Model to Scale Rain Attenuation Time Series With Link Elevation Angle for LEO Satellite Based Systems

Abstract

AbstractA model to scale time series of rain attenuation along an Earth‐to‐satellite path with variable elevation angle is proposed. Starting from the time series at the lowest elevation the algorithm scales up each sample to the elevation of interest while maintaining the space and time correlation of the rain process and by correctly reproducing the local long‐term rain attenuation statistics. Because of these peculiarities, the model represents a key element for the development of attenuation time series synthesizers for LEO satellite‐based applications, where the time decorrelation of the rain event during the quick spacecraft passage over the ground station (roughly 10 min) is quite limited. Moreover, the comparison with the simple geometric scaling (i.e., the cosecant law) carried out among the attenuation Complementary Cumulative Distribution Functions shows a definite improvement in the prediction accuracy, even more so when the elevation angle falls below 20°.