Get Started with Satellite Communications Toolbox

Simulate, analyze, and test satellite communications systems and links

Satellite Communications Toolbox provides standard-based tools for designing, simulating, and verifying satellite communications systems and links. It enables orbit propagation and visualization for large satellite constellations. You can use the toolbox to support scenario modeling for time-varying visibility and link budget analyses with satellites, aircraft, and other mobile platforms in a single scenario.

The toolbox enables no-code link budget analysis with visualization-based tools for sensitivity and availability analysis. You can generate standard-based DVB-S2/S2X/RCS2, GPS, and CCSDS waveforms, suitable as golden references for design verification. With Satellite Communications Toolbox, you can use standard-based reference receiver designs as initial prototypes for more complex designs. You can also use standard-based satellite channel models to support link simulations for RF and optical links.

Tutorials

Satellite Scenario Modeling

Satellite Scenario Basics
Build complete satellite scenario simulation.
Model, Visualize, and Analyze Satellite Scenario
Model satellites in orbit, analyze access between the satellites and ground stations, and visualize fields of view and ground tracks of the satellites.

Satellite Link Budget

Get Started with Satellite Link Budget Analyzer App
Create, configure, analyze, and visualize link budgets for satellite communications.
Import Custom Scenario into Time-Varying Satellite Link Budget Analyzer
Model, save, and import a satellite scenario in time-varying Satellite Link Budget Analyzer app. (Since R2024b)

Waveform Generation

Waveform Generation Workflow
Learn the workflow to generate satellite communications standards-based waveforms.
Create Configuration or System Objects
Create objects to store properties required for waveform generation and signal data recovery.
Generate Waveforms
Generate waveforms for these satellite communication standards — DVB-S2, DVB-S2X, DVB-RCS2, CCSDS HPE TM, CCSDS TM, and CCSDS TC.

Channel Modeling

Earth-Space Propagation Losses
Calculate the Earth-space propagation losses for the design of Earth-space systems.

About Satellite Communications

What Is Satellite Communications?

Learn the basics of communication using a satellite.
GPS and How It Works

Learn about GPS and its segments, how GPS works using the trilateration technique, and signal specifications of legacy and modernized signals.
Satellite Link Budget

Explore the factors that influence the satellite link budget analysis and derive the power budget equations for C/N_o and link margin.

Featured Examples

GPS Waveform Generation

Generate a complex baseband GPS waveform.

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Satellite Constellation Access to Ground Station

Set up access analysis between a ground station and conical sensors onboard a constellation of satellites.

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CCSDS Optical High Photon Efficiency Telemetry Waveform Generation

Generate high photon efficiency waveform for free space optical communications systems as defined in CCSDS standard.

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Model NR NTN Channel

Model NR NTN narrowband channel and frequency selective fading TDL channel.

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Multi-Hop Satellite Communications Link Between Two Ground Stations

Set up multi-hop link between two ground stations.

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End-to-End DVB-S2 Simulation with RF Impairments and Corrections

Measure BER and PER for a pilot-aided DVB-S2 link with added RF impairments and AWGN.

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Videos

What Is Satellite Communications Toolbox?
A brief introduction to the toolbox.

Multi-Hop, Time-Varying Communications Link Analysis
Create a satellite scenario that models a multi-hop link with two satellites and two ground stations.

Satellite Link Budget Analysis
Explore the Satellite Link Budget Analyzer app and analyze RF propagation paths by predicting atmospheric losses as per ITU-R P.618.