Investigating the Interference Induced by NGSO Constellations on GSO System Ground Stations: a Simulation Approach

This contribution describes the development and application of a physically-based simulator to investigate the interference caused by NGSO satellite constellations onto GSO fixed-satellite services. The simulator calculates the yearly statistics of the Carrier to Interference Ratio (CI) of the gateway link of a GSO system ground station, considering all the variables at play, including the impact of precipitation. The analysis relies on the principle of protection of GSO systems by means of an exclusion zone, defined via an avoidance angle (alpha) and limiting the maximum number of NGSO satellites that can concurrently transmit in the area of the GSO ground station, Max_co_freq. Preliminary results, reported as a function of a and Max_co_freq, show the usefulness of the CI results to design future NGSO constellations while limiting their impact on GSO systems.