Course Title: Satellite Communication Systems Engineering

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Satellite Communication Systems Engineering

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
EEET1080	City Campus	Undergraduate	125H Electrical & Computer Engineering	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2013, Sem 2 2014, Sem 2 2016
EEET1080	City Campus	Undergraduate	172H School of Engineering	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2018, Sem 2 2019, Sem 2 2020, Sem 2 2021, Sem 2 2022, Sem 2 2023

Course Coordinator: Dr. Akram Hourani

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 9640

Course Coordinator Email: akram.hourani@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 12.8.14

Course Coordinator Availability: Email for appointment.

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

- You should have passed EEET2115 Communication Engineering 2

or

- Have equivalent knowledge associated with the following topics:

• Signal description in time and frequency domains.
• Analog and digital modulation.
• Thermal noise, and signal-to-noise-ratio concepts and calculations.
• Basic scripting and programming using Matlab software tool.

Course Description

Satellite Communication Systems provide vital and economical communication services over very large geographic areas of land, sea and air. In this course, you will learn the fundamentals and the techniques for the design and analysis of satellite communication systems.

Topics include satellite orbits and constellations, space and ground segments architecture, link budget calculations, rain fading, atmospheric absorption, multiple access methods for satellite, digital modulation for satellite, error correction codes, and the basics of satellite networking. 

Please note that if you take this course for a bachelor honours program, your overall mark in this course will be one of the course marks that will be used to calculate the weighted average mark (WAM) that will determine your award level. (This applies to students who commence enrolment in a bachelor honours program from 1 January 2016 onward. See the WAM information web page for more information.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At undergraduate level this course develops the following Program Learning Outcomes:

     1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline.

     2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving.

     2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources.

At postgraduate level this course develops the following Program Learning Outcomes:

•  High levels of technical competence in the field
• Be able to apply problem solving approaches to work challenges and make decisions using sound engineering methodologies

 

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Explain the principles, concepts and operation of satellite communication systems.
2. Describe the concepts of signal propagation affects, link design, rain fading and link availability and perform interference calculations.
3. Understand modulation techniques and error correction codes for satellite communication.
4. Use software tools to simulate and analyse the performance of satellite communication systems, and use software defined radio to emulate satellite up/down-links.
5. Critically analyse the design requirements and the performance of satellite communication systems.

 

Overview of Learning Activities

In the recorded lectures you will explore and learn about key concepts, theories and their applications using design examples and case studies to demonstrate current industry practice. The tutorials will address practical example problems in satellite communication systems and will present solutions.

The laboratory exercises will explain how to simulate satellite communication systems and study their performance. 

 

Overview of Learning Resources

You will be able to access course information and learning materials through RMIT University’s online systems.

Lists of relevant reference texts, resources in the library and freely accessible Internet sites will be provided.

You will also use state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and computer software within the School during project and assignment work.

 

Overview of Assessment

☒This course has no hurdle requirements.

The fundamentals, concepts and technical problem solving with any numerical calculation skills will be assessed. All assessment tasks will also assess your ability to critically analyse results and provide arguments to support design decisions. Feedback will be provided on all assessment tasks except for the End-of-Semester Assessment also on the final submission of Assessment Task 3. 

Assessment tasks: Assessment Task 1: Mid-semester Assessment (online timed within a time window of 24 hours) Weighting 20% This is an individual time-limited learning activity. This assessment task supports CLOs 1 & 2. Assessment Task 2: End-of-Semester Assessment (online timed within a time window of 24 hours) Weighting 20% This is an individual time-limited learning activity. This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. Assessment Task 3: Project Assignment Weighting 30% This is a major written assignment that replicates the work a student would do in the industry to design and simulate a satellite communication system. The assignment document needs to be developed throughout the semester with multiple opportunities for the students to ask questions and get feedback during the tutorial hours. This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. Assessment Task 4: Lab Reports and Performance Weighting 30% This assessment is group-based learning activity.  Three lab reports each 10%. This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 4 & 5.