Footprint (satellite)

File:Satellite Footprint.png

An example of an elliptical footprint with a reception area of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The ellipses indicate the necessary antenna diameter for receiving in cm.

The footprint of a communications satellite is the ground area that its transponders offer coverage, and determines the satellite dish diameter required to receive each transponder's signal. There is usually a different map for each transponder (or group of transponders), as each may be aimed to cover different areas.<ref name="satstar"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Footprint maps usually show either the estimated minimum satellite dish diameter required or the signal strength in each area measured in dBW.<ref name="satstar">Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Satellite ground track

External links

• Links to fleet information and footprints from SES.
• Links to interactive maps from Intelsat for their fleet of satellites.
• Links to interactive maps for SES World Skies's fleet of satellites.
• Link to maps for Russian Satellite Communications Company satellites
• Link to satellite footprints from SatBeams for Geostationary satellites
• Satellite footprints as images and on Google Earth