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There are many great books that have been written about satellites through the years from the origins of how we put them into orbit to how the industry has evolved. Even the use of satellite dishes for satellite tv services has evolved significantly over the last 20 years. It used to be that satellite dishes were only for very wealthy individuals that just wanted to have something better than the guy next door. Now, they are very much mainstream. I hope this short list of 10 books on satellite technologies well wet your appetite and keep you coming back for more.

1. Communication Satellite Antennas: System Architecture, Technology, and Evaluation by Robert Dybdal (2009). This is a very current book and a great resource on antenna technologies (satellite dishes in our case). Bob (the author) holds several patents in the space around adaptive antennas, antenna tracking, satellite transponder architectures, and microwave components.

2. Satellite Communications Systems: Systems, Techniques and Technology by Gerard Maral (2010). This is the fifth edition of this book and is great mostly because it covers all facets of satellite communications. If you want a detailed understanding of how several technologies come together to provide satellite services then this book is the resource for you.

3. Satellite Communications Systems Engineering: Atmospheric Effects, Satellite Link Design and System Performance (Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing) by Dr. Louis J. Ippolito (2008). This one is interesting because it discusses the impacts of radio waves and the atmosphere on satellite transmissions and equipment. Dr. Ippolito has a remarkable career including teaching satellite engineering at The George Washington University and doing satellite research for NASA

4. Introduction to Satellite Communication (Artech House Space Applications) by Bruce R. Elbert (2008). Even if you aren’t a heavy technologist you will be able to follow along with this book. In fact, it may be the best starting point if you are fairly new to satellite technologies. It will cover all the fundamentals of satellites from ground control systems to more advanced topics.

5. Satellite Communications by Timothy Pratt (2002). This is one of the older books in this list but it is one that covers the bases well (560 pages). It has chapters on orbital mechanics, modulation techniques, and a lot more. You will find this one to be a tougher read but worth the struggle.

6. Satellites And The Internet: Challenges And Solutions by D.C. Palter (2004). This one has a completely different slant as it is written for satellite professionals that want to get a better understanding of how the Internet works from basic TCP/IP up through leveraging satellite bandwidth. It’s a great book to read if you are interested in satellite internet technologies.

7. Intorduction to Satellite Systems, Technology Basics, Market Growth, Systems, and Services by Ben Levitan and Lawrence Harte (2003). This book covers both the technologies as well as the business side of the rapid explosion of satellite technologies. Levitan and Harte both have a lot of experience in the space and have done a great job of balancing the book between technologies and commercial aspects of the industry

8. Space as a Strategic Asset by Joan Johnson-Freese (2007). To me, this book is interesting because it covers the political issues surrounding how we use Space and who has the right to put satellites in orbit, what you can do with satellites, etc. It’s a very interesting look at space exploration and satellite technologies.

9. The ARRL Satellite Handbook by Steve Ford (2009). This is for those satellite radio enthusiasts out there. It discusses amateur radio satellites and various different satellite tracking methods. It’s a great book and a relatively quick read that you will probably look at multiple times, learning something new each time.

10. The Satellite Technology Guide for the 21st Century by Virgil Labrador (2008). I just really like the cover of this book for starters (reminds me of some great science fiction books I have read over the years). This is your first reading assignment and one that you really need to own it clearly explains satellite technologies in non-technical terms. Simply a great starting point for anyone jumping into satellite technologies.

Source from: http://www.satellitedish.org

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2 comments

  1. snizz // June 27, 2011 at 7:19 PM  

    Nice list of books, thank you.


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  2. Melody // July 8, 2012 at 4:16 AM  

    These books are good suggestions. Better to read these books so you can get an edge of the works of satellite connections of this era like DISH, DIRECTV and many others.

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