Ground Stations

Ground stations are fixed Earth (or Moon) sites used for access analysis and communication link budgets.

Defining a ground station

Each ground station is defined by:

• Location — latitude, longitude, altitude.
• Elevation mask — the minimum elevation angle above the horizon (e.g. 5°) at which contact is considered possible. Higher masks model obstructed horizons or link margin requirements.
• Central body — Earth or Moon, determining how the station’s position is handled in access and link computations.

Using ground stations

Ground stations are referenced by:

• Access analysis — compute visibility windows between a satellite and a station. See Access.
• Link budget — compute RF link margin for uplink/downlink passes. See Link Budget.
• Data budget — downlink data rates are tied to specific ground station access windows. See Data Budget.

Next steps

• Access — compute satellite visibility windows
• Link Budget — RF link margin per pass