EARTH-SPACE RAIN ATTENUATION PREDICTION FOR LAGOS AT KU BAND

A B S T R A C T

Changes in the weather condition (Rainfall, Snowfall, Harmattan, etc) affect signal transmission. Over the years, there have been issues with rainfall as regard signal transmission, because rainfall causes signal attenuation which breaks the communication link from the transmitting satellite to the receiving station. The satellite signal is transmitted in the Ku band where it is greatly affected by rainfall. This research work investigates the effects of rain attenuation on satellite for Ikeja, Lagos State.Measured rain attenuation values were compared with some other relevant slant path rain prediction models. The Simple Attenuation model (SAM), Bryant and ITU-R models were selected for rain attenuation prediction and the results were compared with measured rain attenuation. Result shows the ITU-R model presents the closest attenuation value for satellite link. The ITU-R model is modified to suit the results.