Image-based State Modeling of the Land Mobile Satellite Channel for Multi-satellite Reception

This paper investigates the image-based characterization of the land mobile satellite (LMS) channel. For a comprehensive multi-satellite model, a traditional measurementbased approach is not feasible due to the lack of available satellites at all possible orbital positions and the drawbacks of the measurement system when a high gain tracking antenna is involved (e.g. Ka/Ku band). To overcome these challenges, we propose to derive the LMS channel state-model from an evaluation of hemispheric images of the environment. With geometric considerations we can predict the position of an arbitrary satellite within the image. Based on this information the reception state of the LMS channel can be extracted. We determine the accuracy of our method by comparing it with results from RF (Radio Frequency) measurements. This image-based approach establishes the basis of propagation modeling even for multi-/single-satellite systems not yet in orbit.