Chapter 32, Problem 69P

You’re on an international panel charged with allocating “real estate” for communications satellites in geostationary orbit. The panel needs to know how many satellites could fit in geostationary orbit without receivers on the ground picking up multiple signals. Assume all satellites broadcast at 12 GHz and that receiver dishes are 45 cm in diameter. Begin by calculating the angular size of the beam associated with such a receiver dish, defined as the full width of its central diffraction peak. Use your result to find the number of satellites allowed in geostationary orbit if each receiver dish is to “see” just one satellite. (Hint: Consult Example 8.3.)