Comment by OnACoffeeBreak
16 hours ago
From the Introduction: "Each satellite may carry traffic for dozens of independent networks through an array of on-board transponders, each covering a diameter of thousands of kilometers (at most a third of Earth’s surface)".
Can someone help me understand the use of "diameter" in this sentence. I am guessing it refers to the satellite's signal coverage of the Earth's surface. If that's the case, wouldn't something like arc degrees be a better measure? I just can't figure out how "diameter" can be used to describe a coverage arc or area.
They mean the intersection between the cone produced by the satellite and "illuminated" surface. If the antenna beam is normal to the sphere, it will produce a disk which has an diameter.
This, and 1/3 of earth’s surface is the maximum you can see from geostationary orbit.