Spectral Analysis of Experimental Ka-Band Propagation Measurements over the Australian LEO Microsatellite 'FedSat'

The increased interest in the use of Ka band frequencies in satellite communications has prompted extensive propagation studies and the development of several rain fade models in the past, all of which are based on measurements from geostationary satellites only. Based on novel data, which has been experimentally obtained from the low earth orbit microsatellite ‘FedSat’, this paper addresses the spectral analysis of variable slant-path attenuation measurements under various weather conditions by examples, compares the results to similar GEO statistics and identifies potentially significant effects.