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S. Cakaj, W. Keim, K. Malaric:
"Communications Duration with Low Earch Orbiting Satellites";
Talk: 4th IASTED International Conference on Antennas, Radar, and Wave Propagation (ARP 2007), Montreal, Quebec, Canda; 2007-05-30 - 2007-06-01; in: "IASTED ARP2007 Proceedings", (2007), ISBN: 978-0-88986-661-4; 85 - 88.

Communication via satellite begins when the satellite is positioned in the desired orbital position. The satellite´s coverage area on the Earth depends on orbital parameters. Ground stations can communicate with LEO (Low Earth Orbiting) satellites only when the satellite is in their visibility region. The duration of the visibility and so the communication duration varies for each satellite pass at the ground station. For low cost LEO satellite ground stations in urban environment it will be a big challenge to ensure communication down to the horizon. The communication at low elevation angles can be hindered through natural barriers or will be interfered by man made noise. This paper discusses the variations of the communication duration between the ground station and LEO satellites and investigates if it is useful to support low elevation passes. For this paper data recorded at the Vienna satellite ground station within the Canadian space observation project "MOST" (Micro variability and Oscillations of Stars) are applied.

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/pub-et_12772.pdf