBS-TV broadcasting 91° W
to Latin America Up to 24 C band
Up to 36 Ku band
PAS 1, 3R, 4, 5, 6B, 7 Telecommunications 16 C band, 16 Ku band 43° W through 68.5° W
24 C band, 24 Ku band
PAS 2, 8 Telecommunications 36 Ku band 169° W, 166° W
PAS 6 DBS-TV broadcasting 43° W
to South America 14, 14, 19 Ku band
SBS-4, 5, 6 Telecommunications 77° W, 123° W,
74° W
WorldSpace Corp., AfriStar Audio broadcasting 6 HP Ku band 21° E
Washington, DC
http://www.worldspace.com AmeriStar Broadcasting 95° W
AsiaStar Broadcasting 105° E
a
Telecommunications means any form of signal that can be sent through a satellite transponder, including analog and digital voice, data, and video.
For more complete information about these satellite systems consult reference 6.
There are 71 GEO satellites listed in the above table.
 TABLE 1.2 GEO Satellite Systems: Non-U.S. and International Operators (after 3, 5)

Organization Satellites Type Transponders Orbit location

ACeS Asia Cellular Garuda 1 Mobile communications 140 with spot beams 123° E
Satellite, Indonesia
www.acesinternational.com
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 9

Arab Satellite Arabsat 2A Broadcasting 22 C band, 12 Ku band 26° E

Communications
Organization, Arabsat 2B Broadcasting, 22 C band, 12 Ku band 30.5° E
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia telecommunications
www.arabsat.com Arabsat 3A Broadcasting 20 Ku band 26° E
Asia Broadcasting and L-Star 1 Broadcasting 32 Ku band 126° E
Communications
Network, Ltd., L-Star 2 Telecommunications 32 Ku band 126° E
Bangkok, Thailand
Asia Satellite Asiasat 1 Broadcasting 24 C band 122° E
Telecommunications Co. Asiasat 2 24 C band, 9 Ku band 100.5° E
Ltd., Asiasat 3S Telecommunications 28 C band, 16 Ku band 105.5° E
Hong Kong, PRC
www.asiasat.com
Broadcasting Satellite BSat-1A, BSat-1B DBS-TV 4 Ku band 110° E
System Corp.,
Tokyo, Japan BS-3N Broadcasting 3 Ku band 109.85° E
Deutsche Telekom DFS Kopernikus (1, 2) Broadcasting, 10 Ku band, 1 Ka band 23.5 ° E, 28.5° E
Geschaftsbereich telecommunications
Rundfunk,
Bon-Bad Godesburg,
Germany
www.dtag.de
Embratel, Brasilsat A2 DBS-TV 24 C band 92° W
Rio De Janiero, Brazil broadcasting
Brasilsat B1 28 C band, 1 X band 70° W
Brasilsat B2 28 C band, 1 X band 65° W
Brasilsat B3 28 C band 84° W

(continued )

9
10
TABLE 1.2 (continued )

Organization Satellites Type Transponders Orbit location

Eutelsat, Eutelsat 1 F-4, F-5 Broadcasting, 10 Ku band (2 spare) 25.5° E, 21.5° E
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 10

Paris, France telecommunications

www.eutelsat.com
Eutelsat 2 F-1, F-2, F-3, Broadcasting, 16 Ku band (8 spare) 48° E, 12.5° E, 36° E,
F-4 telecommunications 10° E
16° E, 7° E
Eutelsat W2, W3 Broadcasting, 24 Ku band
telecommunications
Hot Bird DBS-TV 16 Ku band 13° E
Hot Bird 2, 3, 4 DBS-TV 20 Ku band All at 13° E
Inmarsat Ltd., Inmarsat 2F-1, 2F-2, Mobile L band, 179° E, 98° W, 65° E
London, UK 2F-3, 2F-4 telecommunications demand assigned 109° E
www.inmarsat.org
Inmarsat 3F-1, 3F-2, 64° E, 15.5° E, 178° E
3F-3, 3F-4, 3F-5 54° W, 25° E
Intelsat, Intelsat 505 Broadcasting, 21 C band, 6 Ku band 72° E
Washington, DC, USA telecommunications
www.intelsat.int Intelsat 510, 511 26 C band, 6 Ku band, 33° E, 330.5° E
1 L band
Intelsat 601, 602, 603, 64 C band, 24 Ku band 325.5° E, 62° E, 335.5° E
604, 605 60° E, 332.5° E
Intelsat 701, 702, 704, 42 C band, 20 Ku band 180° E, 177° E, 66° E
705, 709 342° E, 310° E
Intelsat 706, 707 Broadcasting, 42 C band, 28 Ku band 307° E, 359° E
telecommunications
Intelsat 801, 802, 804 64 C band, 12 Ku band 328.5° E, 174° E, 64° E
Intelsat 805 36 C band, 6 Ku band 304.5° E
Japan Satellite Systems JCSat-1B, JCSat-2 Telecommunications 32 Ku band 150° E, 154° E
Inc.,
Tokyo, Japan JCSat-3 Broadcasting 12 C band, 28 Ku band 128° E
www.jcsat.co.jp
JCSat-4A Telecommunications 32 Ku band 124° E
 Korea Telecom, Koreasat 1, 2 Broadcasting 15 Ku band 116° E, 113° E
Korea
www.kt.co.kr Koreasat 3 Telecommunications 30 Ku band, 3 Ka band 116° E
Mabuhay Philippines Agila 2 DBS-TV, 30 C band, 24 Ku band 146° E
Satellite Corp., broadcasting,
Makati City, Philippines telecommunications
NahuelSat, SA, Nahuel 1 Broadcasting 18 Ku band 71.8° W
Buenos Aires, Argentina
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 11

www.nahuelsat.com.ar Nahuel 2 Telecommunications 46 C band, 36 Ku band 81° W

New Skies Satellites, NS 513 Telecommunications 42 C band, 12 Ku band 183° E
N.V.,
The Hague, Netherlands NS5 703 Broadcasting, 46 C band, 20 Ku band 57° E
www.newskiessat.com telecommunications
NS5 803 Broadcasting, 64 C band, 12 Ku band 21.5° W
telecommunications
NSS 806 Broadcasting, 36 C band, 6 Ku band 40.5° W
telecommunications
NSS K Broadcasting, 16 Ku band 21.5° W
telecommunications
PT Pasifik Satelit Garuda 1 Mobile communications 140 spot beams 123° E
Nusantara,
Bekasi, Indonesia Broadcasting, 4 Ku band 113° E
www.psn.co.id Palapa C1 telecommunications
Sino Satellite SinoSat 1 Broadcasting, 24 C band, 14 Ku band 123° E
Communications Co., telecommunications
Ltd., Beijing, PRC
www.sinosat.com
Societe Europenne des Astra 1A, 1B DBS-TV, multimedia 16 Ku band 19.2° E
Satellites, SA (SES), Astra 1C, 1D DBS-TV, multimedia 20 Ku band 19.2° E
Betzdorf, Luxembourg Astra 1E, 1F DBS-TV, multimedia 20, 22 Ku band 19.2° E
www.astra.lu Astra 1G DBS-TV, multimedia 30 Ku band 19.2° E
Astra 2A, 2B DBS-TV, multimedia 32, 30 Ku band 28.2° E
Astra 2G DBS-TV, multimedia 16 Ku band 28.2° E

(continued )

11
12
TABLE 1.2 (continued )

Organization Satellites Type Transponders Orbit location

Space Communications Superbird A Broadcasting, 23 Ku band, 2 Ka band 158° E

Corp., telecommunications
Tokyo, Japan Superbird B 23 Ku band, 2 Ka band 162° E
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 12

www.superbird.co.jp
Superbird C 23 Ku band, 2 Ka band 144° E
Spacecom Satellite Amos 1 DBS-TV, 7 Ku band 4° W
Communication telecommunications
Services,
Ramat-Gan, Israel
www.spacecom.co.il
Swedish Space Corp., Sirius 1 DBS-TV 5 Ku band 5° E
Solna, Sweden
www.ssc.se Sirius 2 DBS-TV, VSAT 32 Ku band 5° E
networks
Sirius 3 DBS-TV 15 Ku band
Telenor Satellite Thor 1 Broadcasting, 5 Ku band 1° E
Services AS, telecommunications
Oslo, Norway Thor 2 15 Ku band 1° E
www.telenor.com
Thor 3 14 Ku band 1° E
Telesat Canada, Anik E1 Broadcasting, 14 C band, 12 Ku band 111.1° W
Gloucester, ON, Canada telecommunications
www.telesat.ca Anik E2 14 C band, 12 Ku band 107.3° W
TMI Communications, MSat 1 Mobile communications 16 L band, 1 Ku band 106.5° W
Ottawa, Canada
www.tmisolutions.com
Turk Telekom, Turksat 1B, 1C Broadcasting, 31.3° E, 42° E
Ankara, Turkey telecommunications

There are 101 satellites listed in Table1.2.

 TABLE 1.3 LEO and MEO Satellite Systems (after 3, 5)

Organization Satellites Type Transponders Constellation orbit

c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 13

Globalstar, 48 LEO satellites with Mobile communications, 16 spot beams within Six orbital planes
San Jose, CA, USA four spares in orbit satellite telephones, footprint. Each beam inclined at 52°, eight
www.globalstar.com all digital has multiple 1.25-MHz satellites per plane
channels with 1 to 13 1413 km altitude
channels per beam. (763 nm)
Multiple access through
CDMA. L- and S-band
links to mobiles
Iridium LLC, 66 LEO satellites with Mobile communications, 48 spot beams with Six orbital planes
Washington, DC, USA seven spares in orbit satellite telephones, seven RF channels in inclined at 84.6°, eleven
www.iridium.com all digital 8 MHz. L-band links satellites per plane
to mobiles. Ka-band 898 km altitude
links to Gateways. (485 nm)
22 GHz satellite cross
links. Multiple access
through FDMA/TDMA
Orbcomm Global L.P., 28 LEO satellites Data transmission to Bent pipe transponder 24 satellites in 45°
Dulles, VA, USA handheld and mobile with earth coverage inclined orbits.
www.orbcomm.com terminals beams. Data rate up to Two in 70° inclined
2400 bps in 0.1-s bursts orbits, two inclined 108°
vhf links to mobiles
(uplink 148 MHz,
downlink 137 MHz)

13
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14 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

TABLE 1.4 Other Satellite Systems

System Satellites Type and lifetime Application Orbits

Global positioning Navstar GPS Design lifetime 7.5 years Navigation, Six orbital
System (GPS), 13 through 21 early warning planes with
operated by U.S. 22 through 40 Design lifetime 10 years four satellites
Air Force per plane at
Useful web sites: 43, 44, 45 Design lifetime 10 years 20,200 km
www.navcen.uscg.mil altitude.
www.laafb.af.mil/SMC/ All satellites broadcast Inclination
CZ/homepage/ CDMA signals on two of orbital
http://gps.faa.gov/ L-band frequencies plane is 55°
http://www.spacecom.
af.mil

low gain antennas, such as those designed for use by mobile users. Consequently, GEO
satellites look set to be the largest revenue earners in space for the foreseeable future.
Figure 1.1 shows the estimated growth in revenue from all satellite communication
services, projected to 2010.
All radio systems require frequency spectrum, and the delivery of high-speed data
requires a wide bandwidth. Satellite communication systems started in C band, with an
allocation of 500 MHz, shared with terrestrial microwave links. As the GEO orbit filled
up with satellites operating at C band, satellites were built for the next available frequency
band, Ku band. There is a continuing demand for ever more spectrum to allow satellites
to provide new services, with high speed access to the Internet forcing a move to Ka-band
and even higher frequencies. Access to the Internet from small transmitting Ka-band earth
stations located at the home offers a way to bypass the terrestrial telephone network and
achieve much higher bit rates. SES began two-way Ka-band Internet access in Europe in
1998 with the Astra-K satellite, and the next generation of Ka-band satellites in the United
States will offer similar services.

200
Worldwide revenue in billions of $U.S.

100

0
19802000 2010
1990
Year
FIGURE 1.1 Growth of worldwide revenues from satellite communications
1980 through 2010. Beyond 2000, the curve is a projection.
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 15

1.4 OVERVIEW OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 15

Successive World Radio Conferences have allocated new frequency bands for com-
mercial satellite services that now include L, S, C, Ku, K, Ka, V, and Q bands. Mobile satel-
lite systems use vhf, uhf, L, and S bands with carrier frequencies from 137 to 2500 MHz,
and GEO satellites use frequency bands extending from 3.2 to 50 GHz. Despite the growth
of fiber-optic links with very high capacity, the demand for satellite systems continues to in-
crease. Satellites have also become integrated into complex communications architectures that
use each element of the network to its best advantage. Examples are VSAT/WLL (very small
aperture terminals/wireless local loop) in countries where the communications infrastructure
is not yet mature and GEO/LMDS (local multipoint distribution systems) for the urban fringes
of developed nations where the build-out of fiber has yet to be an economic proposition.

1.4 OVERVIEW OF SATELLITE

COMMUNICATIONS

Satellite communication systems exist because the earth is a sphere. Radio waves travel
in straight lines at the microwave frequencies used for wideband communications, so a
repeater is needed to convey signals over long distances. Satellites, because they can link
places on the earth that are thousands of miles apart, are a good place to locate a repeater,
and a GEO satellite is the best place of all. A repeater is simply a receiver linked to a
transmitter, always using different radio frequencies, that can receive a signal from one
earth station, amplify it, and retransmit it to another earth station. The repeater derives
its name from nineteenth century telegraph links, which had a maximum length of about
50 miles. Telegraph repeater stations were required every 50 miles in a long-distance link
so that the Morse code signals could be re-sent before they became too weak to read.
The majority of communication satellites are in geostationary earth orbit, at an
altitude of 35,786 km. Typical path length from an earth station to a GEO satellite is
38,500 km. Radio signals get weaker in proportion to the square of the distance trav-
eled, so signals reaching a satellite are always very weak. Similarly, signals received on
earth from a satellite 38,500 km away are also very weak, because of limits on the
weight of GEO satellites and the electrical power they can generate using solar cells. It
costs roughly $25,000 per kilogram to get a geostationary satellite in orbit. This obvi-
ously places severe restrictions on the size and weight of GEO satellites, since the high
cost of building and launching a satellite must be recovered over a 10 to 15 year lifetime
by selling communications capacity.
Satellite communication systems are dominated by the need to receive very weak
signals. In the early days, very large receiving antennas, with diameters up to 30 m, were
needed to collect sufficient signal power to drive video signals or multiplexed telephone
channels. As satellites have become larger, heavier, and more powerful, smaller earth
station antennas have become feasible, and Direct Broadcast Satellite TV (DBS-TV) re-
ceiving systems can use dish antennas as small as 0.5 m in diameter.
Satellite systems operate in the microwave and millimeter wave frequency bands,
using frequencies between 1 and 50 GHz. Above 10 GHz, rain causes significant attenu-
ation of the signal and the probability that rain will occur in the path between the satellite
and an earth station must be factored into the system design. Above 20 GHz, attenuation
in heavy rain (usually associated with thunderstorms) can cause sufficient attenuation that
the link will fail.
For the first 20 years of satellite communications, analog signals were widely used,
with most links employing frequency modulation (FM). Wideband FM can operate at
low carrier-to-noise ratios (C/N), in the 5 to 15 dB range, but adds a signal-to-noise
c01.qxd 13/07/02 14:02 Page 16

16 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

improvement so that video and telephone signals can be delivered with signal-to-noise
ratios (S/N) of 50 dB. The penalty for the improvement is that the radio frequency (RF)
signal occupies a much larger bandwidth than the baseband signal. In satellite links, that
penalty results because signals are always weak and the improvement in signal-to-noise
ratio is essential.
The move toward digital communications in terrestrial telephone and data trans-
mission has been mirrored by a similar move toward digital transmission over satellite
links. In the United States, only TV distribution at C band remains as the major analog
satellite transmission system. Even this last bastion of analog signaling seems destined to
disappear as cable TV stations switch over to digital receivers that allow six TV signals
to be sent though a single Ku-band transponder. More importantly, dual standards per-
mitting the transmission of not only digital TV but also high definition TV (HDTV), will
eventually remove analog TV from consideration.
Almost all other signals are digital—telephony, data, DBS-TV, radio broadcasting,
and navigation with GPS all use digital signaling techniques. All of the LEO and MEO
mobile communication systems are digital, taking advantage of voice compression tech-
niques that allow a digital voice signal to be compressed into a bit stream at 4.8 kbps.
Similarly, MPEG 2 (Moving Picture Coding Expert Group) and other video compression
techniques allow video signals to be transmitted in full fidelity at rates less then 6.2 Mbps.

1.5 SUMMARY

Satellite communication systems have become an services, because the use of high gain fixed anten-
essential part of the world’s telecommunications in- nas at earth stations maximizes the capacity of the
frastructure, serving billions of people with tele- satellite. Over the years, there has been a trend away
phone, data, and video services. Despite the growth from trunk communications using very large earth
of fiber-optic links, which have much greater ca- station antennas toward delivery from more power-
pacity than satellite systems and a lower cost per ful satellites to individual users using much smaller
bit, satellite systems continue to thrive and invest- antennas. LEO and MEO satellites are used for mo-
ment in new systems continues. Satellite services bile communications and navigation systems and,
have shifted away from telephony toward video and as the need for Geographic Information Systems
data delivery, with television broadcasting directly grows with a variety of applications, LEO earth im-
to the home emerging as one of the most powerful aging satellites have the potential to provide strong
applications. GEO satellites carry the majority of revenue streams.

REFERENCES
1. A. C. CLARKE, “Extra-terrestrial Relays,” Wireless World, 5. Aviation Week and Space Technology, Aerospace Source
pp. 305–308, 1945. Book, McGraw-Hill, New York, Vol. 154, No. 3,
2. A. C. CLARKE, 2001: A Space Odyssey, New American pp. 161–179 and pp. 249–266, Jan. 15, 2001.
Library, New York. 6. http://www.astra.lu
3. Aviation Week and Space Technology, Aerospace Source 7. www.astrolink.com
Book, McGraw-Hill, New York, Vol. 153, No. 3, January 8. www.hns.com.spaceway
17, 2000.
4. D. W. E. REES, “Satellite Communications: The First
Quarter Century of Service,” John Wiley & Sons, New
York, 1989.
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 17

CHAPTER 2
ORBITAL MECHANICS
AND LAUNCHERS

2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS

Developing the Equations of the Orbit

This chapter is about how earth orbit is achieved, the laws that describe the motion of an
object orbiting another body, how satellites maneuver in space, and the determination of
the look angle to a satellite from the earth using ephemeris data that describe the orbital
trajectory of the satellite.
To achieve a stable orbit around the earth, a spacecraft must first be beyond the bulk
of the earth’s atmosphere, i.e., in what is popularly called space. There are many defini-
tions of space. U.S. astronauts are awarded their “space wings” if they fly at an altitude
that exceeds 50 miles (80 km); some international treaties hold that the space frontier
above a given country begins at a height of 100 miles (160 km). Below 100 miles, per-
mission must be sought to over-fly any portion of the country in question. On reentry, at-
mospheric drag starts to be felt at a height of about 400,000 ft (76 miles  122 km).
Most satellites, for any mission of more than a few months, are placed into orbits of at
least 250 miles (400 km) above the earth. Even at this height, atmospheric drag is sig-
nificant. As an example, the initial payload elements of the International Space Station
(ISS) were injected into orbit at an altitude of 397 km when the shuttle mission left those
modules on 9 June 1999. By the end of 1999, the orbital height had decayed to about
360 km, necessitating a maneuver to raise the orbit. Without onboard thrusters and suffi-
cient orbital maneuvering fuel, the ISS would not last more than a few years at most in
such a low orbit. To appreciate the basic laws that govern celestial mechanics, we will be-
gin first with the fundamental Newtonian equations that describe the motion of a body.
We will then give some coordinate axes within which the orbit of the satellite can be set
and determine the various forces on the earth satellite.
Newton’s laws of motion can be encapsulated into four equations:
s  ut  1 12 2at 2 (2.1a)
v2  u2  2at (2.1b)
v  u  at (2.1c)
P  ma (2.1d)
where s is the distance traveled from time t  0; u is the initial velocity of the object at
time t  0 and v the final velocity of the object at time t; a is the acceleration of the ob-
ject; P is the force acting on the object; and m is the mass of the object. Note that the ac-
celeration can be positive or negative, depending on the direction it is acting with respect
to the velocity vector. Of these four equations, it is the last one that helps us understand
the motion of a satellite in a stable orbit (neglecting any drag or other perturbing forces).
Put into words, Eq. (2.1d) states that the force acting on a body is equal to the mass of

17
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18 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

the body multiplied by the resulting acceleration of the body. Alternatively, the resulting
acceleration is the ratio of the force acting on the body to the mass of the body. Thus, for
a given force, the lighter the mass of the body, the higher the acceleration will be. When
in a stable orbit, there are two main forces acting on a satellite: a centrifugal force due to
the kinetic energy of the satellite, which attempts to fling the satellite into a higher orbit,
and a centripetal force due to the gravitational attraction of the planet about which the
satellite is orbiting, which attempts to pull the satellite down toward the planet. If these
two forces are equal, the satellite will remain in a stable orbit. It will continually fall to-
ward the planet’s surface as it moves forward in its orbit but, by virtue of its orbital ve-
locity, it will have moved forward just far enough to compensate for the “fall” toward the
planet and so it will remain at the same orbital height. This is why an object in a stable
orbit is sometimes described as being in “free fall.” Figure 2.1 shows the two opposing
forces on a satellite in a stable orbit1.
Force  mass  acceleration and the unit of force is a Newton, with the notation
N. A Newton is the force required to accelerate a mass of 1 kg with an acceleration of
1 m/s2. The underlying units of a Newton are therefore (kg)  m/s2. In Imperial Units,
one Newton  0.2248 ft lb. The standard acceleration due to gravity at the earth’s sur-
face is 9.80665  103 km/s2, which is often quoted as 981 cm/s2. This value decreases

The satellite has a mass, m,

and is traveling with velocity,
v, in the plane of the orbit

2
FOUT = mv
r

FIN = GM2Em
r
ME

FIGURE 2.1 Forces acting on a satellite in a stable orbit around the earth (from Fig. 3.4 of
reference 1). Gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between
the centers of gravity of the satellite and the planet the satellite is orbiting, in this case the
earth. The gravitational force inward (FIN, the centripetal force) is directed toward the center of
gravity of the earth. The kinetic energy of the satellite (FOUT, the centrifugal force) is directed
diametrically opposite to the gravitational force. Kinetic energy is proportional to the square of
the velocity of the satellite. When these inward and outward forces are balanced, the satellite
moves around the earth in a “free fall” trajectory: the satellite’s orbit. For a description of the
units, please see the text.
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 19

2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS 19

with height above the earth’s surface. The acceleration, a, due to gravity at a distance r
from the center of the earth is1
a  mr 2 km/s2 (2.1)
where the constant  is the product of the universal gravitational constant G and the mass
of the earth ME.
The product GME is called Kepler’s constant and has the value 3.986004418 
105 km3/s2. The universal gravitational constant is G  6.672  1011 Nm2/kg2 or 6.672 
1020 km3/kg s2 in the older units. Since force  mass  acceleration, the centripetal
force acting on the satellite, FIN, is given by
FIN  m  1mr 2 2 (2.2a)
 m  1GME r 2 2 (2.2b)
In a similar fashion, the centrifugal acceleration is given by1
a  v2 r (2.3)
which will give the centrifugal force, FOUT, as
FOUT  m  1v2r2 (2.4)
If the forces on the satellite are balanced, FIN  FOUT and, using Eqs. (2.2a) and (2.4),
m  mr 2  m  v2 r
hence the velocity v of a satellite in a circular orbit is given by
v  1mr2 12 (2.5)
If the orbit is circular, the distance traveled by a satellite in one orbit around a planet is
2r, where r is the radius of the orbit from the satellite to the center of the planet. Since
distance divided by velocity equals time to travel that distance, the period of the satellite’s
orbit, T, will be
T  12pr2 v  12pr2  3 1mr2 12 4
Giving
T  12pr 32 2  1m12 2 (2.6)
Table 2.1 gives the velocity, v, and orbital period, T, for four satellite systems that
occupy typical LEO, MEO, and GEO orbits around the earth. In each case, the orbits are

TABLE 2.1 Orbital Velocity, Height, and Period

of Four Satellite Systems

Orbital height Orbital velocity Orbital period

Satellite system (km) (km/s) (h min s)

Intelsat (GEO) 35,786.03 3.0747 23 56 4.1

New-ICO (MEO) 10,255 4.8954 5 55 48.4
Skybridge (LEO) 1,469 7.1272 1 55 17.8
Iridium (LEO) 780 7.4624 1 40 27.0

Mean earth radius is 6378.137 km and GEO radius from the center of the
earth is 42,164.17 km.
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20 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

z
FIGURE 2.2 The initial coordinate
system that could be used to de-
scribe the relationship between the
Earth rotation earth and a satellite. A Cartesian
Satellite coordinate system with the geo-
graphical axes of the earth as the
r principal axes is the simplest coor-
dinate system to set up. The rota-
tional axis of the earth is about the
c Equatorial plane
axis cz, where c is the center of the
earth and cz passes through the
geographic north pole. Axes cx, cy,
and cz are mutually orthogonal
axes, with cx and cy passing
y
through the earth’s geographic
equator. The vector r locates the
moving satellite with respect to the
x center of the earth.

circular and the average radius of the earth is taken as 6378.137 km1. A number of coor-
dinate systems and reference planes can be used to describe the orbit of a satellite around
a planet. Figure 2.2 illustrates one of these using a Cartesian coordinate system with the
earth at the center and the reference planes coinciding with the equator and the polar axis.
This is referred to as a geocentric coordinate system.
With the coordinate system set up as in Figure 2.2, and with the satellite mass m
located at a vector distance r from the center of the earth, the gravitational force F on the
satellite is given by
GME m r
F (2.7)
r3
Where ME is the mass of the earth and G  6.672  1011 Nm2/kg2. But force  mass 
acceleration and Eq. (2.7) can be written as
d2r
Fm (2.8)
dt 2
From Eqs. (2.7) and (2.8) we have
r d2r
 3m  (2.9)
r dt 2
Which yields
d2r r
2  m0 (2.10)
dt r3
This is a second-order linear differential equation and its solution will involve six
undetermined constants called the orbital elements. The orbit described by these orbital
elements can be shown to lie in a plane and to have a constant angular momentum. The
solution to Eq. (2.10) is difficult since the second derivative of r involves the second de-
rivative of the unit vector r. To remove this dependence, a different set of coordinates can
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2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS 21

z
z0

FIGURE 2.3 The orbital plane coor-

dinate system. In this coordinate sys-
tem, the orbital plane of the satellite
is used as the reference plane. The
orthogonal axes x0 and y0 lie in the
c y0 orbital plane. The third axis, z0, is
perpendicular to the orbital plane.
The geographical z-axis of the earth
(which passes through the true North
Pole and the center of the earth, c)
does not lie in the same direction as
the z0 axis except for satellite orbits
that are exactly in the plane of the
x0 geographical equator.

be chosen to describe the location of the satellite such that the unit vectors in the three
axes are constant. This coordinate system uses the plane of the satellite’s orbit as the ref-
erence plane. This is shown in Figure 2.3.
Expressing Eq. (2.10) in terms of the new coordinate axes x0, y0, and z0 gives
d 2x0 d 2y0 m1x0 x̂0  y0 ŷ0 2
x̂0 a b  a 2 b  0
1x20  y20 2 32
2 ŷ0 (2.11)
dt dt
Equation (2.11) is easier to solve if it is expressed in a polar coordinate system rather than
a Cartesian coordinate system. The polar coordinate system is shown in Figure 2.4.
With the polar coordinate system shown in Figure 2.4 and using the transformations
x0  r0 cos f0 (2.12a)
y0  r0 sin f0 (2.12b)
x̂0  r̂0 cos f0  f̂0 sin f0 (2.12c)
ŷ0  f̂0 cos f0  r̂0 sin f0 (2.12d)
and equating the vector components of r0 and 0 in turn in Eq. (2.11) yields
d 2r0
2  r0 a b 2
df0 m
(2.13)
dt dt r0

y0

FIGURE 2.4 Polar coordinate system in the plane

of the satellite’s orbit. The plane of the orbit coin-
cides with the plane of the paper. The axis z0 is
r0 straight out of the paper from the center of the
earth, and is normal to the plane of the satellite’s
φ0 orbit. The satellite’s position is described in terms
of the radius from the center of the earth r0 and the
x0
z0 angle this radius makes with the x0 axis, 0.
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22 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

and
d 2f0
r0 a 2 b  2a ba b0
dr0 df0
(2.14)
dt dt dt
Using standard mathematical procedures, we can develop an equation for the radius
of the satellite’s orbit, r0, namely
p
r0 
1  e cos 1f0  u0 2
(2.15)

Where 0 is a constant and e is the eccentricity of an ellipse whose semilatus rectum p is

given by
p  1h2 2 m (2.16)
and h is magnitude of the orbital angular momentum of the satellite. That the equation of
the orbit is an ellipse is Kepler’s first law of planetary motion.

Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary Motion

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was a German astronomer and scientist who developed his
three laws of planetary motion by careful observations of the behavior of the planets in
the solar system over many years, with help from some detailed planetary observations
by the Hungarian astronomer Tycho Brahe. Kepler’s three laws are
1. The orbit of any smaller body about a larger body is always an ellipse, with the cen-
ter of mass of the larger body as one of the two foci.
2. The orbit of the smaller body sweeps out equal areas in equal time (see Figure 2.5).

t2

A 12
t3

A 34
E

t1
t4

FIGURE 2.5 Illustration of Kepler’s second law of planetary motion. A satellite is in orbit
about the planet earth, E. The orbit is an ellipse with a relatively high eccentricity, that is,
it is far from being circular. The figure shows two shaded portions of the elliptical plane in
which the orbit moves, one is close to the earth and encloses the perigee while the other
is far from the earth and encloses the apogee. The perigee is the point of closest ap-
proach to the earth while the apogee is the point in the orbit that is furthest from the
earth. While close to perigee, the satellite moves in the orbit between times t1 and t2 and
sweeps out an area denoted by A12. While close to apogee, the satellite moves in the orbit
between times t3 and t4 and sweeps out an area denoted by A34. If t1  t2  t3  t4 then
A12  A34.
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2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS 23

SIDEBAR

Kepler’s laws were subsequently confirmed, about 50 the concept of gravitational attraction. The work was
years later, by Isaac Newton, who developed a math- published in the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
ematical model for the motion of the planets. New- Mathematica in 1687. At that time, Latin was the in-
ton was one of the first people to make use of differ- ternational language of formally educated people,
ential calculus, and with his understanding of gravity, much in the way English has become the international
was able to describe the motion of planets from a language of e-mail and business today, so Newton’s
mathematical model based on his laws of motion and Principia was written in Latin.

3. The square of the period of revolution of the smaller body about the larger body
equals a constant multiplied by the third power of the semimajor axis of the orbital
ellipse. That is, T 2  (4 2a3) where T is the orbital period, a is the semimajor
axis of the orbital ellipse, and  is Kepler’s constant. If the orbit is circular, then a
becomes distance r, defined as before, and we have Eq. (2.6).
Describing the orbit of a satellite enables us to develop Kepler’s second two laws.

Describing the Orbit of a Satellite

The quantity 0 in Eq. (2.15) serves to orient the ellipse with respect to the orbital plane
axes x0 and y0. Now that we know that the orbit is an ellipse, we can always choose x0
and y0 so that 0 is zero. We will assume that this has been done for the rest of this
discussion. This now gives the equation of the orbit as
p
r0  (2.17)
1  e cos f0
The path of the satellite in the orbital plane is shown in Figure 2.6. The lengths a and b
of the semimajor and semiminor axes are given by
a  p 11  e2 2 (2.18)
b  a11  e2 2 12 (2.19)
The point in the orbit where the satellite is closest to the earth is called the perigee
and the point where the satellite is farthest from the earth is called the apogee. The perigee
and apogee are always exactly opposite each other. To make 0 equal to zero, we have
chosen the x0 axis so that both the apogee and the perigee lie along it and the x0 axis is
therefore the major axis of the ellipse.
The differential area swept out by the vector r0 from the origin to the satellite in
time dt is given by

dA  0.5r 02 a b dt  0.5hdt
df0
(2.20)
dt
Remembering that h is the magnitude of the orbital angular momentum of the satellite,
the radius vector of the satellite can be seen to sweep out equal areas in equal times. This
is Kepler’s second law of planetary motion. By equating the area of the ellipse (ab) to
the area swept out in one orbital revolution, we can derive an expression for the orbital
period T as
T 2  14p2a3 2 m (2.21)
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24 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

yo

ro
φo Perigee

Apogee a C O xo

ae

a (1 + e) a (1 − e)

FIGURE 2.6 The orbit as it appears in the orbital plane. The point O is the center of
the earth and the point C is the center of the ellipse. The two centers do not coincide
unless the eccentricity, e, of the ellipse is zero (i.e., the ellipse becomes a circle and
a  b). The dimensions a and b are the semimajor and semiminor axes of the orbital
ellipse, respectively.

This equation is the mathematical expression of Kepler’s third law of planetary mo-
tion: the square of the period of revolution is proportional to the cube of the semimajor
axis. (Note that this is the square of Eq. (2.6) and that in Eq. (2.6) the orbit was assumed
to be circular such that semimajor axis a  semiminor axis b  circular orbit radius
from the center of the earth r.) Kepler’s third law extends the result from Eq. (2.6), which
was derived for a circular orbit, to the more general case of an elliptical orbit. Equa-
tion (2.21) is extremely important in satellite communications systems. This equation
determines the period of the orbit of any satellite, and it is used in every GPS receiver
in the calculation of the positions of GPS satellites. Equation (2.21) is also used to find
the orbital radius of a GEO satellite, for which the period T must be made exactly equal
to the period of one revolution of the earth for the satellite to remain stationary over a
point on the equator.
An important point to remember is that the period of revolution, T, is referenced to
inertial space, namely, to the galactic background. The orbital period is the time the or-
biting body takes to return to the same reference point in space with respect to the galac-
tic background. Nearly always, the primary body will also be rotating and so the period
of revolution of the satellite may be different from that perceived by an observer who is
standing still on the surface of the primary body. This is most obvious with a geostation-
ary earth orbit (GEO) satellite (see Table 2.1). The orbital period of a GEO satellite is ex-
actly equal to the period of rotation of the earth, 23 h 56 min 4.1 s, but, to an observer
on the ground, the satellite appears to have an infinite orbital period: it always stays in
the same place in the sky.
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 25

2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS 25

To be perfectly geostationary, the orbit of a satellite needs to have three features:

(a) it must be exactly circular (i.e., have an eccentricity of zero); (b) it must be at the
correct altitude (i.e., have the correct period); and (c) it must be in the plane of the equa-
tor (i.e., have a zero inclination with respect to the equator). If the inclination of the
satellite is not zero and/or if the eccentricity is not zero, but the orbital period is cor-
rect, then the satellite will be in a geosynchronous orbit. The position of a geosynchro-
nous satellite will appear to oscillate about a mean look angle in the sky with respect
to a stationary observer on the earth’s surface. The orbital period of a GEO satellite,
23 h 56 min 4.1 s, is one sidereal day. A sidereal day is the time between consecutive
crossings of any particular longitude on the earth by any star, other than the sun1. The
mean solar day of 24 h is the time between any consecutive crossings of any particular
longitude by the sun, and is the time between successive sunrises (or sunsets) observed
at one location on earth, averaged over an entire year. Because the earth moves round
the sun once per 365 1⁄4 days, the solar day is 1440365.25  3.94 min longer than a
sidereal day.

Locating the Satellite in the Orbit

Consider now the problem of locating the satellite in its orbit. The equation of the orbit
may be rewritten by combining Eqs. (2.15) and (2.18) to obtain

a11  e2 2
r0  (2.22)
1  e cos f0

The angle 0 (see Figure 2.6) is measured from the x0 axis and is called the true anom-
aly. [Anomaly was a measure used by astronomers to mean a planet’s angular distance
from its perihelion (closest approach to the sun), measured as if viewed from the sun. The
term was adopted in celestial mechanics for all orbiting bodies.] Since we defined the pos-
itive x0 axis so that it passes through the perigee, 0 measures the angle from the perigee
to the instantaneous position of the satellite. The rectangular coordinates of the satellite
are given by
x0  r0 cos f0 (2.23)
y0  r0 sin f0 (2.24)

As noted earlier, the orbital period T is the time for the satellite to complete a rev-
olution in inertial space, traveling a total of 2 radians. The average angular velocity 
is thus

h  12p2 T  1m12 2  1a32 2 (2.25)

If the orbit is an ellipse, the instantaneous angular velocity will vary with the position of
the satellite around the orbit. If we enclose the elliptical orbit with a circumscribed cir-
cle of radius a (see Figure 2.7), then an object going around the circumscribed circle with
a constant angular velocity  would complete one revolution in exactly the same period
T as the satellite requires to complete one (elliptical) orbital revolution.
Consider the geometry of the circumscribed circle as shown in Figure 2.7. Locate
the point (indicated as A) where a vertical line drawn through the position of the satellite
intersects the circumscribed circle. A line from the center of the ellipse (C) to this point
(A) makes an angle E with the x0 axis; E is called the eccentric anomaly of the satellite.
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 26

26 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

yo axis

A
a

yo

E
xo axis
C O xo

Orbit

Circumscribed Circle
FIGURE 2.7 The circumscribed circle and the eccentric anomaly E. Point O is the center of
the earth and point C is both the center of the orbital ellipse and the center of the circum-
scribed circle. The satellite location in the orbital plane coordinate system is specified by (x0,
y0). A vertical line through the satellite intersects the circumscribed circle at point A. The
eccentric anomaly E is the angle from the x0 axis to the line joining C and A.

It is related to the radius r0 by

r0  a11  e cos E2 (2.26)
Thus
a  r0  ae cos E (2.27)
We can also develop an expression that relates eccentric anomaly E to the average
angular velocity , which yields
h dt  11  e cos E2 dE (2.28)
Let tp be the time of perigee. This is simultaneously the time of closest approach to the
earth; the time when the satellite is crossing the x0 axis; and the time when E is zero. If
we integrate both sides of Eq. (2.28), we obtain
h1t  tp 2  E  e sin E (2.29)
The left side of Eq. (2.29) is called the mean anomaly, M. Thus
M  h1t  tp 2  E  e sin E (2.30)
The mean anomaly M is the arc length (in radians) that the satellite would have traversed
since the perigee passage if it were moving on the circumscribed circle at the mean an-
gular velocity .
If we know the time of perigee, tp, the eccentricity, e, and the length of the semi-
major axis, a, we now have the necessary equations to determine the coordinates (r0, 0)
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 27

2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS 27

and (x0, y0) of the satellite in the orbital plane. The process is as follows
1. Calculate  using Eq. (2.25).
2. Calculate M using Eq. (2.30).
3. Solve Eq. (2.30) for E.
4. Find r0 from E using Eq. (2.27).
5. Solve Eq. (2.22) for 0.
6. Use Eqs. (2.23) and (2.24) to calculate x0 and y0.
Now we must locate the orbital plane with respect to the earth.

Locating the Satellite with Respect

to the Earth
At the end of the last section, we summarized the process for locating the satellite at
the point (x0, y0, z0) in the rectangular coordinate system of the orbital plane. The lo-
cation was with respect to the center of the earth. In most cases, we need to know
where the satellite is from an observation point that is not at the center of the earth.
We will therefore develop the transformations that permit the satellite to be located
from a point on the rotating surface of the earth. We will begin with a geocentric equa-
torial coordinate system as shown in Figure 2.8. The rotational axis of the earth is the
zi axis, which is through the geographic North Pole. The xi axis is from the center of
the earth toward a fixed location in space called the first point of Aries (see Figure 2.8).
This coordinate system moves through space; it translates as the earth moves in its or-
bit around the sun, but it does not rotate as the earth rotates. The xi direction is always
the same, whatever the earth’s position around the sun and is in the direction of the
first point of Aries. The (xi, yi) plane contains the earth’s equator and is called the
equatorial plane.
Angular distance measured eastward in the equatorial plane from the xi axis is
called right ascension and given the symbol RA. The two points at which the orbit

zi

FIGURE 2.8 The geocentric

equatorial system. This geocentric
system differs from that shown in
Figure 2.1 only in that the xi axis
points to the first point of Aries.
The first point of Aries is the di-
rection of a line from the center
δ
of the earth through the center of
the sun at the vernal equinox
(about March 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere), the instant when
RA the subsolar point crosses the
yi
equator from south to north. In
the above system, an object may
be located by its right ascension
xi RA and its declination .
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 28

28 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

penetrates the equatorial plane are called nodes; the satellite moves upward through
the equatorial plane at the ascending node and downward through the equatorial
plane at the descending node, given the conventional picture of the earth, with north
at the top, which is in the direction of the positive z axis for the earth centered coor-
dinate set. Remember that in space there is no up or down; that is a concept we are
familiar with because of gravity at the earth’s surface. For a weightless body in space,
such as an orbiting spacecraft, up and down have no meaning unless they are defined
with respect to a reference point. The right ascension of the ascending node is called
. The angle that the orbital plane makes with the equatorial plane (the planes inter-
sect at the line joining the nodes) is called the inclination, i. Figure 2.9 illustrates these
quantities.
The variables  and i together locate the orbital plane with respect to the equato-
rial plane. To locate the orbital coordinate system with respect to the equatorial coordi-
nate system we need , the argument of perigee west. This is the angle measured along
the orbit from the ascending node to the perigee.
Standard time for space operations and most other scientific and engineering pur-
poses is universal time (UT), also known as zulu time (z). This is essentially the mean
solar time at the Greenwich Observatory near London, England. Universal time is meas-
ured in hours, minutes, and seconds or in fractions of a day. It is 5 h later than Eastern
Standard Time, so that 07:00 EST is 12:00:00 h UT. The civil or calendar day begins
at 00:00:00 hours UT, frequently written as 0 h. This is, of course, midnight (24:00:00)
on the previous day. Astronomers employ a second dating system involving Julian days
and Julian dates. Julian days start at noon UT in a counting system whereby noon on
December 31, 1899, was the beginning of Julian day 2415020, usually written 241 5020.
These are extensively tabulated in reference 2 and additional information is in reference
14. As an example, noon on December 31, 2000, the eve of the twenty-first century, is
the start of Julian day 245 1909. Julian dates can be used to indicate time by append-
ing a decimal fraction; 00:00:00 h UT on January 1, 2001—zero hour, minute, and

zi

Satellite

Perigee

yi
ω

Ω Ascending node
xi
FIGURE 2.9 Locating the orbit in the geocentric equatorial system. The satellite penetrates
the equatorial plane (while moving in the positive z direction) at the ascending node. The
right ascension of the ascending node is  and the inclination i is the angle between the
equatorial plane and the orbital plane. Angle , measured in the orbital plane, locates the
perigee with respect to the equatorial plane.
c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 29

2.1 ORBITAL MECHANICS 29

second for the third millenium A.D.—is given by Julian date 245 1909.5. To find the
exact position of an orbiting satellite at a given instant in time requires knowledge of
the orbital elements.

Orbital Elements
To specify the absolute (i.e., the inertial) coordinates of a satellite at time t, we need to
know six quantities. (This was evident earlier when we determined that a satellite’s equa-
tion of motion was a second order vector linear differential equation.) These quantities
are called the orbital elements. More than six quantities can be used to describe a unique
orbital path and there is some arbitrariness in exactly which six quantities are used. We
have chosen to adopt a set that is commonly used in satellite communications: eccentric-
ity (e), semimajor axis (a), time of perigee (tp), right ascension of ascending node (),
inclination (i), and argument of perigee (). Frequently, the mean anomaly (M) at a given
time is substituted for tp.

EXAMPLE 2.1.1 Geostationary Satellite Orbit Radius

The earth rotates once per sidereal day of 23 h 56 min 4.09 s. Use Eq. (2.21) to show that the radius
of the GEO is 42,164.17 km as given in Table 2.1.

Answer Equation (2.21) gives the square of the orbital period in seconds

T 2  14p2a3 2 m
Rearranging the equation, the orbital radius a is given by

a3  T 2m 14p 2 2
For one sidereal day, T  86,164.09 s. Hence
a3  186,164.12 2  3.986004418  105 14p2 2  7.496020251  1013 km3
a  42,164.17 km

This is the orbital radius for a geostationary satellite, as given in Table 2.1. 

EXAMPLE 2.1.2 Low Earth Orbit

The Space Shuttle is an example of a low earth orbit satellite. Sometimes, it orbits at an altitude of
250 km above the earth’s surface, where there is still a finite number of molecules from the at-
mosphere. The mean earth’s radius is approximately 6378.14 km. Using these figures, calculate the
period of the shuttle orbit when the altitude is 250 km and the orbit is circular. Find also the linear
velocity of the shuttle along its orbit.

Answer The radius of the 250-km altitude Space Shuttle orbit is (re  h)  6378.14  250.0 
6628.14 km
From Eq. 2.21, the period of the orbit is T where

T 2  14p2a3 2 m  4p2  16628.142 33.986004418  105 s2

 2.88401145  107 s2

Hence the period of the orbit is

T  5370.30 s  89 min 30.3 s.

c02.qxd 13/07/02 14:10 Page 30

30 CHAPTER 2 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND LAUNCHERS

This orbit period is about as small as possible. At a lower altitude, friction with the earth’s atmos-
phere will quickly slow the Shuttle down and it will return to earth. Thus, all spacecraft in stable
earth orbit have orbital periods exceeding 89 min 30 s.
The circumference of the orbit is 2a  41,645.83 km.
Hence the velocity of the Shuttle in orbit is
2paT  41,645.835370.13  7.755 km/s
Alternatively, you could use Eq. (2.5): v  (r)12. The term   3.986004418  105 km3/s2 and
the term r  (6378.14  250.0) km, yielding v  7.755 km/s.
Note: If  and r had been quoted in units of m3/s2 and m, respectively, the answer would have been
in meters/second. Be sure to keep the units the same during a calculation procedure.
A velocity of about 7.8 km/s is a typical velocity for a low earth orbit satellite. As the alti-
tude of a satellite increases, its velocity becomes smaller. 

EXAMPLE 2.1.3 Elliptical orbit

A satellite is in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 1000 km and an apogee of 4000 km. Using a
mean earth radius of 6378.14 km, find the period of the orbit in hours, minutes, and seconds, and
the eccentricity of the orbit.

Answer The major axis of the elliptical orbit is a straight line between the apogee and perigee,
as seen in Figure 2.7. Hence, for a semimajor axis length a, earth radius re, perigee height hp, and
apogee height ha,
2a  2re  hp  ha  2  6378.14  1000.0  4000.0  17,756.28 km
Thus the semimajor axis of the orbit has a length a  8878.14 km. Using this value of a in Eq. (2.21)
gives an orbital period T seconds where
T 2  14p 2a 3 2 m  4p2  18878.072 33.986004418  105 s2
 6.930872802  107 s2
T  8325.1864 s  138 min 45.19 s  2 h 18 min 45.19 s
The eccentricity of the orbit is given by e, which can be found from Eq. (2.27) by consider-
ing the instant at which the satellite is at perigee. Referring to Figure 2.7, when the satellite is at
perigee, the eccentric anomaly E  0 and r0  re  hp. From Eq. (2.27), at perigee
r0  a11  e cos E 2 and cos E  1
Hence
re  hp  a11  e2
e  1  1re  hp 2 a  1  7,378.148878.14  0.169 

2.2 LOOK ANGLE DETERMINATION

Navigation around the earth’s oceans became more precise when the surface of the globe
was divided up into a gridlike structure of orthogonal lines: latitude and longitude. Lat-
itude is the angular distance, measured in degrees, north or south of the equator and
longitude is the angular distance, measured in degrees, from a given reference
longitudinal line. At the time that this grid reference became popular, there were two
major seafaring nations vying for dominance: England and France. England drew its ref-
erence zero longitude through Greenwich, a town close to London, England, and France,
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 THE

ELEMENTS OF GEOLOGY;

ADAPTED TO THE USE OF

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.

BY

JUSTIN R. LOOMIS,
PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY
IN WATERVILLE COLLEGE.
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.

BOSTON:
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
59 WASHINGTON STREET.
1852

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852,

By GOULD & LINCOLN,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.

Stereotyped by
HOBART & ROBBINS,
BOSTON.
PRESS OF G. C. RAND, CORNHILL, BOSTON.
 PREFACE
In preparing the following work, it was intended to present a
systematic and somewhat complete statement of the principles of
Geology, within such limits that they may be thoroughly studied in
the time usually allotted to this science.
A sufficient number of leading facts has been introduced to
enable the learner to feel that every important principle is a
conclusion to which he has himself arrived; and yet, for the purpose
of compression, that fullness of detail has been avoided with which
more extended works abound. In furtherance of the same object,
authorities are seldom cited.
The consideration of geological changes is made a distinct
chapter, subsequent to the one on the arrangement of materials. It
should, however, be remembered that these processes of arranging
and disturbing are not thus separated in time. In nature the two
processes are always going on together.
It seemed important to exhibit the science with as much unity
and completeness as possible; and hence, discussions upon
debatable points in Theoretical Geology, so interesting to mature
geologists, would have been out of place here; and yet those more
intricate subjects have not been omitted. A large proportion of the
work is devoted to the explanation of geological phenomena, in
order to convey an idea of the modes of investigation adopted, and
the kind of evidence relied on. Where diversities of opinion exist,
that view has been selected which seemed most in harmony with
the facts; and the connection has not often been interrupted to
combat, or even to state, the antagonist view.
 Technical terms have, in a few instances, been introduced, and
principles referred to, which are subsequently explained. The index
will, however, enable the student to understand them, without a
separate glossary.
Some may prefer to commence with the second chapter,
deferring the study of the elementary substances, minerals and
rocks, to the last. Such a course may be pursued without special
inconvenience.
Questions have been added, for the convenience of those
teachers who may prefer to conduct their recitations by this means.
But, when the circumstances of the case admit of it, a much more
complete knowledge of the subject will be acquired by pupils who
are required to analyze the sections, and proceed with the recitation
themselves; while the teacher has only to correct misapprehension,
explain what may seem obscure, and introduce additional
illustrations.
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1. Columnar Trap, New Holland. (Dana.)
2. The four divisions of rocks, and their relative
positions. A, Volcanic Rocks. B, Granite. 1, 2,
3, 4, Granite of different ages. C, Metamorphic
Rocks. D, Fossiliferous Rocks. (Lyell.)
Granite veins in slate, Cape of Good Hope.
3.
(Hall.)
4. Granite veins traversing granite. (Hitchcock.)
5. Extinct volcanoes of Auvergne. (Scrope.)
6. Lava of different ages, Auvergne. (Lyell.)
Strata folded and compressed by upheaval of
7.
granite.
8. Favosites Gothlandica.
9. Catenipora escharoides. (Chain coral.)
10. Caryocrinus ornatus. (Hall.)
11. Leptæna alternate. Orthis
testudinaria.
(Hall.)
Delthyris Niagarensis.
Section of a chambered shell, showing the
12.
chambers and the siphuncle.
13. Orthoceras.
14. Curved Cephalopoda, a, Ammonite; b,
Crioceras; c, Scaphite; d, Ancyloceras; e,
Hamite; f, Baculite; g, Turrilite. (Agassiz and
Gould.)
15. Trilobite.
16. Cephalaspis Lyellii. (Agassiz.)
17. Pterichthys oblongus. (Agassiz.)
Fault in the coal formation, a a, layers of coal,
18.
b b, surface and soil.
Stigmaria ficoides; Newcastle. (Lindley and
19.
Hutton.)
20. Trunk of sigillaria. (Trimmer.)
21. Bark of sigillaria. (Natural size.)
22. Sphenopteris crenata. (Lindley.)
23. Pachypteris lanceolata. (Brongn.)
24. Sigillaria levigata. (Brongn.)
Lepidodendron Sternbergii, Bohemia.
25.
(Sternberg.)
26. Calamite.
27. Heterocercal fish. Homocercal fish.
Impressions of Raindrops, Wethersfield, Conn.
28.
(Hitchcock.)
29. b, Bird tracks in the Conn. River Sandstone, a,
Consecutive tracks; c, Track of Cheirotherium
(probably a reptile), Penn. and Germany.
30. Section in the Isle of Portland. (Buckland.)
31. Apiocrinites rotundus, Bradford, Eng. (Miller.)
32. Gryphea incurva.
33. a, Outline of Ichthyosaurus; b, Plesiosaurus.
34. Pterodactyle.
a, Diploctenium cordatum; b, Marsupites; c,
35. Salenia; d, Galerites; e, Micraster cor-
anguinum. (Agassiz & Gould.)
b, Belemnite. a, Restored outline of the animal
36.
to which it belonged.
37. Cerithium intermedium.
38. Murex alveolatus.
39. Conus concinnus.
40. Nummulite.
41. Outline of paleotherium.
42. Outline of anoplotherium.
43. Skeleton of the mastodon.
44. Univalve with entire mouth.
45. Univalve with notched mouth.
46. Unimuscular bivalve.
47. Bimuscular bivalve.
Parallel planes of cleavage intersecting curved
48.
strata. (Sedgwick.)
49. a b, A vein of segregation; c d, A dike.
50. Faults and denuded strata.
51. Vertical conglomerate. (Lyell.)
Inclined strata in Dorsetshire, England.
52.
(Buckland.)
53. Dip of strata.
54. Axes and valleys in disturbed strata.
Curved strata of slate, Berwickshire, Eng.
55.
(Lyell.)
56. Folded strata.
57. Slope of mountains.
58. Europe at the Silurian epoch. (Guyot.)
59. Europe at the tertiary epoch.
60. Area of elevation and depression in the Pacific
and Indian Oceans. (Darwin.)
61. c c, Coral wall. (Trimmer.)
c c, Coral wall above the sea-level; c′ c′,
62.
Second coral wall.
63. Coral wall after partial subsidence.
Atoll. The coral wall only appearing. The
64.
original island entirely submerged.
Remains of the temple of Jupiter Serapis, near
65.
Naples.
 Detached hills of old red sandstone, Rosshire,
66.
Scotland. (Lyell.)
67. Section of denuded strata, Mass. (Hitchcock.)
68. Grooved and striated surface of rocks.
69. Artesian wells.
70. Segregated masses in rocks.
Columnar form taken by basalt on
71.
solidification.
Layers of limestone now forming, San Vignone,
72.
Italy. (Lyell.)
73. Erosion of rock by the action of the waves.
74. Marine currents.
75. Sediment deposited in horizontal layers.
Section of greensand, Bedfordshire, Eng.
76.
(Lyell.)
Glacier, with lateral and medial moraines, a a,
77.
Terminal moraines.
78. Iceberg.
79. Volcanic Eruption. (Trimmer.)
80. Fractures produced by upheaval.
Fossiliferous rock altered by contact with
81.
granite.
Consecutive changes by which horizontal
82.
strata become vertical.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER I.
OF THE MATERIAL WHICH
COMPOSE THE CRUST OF THE
EARTH.

SECTION I.—ELEMENTARY
11
SUBSTANCES,
SECTION II.—SIMPLE MINERALS, 13
SECTION III.—THE MINERAL
MASSES WHICH FORM THE 16
CRUST OF THE EARTH,

CHAPTER II.
OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE
MATERIALS WHICH COMPOSE
THE CRUST OF THE EARTH.

SECTION I.—THE
21
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS,
SECTION II.—THE PLUTONIC
23
ROCKS,
 SECTION III.—THE VOLCANIC
25
ROCKS,
SECTION IV.—THE NON-
FOSSILIFEROUS STRATIFIED (OR 30
METAMORPHIC) ROCKS,
SECTION V.—THE
32
FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS,
SECTION VI.—FOSSILS, 57
SECTION VII.—THE TIME
NECESSARY FOR THE
63
FORMATION OF THE STRATIFIED
ROCKS,

CHAPTER III.
OF THE CHANGES TO WHICH THE
CRUST OF THE EARTH HAS BEEN
SUBJECTED.

SECTION I.—CHANGES WHICH

HAVE TAKEN PLACE AT GREAT 67
DEPTHS BELOW THE SURFACE,
SECTION II.—CHANGES IN THE
MASS OF THE STRATIFIED 68
ROCKS,
SECTION III.—CHANGES OF
73
ELEVATION AND SUBSIDENCE,
 SECTION IV.—CHANGES ON THE
85
SURFACE OF THE EARTH,
SECTION V.—CHANGES OF
88
CLIMATE,
SECTION VI.—ADVANTAGES
RESULTING FROM GEOLOGICAL 91
CHANGES,

CHAPTER IV.
OF THE CAUSES OF GEOLOGICAL
PHENOMENA.

SECTION I.—ATMOSPHERIC
95
CAUSES,
SECTION II.—CHEMICAL ACTION, 97
SECTION III.—ORGANIC CAUSES, 101
SECTION IV.—AQUEOUS CAUSES, 103
SECTION V.—AQUEO-GLACIAL
120
ACTION,
SECTION VI.—IGNEOUS CAUSES, 127
 CHAPTER I.

OF THE MATERIALS WHICH

COMPOSE THE CRUST OF THE
EARTH.
SECTION I.—ELEMENTARY SUBSTANCES.
There are about sixty substances known to the chemist which are
considered as elementary; but most of them are rarely met with,
and only in minute quantities. A few of them are, however, so
abundant, in the composition of the crust of the earth, as to render
some attention to them necessary.
Oxygen is more widely diffused than any other substance. It is an
ingredient of water and of the atmosphere, the former containing
eighty-eight per cent., and the latter twenty-one. Nearly all rocks
contain oxygen in combination with the metallic and metalloid bases,
and the average proportion of oxygen which they contain is about
forty-five per cent.; so that it will not differ much from the truth to
consider the oxygen in the earth’s crust as equal in weight to all the
other substances which enter into its composition.
Hydrogen occurs in nature principally in combination with
oxygen, forming water. It is also an ingredient in bitumen and
bituminous coal.
Nitrogen is confined almost entirely to the atmosphere, of which
it forms four-fifths. It enters into the composition of some varieties
of coal, and is sparingly diffused in most fossiliferous rocks.
One of the most important substances in nature is carbon. It
constitutes the principal part of all the varieties of coal, as well as of
graphite, peat and bituminous matter. A much larger amount of
carbon exists in the carbonic acid which is combined with the oxides
of the metalloids and metals. The most abundant of these
compounds is limestone, which contains about twelve per cent, of
carbon.
In the neighborhood of volcanoes sulphur is found pure and in a
crystalline form. It is a constant ingredient in volcanic rocks, and in
several of the most important ores, particularly those of lead, copper
and iron. The most abundant sulphate is gypsum, which contains
twenty-six per cent, of sulphur. In small quantities it is widely
diffused in rocks, and in the waters of the ocean.
Chlorine is found principally as an ingredient of rock-salt, which
contains sixty per cent, of it, and of sea-water, which contains one
and a half per cent.
Fluorine is found, though very sparingly, in nearly all the
unstratified rocks. It forms nearly half of the mineral known as
Derbyshire spar.
Of the metals, Iron is the only one that is found abundantly. It
enters into the composition of nearly all mineral substances. It is
generally combined with oxygen, and occurs less frequently as a
carbonate or sulphuret. Of volcanic rocks it forms about twenty per
cent. Its ores are sometimes found in the form of dikes or seams,
having been injected from below; at other times, in the form of
nodules or stratified masses, like other rocks of mechanical origin.
Manganese is likewise extensively diffused, but in very small
quantity. The other metals are often met with, but their localities are
of very limited extent.
 Of the metallic bases of the earths and alkalies, Silicium is the
most abundant. It generally occurs in the form of silex, which is an
oxide of the metal. There are but few rocks in which it is not found
in considerable amount.
Aluminium generally occurs as an oxide, in which form it is
alumina. It is the base of the different varieties of clay and clay-
slate. It is also a constituent of felspar and mica.
Potassium is an ingredient of felspar and mica, and hence is
found in all the primary and in most of the volcanic rocks, as well as
in the stratified rocks derived from them.
Sodium is a constituent of a variety of felspar which is somewhat
abundant in volcanic rocks. Its principal source is the extensive beds
of rock-salt, and the same substance in a state of solution in the
waters of the ocean.
Calcium constitutes about forty per cent, of limestone, and is an
ingredient in nearly all igneous rocks. This metal, in the state of an
oxide, is lime.
Magnesium is somewhat abundant, but less so than calcium. It is
one of the bases of dolomite and magnesian limestone, and is an
ingredient of talc and all talcose rocks.
The substances now enumerated constitute nearly the entire
mineral mass of the crust of the earth. They may be arranged in the
following order:—

I. NON-METALLIC SUBSTANCES.
Oxygen. Hydrogen. Nitrogen.
Carbon. Sulphur. Chlorine.
Fluorine.

II. METALS.
Iron. Manganese.
 III. METALLIC BASES OF THE EARTHS AND
ALKALIES.
Silicium. Aluminium. Potassium.
Sodium. Calcium. Magnesium.
These substances, chemically combined, form Simple Minerals.

SECTION II.—SIMPLE MINERALS.

All substances found in the earth or upon its surface, which are
not the products of art or of organic life, are regarded by the
mineralogist as simple minerals. About four hundred mineral species
are known, and the varieties are much more numerous; but only a
small number of them are so abundant as to claim the attention of
the geologist. An acquaintance with the following species is,
however, necessary.
Quartz is probably the most abundant mineral in nature. It is
composed wholly of silex. Its specific gravity is 2.65. It is the hardest
of the common minerals, gives sparks with steel, scratches glass,
and breaks into irregular angular fragments under the hammer.
When crystallized, its most common form is that of a six-sided prism,
terminated by six-sided pyramids. When pure, it is transparent or
translucent, and its lustre is highly vitreous. The transparent variety
is called rock crystal. When purple, it is amethyst. When faint red, it
is rose quartz. When its color is dark brown, or gray, and it has a
conchoidal fracture, it is flint. When quartz occurs in white, tuberous
masses, of a resinous lustre and conchoidal fracture, it is opal. The
precious opal is distinguished by its lively play of colors. Jasper is
opaque, and contains a small per cent, of oxide of iron, by which it is
colored dull red, yellowish red or brown. The light-colored, massive,
translucent variety is chalcedony. The flesh-colored specimens are
carnelian. When composed of layers of chalcedony of different
colors, it becomes agate. Several of the varieties of quartz, such as
amethyst, opal, carnelian and agate, are used to considerable extent
in jewelry.
Felspar is composed of silex, alumina and potassa. It resembles
quartz, but it is not as hard, cleaves more readily, and is not
generally transparent. Its specific gravity is 2.47. Its lustre is feebly
vitreous, but pearly on its cleavage faces. Its color is sometimes
green, but generally dull white, and often inclined to red or flesh-
color.
Mica is composed of the same ingredients as felspar, together
with oxide of iron. Its specific gravity is nearly three. It is often
colorless, but frequently green, smoky, or black. It may be known by
its capability of division into exceedingly thin, transparent, elastic
plates.
Hornblende is composed of silex, alumina and magnesia. Its
specific gravity is a little above three. Its color is generally some
shade of green. When dark green or black, whether in a massive or
crystalline state, it is common hornblende. When light green, it is
actinolite. The white variety is tremolite. When it is composed of
flexible fibres, it is asbestus; and when the fibres have also a silky
lustre, it is amianthus.
Augite or Pyroxene has, till recently, been considered as a variety
of hornblende. Its specific gravity is slightly different; its composition
is the same, and in general appearance it is not easily distinguished
from hornblende. It has, however, been made a distinct species,
because its crystalline form is different.
Hypersthene is composed of silex, magnesia and oxide of iron.
Its specific gravity is 3.38. It closely resembles hornblende. The
lustre of its cleavage faces is metallic pearly. Its color is grayish or
greenish black.
Talc is composed of silex and magnesia. Its specific gravity is 2.7.
It resembles mica in its general appearance and in its lamellar
structure, but it is easily distinguished from it by its plates being not
elastic, and by its soapy feel. Its color is generally some shade of
green. Soapstone is an impure variety of talc, of a light gray color,
earthy texture, and is unctuous to the touch. Chlorite, another
impure variety, is a dark green rock, massive, easily cut with a knife,
and unctuous to the touch.
Serpentine is composed of silex and magnesia. Its specific gravity
is 2.55. It is generally massive, unctuous to the touch, and of a
green color. It is often variegated with spots of green of different
shades. With a mixture of carbonate of lime it forms the verd
antique marble.
Carbonate of Lime, or common limestone, is composed of
carbonic acid and lime. Its specific gravity is 2.65. It presents a great
variety of forms. In a crystalline state it is generally transparent, and
when so, possesses the property of double refraction. It may be
distinguished from every other common species by its rapid
effervescence with acids. It readily cleaves parallel to all the faces of
the primary form, which is a rhombohedron.
Sulphate of Lime, or Gypsum, is composed of sulphuric acid and
lime. Its specific gravity is 2.32. When crystalline, it has a pearly
lustre, is transparent, and goes under the name of Selenite.
Common Gypsum resembles the other earthy limestones, but it is
softer, and may be readily distinguished by its not effervescing with
acids.
To the minerals now enumerated may be added the following,
which are of frequent occurrence, but not in great quantities;
namely, carbonate of magnesia, oxide of iron, iron pyrites, rock-salt,
coal, bitumen, schorl and garnet.
These simple minerals, either in separate masses or mingled
more or less intimately together, compose almost wholly the earth’s
crust.
 SECTION III.—THE MINERAL MASSES
WHICH FORM THE CRUST OF THE EARTH.
That portion of the structure of the earth which is accessible to
man is called the crust of the earth.
The mineral masses which compose it, whether in a solid state,
like granite and limestone, or in a yielding state, like beds of sand
and clay, are called rocks.
The unstratified rocks are Granite, Hypersthene rock, Limestone
and Serpentine, and the Trappean and Volcanic rocks.
Granite is a rock of a light gray color, and is composed of quartz,
felspar and mica, in variable proportions, confusedly crystallized
together. The felspar is generally the predominant mineral. It is
sometimes of a very coarse texture, the separate minerals occurring
in masses of a foot or more in diameter. At other times it is so fine-
grained that the constituent minerals can scarcely be recognized by
the naked eye; and between these extremes there is every variety.
The term granite is not, however, confined to an aggregate of these
three minerals. In some instances the felspar so predominates as
almost to exclude the other minerals, when it is called felspathic
granite. When the quartz appears in the form of irregular and broken
lines, somewhat resembling written characters, in a base of felspar,
it is called graphic granite. When talc takes the place of mica, it is
talcose granite. When hornblende takes the place of mica, it is
syenite. Granite or any rock becomes porphyritic when it contains
imbedded crystals of felspar.
There is a rock of crystalline structure, like granite, but of a
darker color, which is called hypersthene rock. It is composed of
Labrador felspar and hypersthene. The mineral species serpentine
and limestone often occur unstratified in considerable quantities.
Volcanic rocks consist of the materials ejected from the craters of
volcanoes. They are composed of essentially the same minerals as
trap rocks. When the material has been thrown out in a melted
state, it is called lava. Lava, at the time of its ejection, contains a
large amount of watery vapor at a high temperature. Under the
immense pressure to which it is subjected in the volcanic foci, it may
exist in the form of water; but when the lava is thrown out at the
crater, the pressure cannot much exceed that of the atmosphere.
The particles of water at once assume the gaseous form. As lava
possesses considerable viscidity, the steam does not escape, but
renders the upper portion of the mass vesicular. This vesicular lava is
called scoriæ. By the movement of the stream of lava, these vesicles
become drawn out into fine capillary tubes, converting the scoriæ
into pumice-stone.
A large part of the materials ejected from volcanoes is in the
form of dust, cinders and angular fragments of rock. These soon
become solidified, forming volcanic tuff, or volcanic breccia. In
submarine eruptions these fragments are spread out by the water
into strata, upon which other materials, not volcanic, are afterwards
deposited. These interposed strata are called volcanic grits.
The trappean rocks are composed of felspar, mingled intimately
and in small particles with augite or hornblende. They also contain
iron and potassa. They are often porphyritic. When they contain
spherical cavities, filled with some other mineral, such as chlorite,
carbonate of lime or agate, they are called amygdaloidal trap.
The principal varieties of trappean rock are basalt, green stone,
and trachyte. In basalt, augite, or, in some cases, hornblende, is the
predominant mineral. It is a heavy, close-grained rock, of a black or
dark brown color. Greenstone differs from basalt in containing a
much larger proportion of felspar. Its structure is more granular, and
frequently it assumes so much of the crystalline form as to pass
insensibly into syenite or granite. It is a dark colored rock, with a
slight tinge of green. Both green stone and basalt are disposed to
assume the columnar form, the columns being arranged at right
angles to the faces of the fissure into which the trap is injected.
When it is spread out into broad horizontal masses, the columns are
vertical. (Fig. 1. Trachyte is composed principally of felspar, is of a
grayish color, and rough to the touch.

Fig. 1.

Of the stratified rocks the following are the most important:

Gneiss is a rock closely resembling granite. It is an aggregate of
the same minerals, but the proportion of mica is somewhat greater.
The only distinction between them is that the gneiss is stratified, but
the stratification is often so indistinct that it passes insensibly into
granite. Generally, however, the stratification is so distinct as to
present a marked difference.
Mica slate is such a modification of gneiss that the mica becomes
the predominant mineral, with a small intermixture of quartz and
felspar. Consequently the stratification becomes very distinct, so as
sometimes to render the mass divisible into thin sheets. The
stratification is often wavy, and sometimes much contorted.
Sandstone consists of grains or fragments of any other rock, but
more frequently of siliceous rocks. The fragments are consolidated,
sometimes without any visible cement, but often by a paste of
argillaceous or calcareous substance. The color varies with that of
the rock from which it was derived. Generally, however, it is either
drab or is colored red by oxide of iron. The fragments are sometimes
so minute as scarcely to give the rock the appearance of sandstone.
When they are of considerable size and rounded, the rock is called
conglomerate. When they are angular, it is called breccia. Greensand
is a friable mixture of siliceous and calcareous particles, colored by a
slight intermixture of green earth or chlorite.
Limestone is a very abundant rock, and occurs in many different
forms. In transparent crystals it is Iceland spar. When white and
crystalline, it is primary limestone, saccharine limestone, or statuary
marble. When sub-crystalline it is generally more or less colored. It
is often clouded with bands or patches of white in a ground of some
dark color. When its texture is close, and the crystallization scarcely
apparent, it is compact limestone. The white, earthy variety is chalk.
A variety of limestone composed of small spheres is called oölite.
Lias is the name given to an impure argillaceous variety of a brown
or blue color. Any rock which contains a considerable proportion of
carbonate of lime, and which rapidly disintegrates on exposure to
the atmosphere, is called marl. Limestone sometimes contains
carbonate of magnesia. It is then magnesian limestone, or dolomite.
Clay consists of a mixture of siliceous and aluminous earth. It is
tough, highly plastic, and generally of a lead blue color. It is always
stratified, and often divided into very thin laminæ, which are
separated by sprinklings of sand only sufficient to keep them
distinct.
Clay slate, or argillaceous schist, is composed of the same
materials as clay, and differs from it only in having become solidified.
Its color is gray, dark brown or black. In some beds it is purple.
Shale is the same material in a state of partial solidification. On
exposure to the weather, it soon disintegrates, and is finally
reconverted into clay. All the varieties of argillaceous rock are easily
distinguished by a peculiar odor which they emit when breathed
upon.
Argillaceous slate sometimes takes into its composition portions
of some other mineral, such as talc, mica, or hornblende. When any
of these minerals becomes so abundant as to constitute a
considerable part of the mass, the rock becomes talcose, micaceous,
or hornblende slate. Sometimes this last variety loses all appearance
of a fissile structure, and is composed almost wholly of hornblende.
It is then called hornblende rock.
Diluvium is the name applied to masses of sand, gravel, and
large rocks, called boulders, heaped confusedly together on the
surface of the earth. It is also called drift.
 CHAPTER II.

OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE

MATERIALS WHICH COMPOSE
THE CRUST OF THE EARTH.
SECTION I.—THE CLASSIFICATION OF
ROCKS.
In the first place, we divide rocks into stratified and unstratified.
This division is one which will in general be easily recognized, even
by the most inexperienced observer; and the distinction is important,
because it separates the rocks of igneous origin from those which
have been produced by deposition of sediment from water.
It will be shown hereafter that a part of the unstratified rocks
have been formed at or near the surface of the earth; that is, they
have taken their present form by passing from a state of fusion to a
solid state above or between the stratified rocks, as in the case of
lava (Fig. 2, A). The other unstratified rocks have cooled so as to
take the solid form below the stratified rocks, as at B. The first are
called epigene, or volcanic rocks; the last, hypogene, or plutonic
rocks.
The lowest portion of the second division, the stratified rocks, are
termed non-fossiliferous, from the fact that they contain no evidence
of the existence of organic beings at the time when they were
deposited. Their relation to the other rocks is shown at C. It is
supposed that these rocks have been subjected to great changes by
heat from the igneous rocks below them. On this account Mr. Lyell
proposes to call them metamorphic rocks. The other portions of the
stratified rocks are fossiliferous, containing the remains of organic
beings which lived at the period when the rocks were deposited.
They are represented at D. The division of the last-named rocks info
groups will be given hereafter.

Fig. 2.

We have then four principal classes of rocks: Plutonic Rocks,

Volcanic Rocks, Non-fossiliferous Stratified Rocks and Fossiliferous
Rocks.

SECTION II.—THE PLUTONIC ROCKS.

Granite is by far the most important of this class of rocks. Of its
thickness no estimate can be made, as no mining operations have
ever penetrated through it, and none of the most extensive
displacements of rocks by natural causes has brought to the surface
any other rock on which it rests. It may, therefore, be considered the
foundation rock, the skeleton of the earth, upon which all the other
formations are supported. The whole amount of granite in the
earth’s crust may be greater than that of all other rocks, but it
comes up through the other formations so as to be exposed over
only a comparatively small portion of the surface, and this is
generally the central portion of mountain ranges, or the highest
parts of broken, hill country. Still, it is not unfrequently found in the
more level regions, in the form of slightly elevated ridges, with the
stratified rocks reclining against it.
The structure of granite seems frequently to be a confused
mixture of the minerals which compose it, without any approach to
order in their arrangement; but in many cases it is found to split
freely in certain directions, and to work with difficulty in any other.
This may result from an arrangement of the integrant crystals, so
that their cleavage planes approach more or less nearly to
parallelism. When this is the case with the mica or felspar, it must
diminish the cohesion in a direction perpendicular to these planes,
and thus facilitate the cleavage of the mass.

Fig. 3.

Granite is found to penetrate the stratified rocks in the form of

veins. The following section (Fig. 3) will show the relation of granite
veins to the granitic mass below. The granite which is quarried for
architectural purposes is often in comparatively small quantities,
disappearing at the distance of a few hundred yards beneath the
stratified rock; or else it exists in the form of isolated dome-shaped
masses. It is probable that, if they could be followed sufficiently far,
they would be found to be portions of dikes coming from the general
mass of granite below. Even the granite nuclei of the great mountain
ranges may be considered as injected dikes of enormous magnitude.

Fig. 4.

Granite is itself intersected with granite veins more frequently,

perhaps, than any other rocks; but the vein is a coarser granite than
the rock which it divides. It is not uncommon to find one set of dikes
intercepted and cut off by a second set, and the second by a third.
The substance of the dikes was, of course, in a liquid state when it
was injected, and the first must have become solid before the
second was thrown in; hence the dikes are of different ages. The
dikes a b c, represented in Fig. 4, must have been injected in the
order in which they are lettered.
It is probable that, by the process of cooling, the liquid mass
from which these dikes have proceeded has been gradually
solidifying from the surface downwards. If so, it would follow that
the granite nearest the surface (1, Fig. 2) is the oldest, and the
newest is that which is at the greatest distance below (4). It is
possible that at great depths granite may be still forming, that is,
taking the solid form, though of this there can be no direct proof.
There is, however, proof that it has been liquid at periods of time
very distant from each other; for the dikes sometimes reach to the
top of the coal formation (for example), and then spread themselves
out horizontally, as at a, showing that the rock above the coal had
not then been deposited. Another dike will extend through the new
red sandstone, as at b, and spread itself out horizontally as before.
These horizontal layers of granite, by their position in strata whose
ages are known, indicate the periods when granite has existed in a
liquid state. Granite veins have been discovered in the Pyrenees as
recent as the close of the cretaceous period, and in the Andes they
have been found among the tertiary rocks.
There are several other rocks, of minor importance, often found
in connection with granite. Hypersthene rock, in a few cases, forms
the principal part of mountain masses. Greenstone is more
frequently associated with the trappean rocks, but it sometimes
passes imperceptibly into syenite and common granite. Limestone is
found in considerable abundance, and serpentine in small quantities,
as primary rocks, and have evidently been formed like granite, by
solidifying from a state of fusion.

SECTION III.—THE VOLCANIC ROCKS.

The volcanic rocks consist of materials ejected from volcanoes.
They are, however, ejected in very different states; sometimes as
dust, sand, angular fragments of rock, cinders, &c., and sometimes
as lava streams. In some instances, the lava has so little fluidity that
it accumulates in a dome-shaped mass over the orifice of eruption,
and perhaps in a few instances it has been thrust upward in a solid
state.
There are two principal varieties of lava, the trachytic, consisting
mostly of felspar, and the basaltic, consisting of hornblende. When
both kinds are products of the same eruption, the trachytic lava is
thrown out first, and the basaltic last. The reason of this is, that
felspar is lighter than hornblende, and probably rises to the surface
of the lava mass at the volcanic focus, and the basaltic lava is
therefore reserved till the trachytic has been thrown off.
These, like other rocks, have been produced at different epochs.
There is, however, great difficulty in determining their age; There
are some differences of structure and composition observed, in
comparing the older and newer lavas; but the only method that can
be relied on to determine their age is their relation to other rocks.
When they occur between strata whose age is determined by
imbedded fossils, they must be of intermediate age between the
inferior and superior strata.
1. Modern Volcanic Rocks.—Some of the volcanic rocks are of
modern origin, and are produced by volcanoes now active. The total
amount of these, and of all the other volcanic rocks, is probably less
than that of either of the other principal divisions of rocks; yet they
form no inconsiderable part of the earth’s crust. The number of
active volcanoes is not far from three hundred, and the number of
eruptions annually is estimated at about twenty. In some cases, the
lava consists of only a single stream, of but a few hundred yards in
extent. It extends, however, not unfrequently twenty miles in length,
and two or three hundred yards in breadth. The eruption of Mount
Loa, on the island of Hawaii, in 1840, from the crater of Kilauea,
covered an area of fifteen square miles to the depth of twelve feet;
and another eruption of the same mountain, in 1843, covered an
area of at least fifty square miles. The eruption in Iceland, in 1783,
continued in almost incessant activity for a year, and sent off two
streams in opposite directions, which reached a distance of fifty
miles in one case, and of forty in the other, with a width varying
from three to fifteen miles, and with an average depth of more than
a hundred feet. The size of some of the volcanic mountains will also
assist in forming an idea of the amount of volcanic rocks. Monte
Nuovo, near Naples, which is a mile and a half in circumference and
four hundred and forty feet high, was thrown up in a single day.
Ætna, which is eleven thousand feet high, and eighty-seven miles in
circumference at its base, has probably been produced wholly by its
own eruptions. A large part of the chain of the Andes consists of
volcanic rock, but the proportion we have not the means of
estimating.
2. Tertiary Lavas.—There is another class of volcanic products,
which are so situated with reference to the tertiary strata that they
must be referred to that period. The principal localities of these
lavas, so far as yet known, are Italy, Spain, Central France, Hungary,
and Germany. They are also found in South America. Those of
Central France have been studied with the most care. They occur in
several groups, but they were the seats of volcanic activity during
the same epoch, and formed parts of one extensive volcanic region.
Each of these minor areas, embracing a circle of twenty or thirty
miles in diameter, is covered with hills two or three thousand feet in
height, which are composed entirely of volcanic products, like the
cone of Ætna. On many of them there are perfectly-formed craters
still remaining. Numerous streams of lava have flowed from these
craters, some of which can now be traced, throughout their whole
extent, with as much certainty as if they were eruptions of the
present century. Some of the lavas have accumulated around the
orifices of eruption, forming rounded, dome-shaped eminences.
These lavas generally consist of trachyte, and have therefore a low
specific gravity, and imperfect fluidity. The basaltic lavas have often
spread out over broad areas, and, when they have been confined in
valleys, have reached a distance of fifteen miles or more from their
source. There still remain indications of a current of lava which was
thirty miles long, six broad, and in a part of its course from four to
six hundred feet deep. The above sketch (Fig. 5) will give some idea
of the highly volcanic aspect which the district of Auvergne, in
France, presents.

Fig. 5.

The unimpaired state of some of the cones and craters, and of

the lava currents, would lead to the impression that these regions
have been the theatre of intense volcanic action within a very recent
period. But there is good reason to believe that this has not been
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