Satellite Beacons

History

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, was launched into orbit in 1957 with carrying a radio beacon transmitting of 20,005 MHz. This was the first instance of telemetry (measurement from afar) from space.

 

Satellite beacons have been used for many purposes, 

1. tracking and telemetry

2. propaganda advertisement to ground navigation and monitoring.

Satellite beacons today generally transmit on higher frequencies and are controlled by digital logic circuitry.

Type of Beacons

Satellite beacons can be classified according to their function or the frequency they are.

(reference: https://www.spaceacademy.net.au/spacelink/satbcns/satbcns.htm)

Beacon Function	Band	Notes
Early Russian tracking and telemetry	HF	eg 20.005 MHz
Early USA tracking and telemetry	VHF	eg 108 / 136 MHz
Geosat tracking and telemetry	Ku / Ka bands	eg 14/26 GHz
Deep Space tracking and telemetry	S / X bands	eg 2 / 8 GHz
Ionospheric studies	VHF / UHF	GPS now commonly used
Tropospheric studies (rain attenuation)	Ku / Ka bands	14 / 26 GHz
Navigation	L - band	eg GNSS / GPS
Optical	Visible light	Mostly experimental

Ka-band beacon receiver example