Calculate a satellite’s coverage area, footprint diameter and share of Earth from its altitude and minimum elevation angle, or solve for altitude.

Earth mean radius (6,371 km) is filled in; change it for the Moon, Mars or another body.

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Satellite Coverage Area Formula

The following two example problems outline the steps and information needed to calculate the Satellite Coverage Area.

p = 50d / (R + d); area = 2ฯ€Rยฒ(1 โˆ’ cos ฮฑ); ฮฑ = acos(R / (R + d))

Variables:

  • p is the percentage of the whole spherical surface visible at the geometric horizon (0ยฐ minimum elevation)
  • R is the radius of the sphere/Earth 
  • d is the distance of the satellite from the surface 

Choose the value to solve for, then enter the visible inputs in consistent units. Horizon coverage is p = 50d/(R+d) percent. Surface area is 2ฯ€Rยฒ(1 โˆ’ cos ฮฑ). For minimum elevation e, ฮฑ = acos([R/(R+d)] cos e) โˆ’ e, with angles in radians. This spherical geometric footprint excludes terrain, atmospheric refraction, antenna beam limits and link quality.

How to Calculate Satellite Coverage Area?

The following steps outline how to calculate the Satellite Coverage Area.

  1. First, determine the radius of the sphere/Earth. 
  2. Next, determine the distance of the satellite from the surface. 
  3. Next, use horizon coverage p = 50d/(R+d), with R and d in the same units.
  4. Finally, calculate the Satellite Coverage Area.
  5. After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.

Example Problem : 

Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.

radius of the sphere/Earth = 300

distance of the satellite from the surface = 200

p = 50 ร— 200/(300+200) = 20%. The central half-angle is acos(0.6) โ‰ˆ 53.1301ยฐ and the spherical surface cap area is 72,000ฯ€ โ‰ˆ 226,194.6711 square units.