Attachment A - Technical Annex

This document pretains to SES-MFS-20190507-00566 for Modification w/ Foreign Satellite (earth station) on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESMFS2019050700566_1676581

                                       ECHOSTAR-23


                                     ATTACHMENT A
                   Technical Information to Supplement Schedule S



A.1     Scope


This attachment contains the information required by § 25.114(c) and other sections of Part 25 of
the Commission’s rules that cannot be entered into the Schedule S form.


A.2     General Description of Overall System Facilities, Operations and Services


The ECHOSTAR-23 satellite will operate at the 72.6° W.L. nominal orbital location and will
provide Broadcasting-Satellite Service (“BSS”) service to the contiguous United States
(“CONUS”).      Feeder link transmissions are received by a spot beam centered over EchoStar’s
feeder link earth station facilities located in Gilbert, AZ. The satellite will operate under two
Canadian ITU networks filed at 72.7° W.L.: CAN-BSS3 and CAN-BSS6.                      Commission
authorization is currently being sought to operate at a maximum downlink EIRP of 53 dBW. This
level is in keeping with the downlink parameters of the Canadian ITU networks.


The ECHOSTAR-23 satellite operates within the 17.3-17.8 GHz BSS feeder uplink band (ITU
Appendix 30A) and the 12.2-12.7 GHz BSS downlink band (ITU Appendix 30). The channel
center frequencies are identical to those prescribed by the ITU’s Region 2 BSS Plan.            Full
frequency re-use is achieved through the use of dual orthogonal polarizations. The bandwidth of
each channel is 24 MHz.


Spacecraft Telemetry, Tracking and Control (“TT&C”) functions will take place from FCC-
authorized, fully redundant TT&C earth station and satellite control facilities located in Cheyenne,
                                                 1


WY and Gilbert, AZ. TT&C transmissions occur at the edges of the 17.3-17.8 GHz uplink band
and 12.2-12.7 GHz downlink band.


A.3     Predicted Space Station Antenna Gain Contours


The ECHOSTAR-23 satellite’s antenna gain contours for the receive and transmit beams are
provided in GXT format and embedded in the associated Schedule S submission. The beams used
for TT&C operations have gain contours that vary by less than 8 dB below peak across the
surface of the visible Earth. Therefore, gain contours for these beams (beams CMDR, CMDL and
TLM) have not been included in the associated Schedule S form.


A.4     TT&C Characteristics


The information provided in this section complements that provided in the associated Schedule S
form.


The ECHOSTAR-23 TT&C sub-system provides for communications during on-station
operations, as well as during spacecraft emergencies. For on-station emergencies the TT&C
signals are received and transmitted by the satellite using a combination of wide-angle antennas on
the satellite that create a near omni-directional gain pattern. For normal on-station operation, the
TT&C signals are received and transmitted by the satellite using large-coverage horn antennas.


There are two primary command receivers: one operating at 17.791 GHz and the other at 17.305
GHz. In addition, there is one “flex” receiver that can be tuned in 500 kHz steps anywhere within
the 17.300 - 17.310 GHz band by ground command. Telemetry operates either at 12.207 GHz or
12.208 GHz. There is also a “flex” transmitter that can be tuned in 500 kHz steps anywhere
within the 12.200 - 12.210 GHz band by ground command.


A summary of the TT&C subsystem is given in Table A.4-1.


                                                 2


                        Table A.4-1: Summary of the TT&C Subsystem
                                                                17,791 MHz (RHCP)
   Command/Ranging Frequencies                                  17,305 MHz (LHCP)
                                                            17,300 - 17,305 MHz (LHCP)
                                                            17,305 - 17,310 MHz (LHCP)
   Uplink Flux Density (Threshold)                              -93 dBW/m2 (Command)
                                                                 -87 dBW/m2 (Ranging)
                                                                12,207 MHz (LHCP)
   Telemetry/Ranging Frequencies                                12,208 MHz (LHCP)
                                                            12,200 - 12,205 MHz (LHCP)
                                                            12,205 - 12,210 MHz (LHCP)
   Maximum Downlink EIRP                                             14.8 dBW




A.5     Orbital Debris Mitigation Plan


A.5.1   Spacecraft Hardware Design


Space Systems/Loral (“Loral”) is the manufacturer of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite. Loral has
determined that no debris will be released by the spacecraft throughout its remaining lifetime.


To protect the spacecraft from small body collisions, including debris less than one centimeter in
diameter, the design of the ECHOSTAR-23 spacecraft allows for individual faults without losing
the entire spacecraft. All critical components are built within the structure and shielded from
external influences.    Items that cannot be built within the spacecraft nor shielded (such as
antennas) are either redundant or are able to withstand impact. The ECHOSTAR-23 spacecraft
can be controlled through both the large-coverage horn antenna and the wide-angle antennas.
The likelihood of all antennas being damaged during a small body collision is minimal.


The ECHOSTAR-23 satellite has TT&C and propulsion subsystems that are necessary for end-of-
life disposal. The spacecraft TT&C system is extremely rugged with regard to meteoroids smaller
than 1 cm, by virtue of its redundancy, shielding, separation of components and physical
characteristics. The command receivers and decoders and telemetry encoders and transmitters are


                                                 3


located within a shielded area are redundant and physically separated. A single main satellite
thruster and shielded propellant tank provided the energy for orbit raising. Otherwise, there are
no single points of failure in the system.


A.5.2   Accidental Explosion Assessment

Loral has reviewed failure modes for all equipment to assess the possibility of an accidental
explosion onboard the spacecraft. In order to ensure that the spacecraft does not explode on
orbit, the satellite controller will take specific precautions.   All batteries and fuel tanks are
monitored for pressure or temperature variations. Alarms in the Satellite Control Center (“SCC”)
inform controllers of any variations. Additionally, long term trending analysis is performed to
monitor for any unexpected trends.


Operationally, batteries are operated utilizing the manufacturer’s automatic recharging scheme.
Doing so ensures that charging terminates normally without building up additional heat and
pressure. As this process occurs wholly within the spacecraft, it also affords protection from
command link failures.


In order to protect the propulsion system, fuel tanks will all be operated in a blow down mode.
At the completion of orbit raising, the pressurant was isolated from the fuel system. This causes
the pressure in the tanks to decrease over the life of the spacecraft. This also protects against a
pressure valve failure that might otherwise cause the fuel tanks to become over pressurized.


In order to ensure that the spacecraft has no explosive risk after it has been successfully de-
orbited, all stored energy onboard the spacecraft will be removed. Upon successful de-orbit of
the spacecraft, all propulsion lines and latch valves will be vented and left open. All battery
chargers will be turned off and batteries will be left in a permanent discharge state. These steps
will ensure that no buildup of energy can occur resulting in an explosion in the years after the
spacecraft is de-orbited.



                                                 4


A.5.3     Safe Flight Profiles

In considering current and planned satellites that may have a station-keeping volume that overlaps
the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite, EchoStar has reviewed the lists of FCC-licensed satellite networks
that are located within ±0.15 degrees of 72.6° W.L., as well as those that are currently under
consideration by the FCC. In addition, submissions to the ITU for a network located within
±0.15 degrees of 72.6° W.L. have also been reviewed.


Telesat Canada operates the NIMIQ 5 satellite at 72.7° W.L. and with an east-west station-
keeping tolerance of ±0.05°.1


There are no pending applications before the Commission for a satellite to be located at an orbital
location in the immediate vicinity of 72.6° W.L. With respect to ITU networks, EchoStar is not
aware of any satellite with an overlapping station-keeping volume with the ECHOSTAR-23
satellite that is the subject of an ITU filing and that is either in orbit or progressing towards
launch.


Based on the preceding, EchoStar seeks to locate the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite at 72.6° W.L. and
operated with an east-west station-keeping tolerance of ±0.05°. This eliminates the possibility of
any station-keeping volume overlap with the NIMIQ 5 satellite. EchoStar concludes there is no
requirement to physically coordinate the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite with another satellite operator
at the present time.


A.5.4     Post Mission Disposal Plan

At the end of the operational life of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite, EchoStar will maneuver the
satellite to a disposal orbit with a minimum perigee of 340 km above the normal GSO operational




1
    See SES-MFS-20090306-00253.

                                                5


orbit. This proposed disposal orbit altitude exceeds the minimum required by §25.283, which is
calculated below.

The input data required for the calculation is as follows:

       Total Solar Pressure Area “A” = 121.1 m2
       “M” = Dry Mass of Satellite = 2613.2 kg
       “CR” = Solar Pressure Radiation Coefficient = 2


Using the formula given in §25.283, the Minimum Disposal Orbit Perigee Altitude is calculated as
follows:

               =       235 km + 1000 x CR x A/m
               =       235 km + 1000 x 2 x 121.1/2613.2


               =       327.7 km above GSO (35,786 km)

Maneuvering the satellite to the disposal orbit will require 15.9 kg of propellant, and this quantity
of fuel, taking account of all fuel measurement uncertainties, will be reserved to perform the final
orbit raising maneuvers.


EchoStar will apply all available propellant accounting methodologies to track propellant usage.
For the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite, these methodologies include the bookkeeping method, the
pressure-volume-temperature (“PVT”) method, and the propellant depletion gauge operations
(“PDGO”) method.


The bookkeeping method, whereby the estimated propellant used during a thruster-firing event is
subtracted from the beginning of life propellant mass, will be applied after every thruster-firing
event. The PVT method, which uses current state pressure and temperature telemetry received
from the satellite to estimate the remaining propellant, will be applied once a month. The PDGO
method uses propellant temperature measurements taken while tank heaters are activated to
determine more accurately the amount of oxidizer and fuel in tanks at the end of mission life. The
                                                  6


PDGO method will be applied annually until propellant analysis shows 60 kg or less propellant
remaining, after which the PDGO method will be applied after every north-south station-keeping
maneuver. Combined, these methods will ensure the necessary amount of fuel is reserved to
perform deorbit procedures as well as maximize fuel depletion when the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite
reaches its disposal orbit.


.5.4.1   Interference Analyses


The analyses of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network with respect to the limits in Annex 1 to
Appendices 30 and 30A are given in Appendices 1 and 2 to this document. The analyses
performed for the various Appendix 30/30A limits showed that no networks are affected except
for four Region 2 BSS networks where the OEPM limits are exceeded.


The results of the MSPACE analysis for the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network are contained in
Annex 1 to Appendix 1. Four adjacent Region 2 BSS networks are deemed to be affected. Each
of these networks is discussed below:


    •    Mexico’s MEX01SUR network at 69.2° W.L. is deemed to be affected. This network is
         not operational.


    •    Mexico’s MEX-TDH1 and QUESTZAT-77 networks at 77° W.L. are deemed to be
         affected. Quetzsat operates the QUETZSAT satellite under these two ITU networks.
         DISH leases all the satellite’s capacity. EchoStar has determined that the interference
         caused to these DISH services by the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite is acceptable.


    •    Brazil’s non-operational B-SAT-3B-1 network at 74° W.L. is deemed to be affected. This
         network needs to be coordinated with Mexico’s two networks at 77° W.L. before it can
         be implemented.




                                                7


Note that the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite will operate under Canada’s 72.7° W.L. ITU filings and
therefore ITU coordination is the responsibility of the Administration of Canada.




                           ___________________________________




                                                8


              CERTIFICATION OF PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARING
                          ENGINEERING INFORMATION




          I hereby certify that I am the technically qualified person responsible for preparation of the

engineering information contained in this application, that I am familiar with Part 25 of the

Commission’s rules, that I have either prepared or reviewed the engineering information

submitted in this application and that it is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and

belief.




                                                                /s/ Stephen D. McNeil
                                                                ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
                                                                Stephen D. McNeil
                                                                Telecomm Strategies Canada, Inc.
                                                                Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
                                                                (613) 270-1177




                                                    9


                               APPENDIX 1 TO ATTACHMENT A


                               Analysis of ANNEX 1 of Appendix 30



1             Limits for the interference into frequency assignments in conformity with the
              Regions 1 and 3 Plan or with the Regions 1 and 3 List or into new or modified
              assignments in the Regions 1 and 3 List

Does not apply to the Region 2 Plan.


2             Limits to the change in the overall equivalent protection margin for frequency
              assignments in conformity with the Region 2 plan

With respect to § 4.2.3 c) of Article 4, an administration in Region 2 is considered as being
affected if the overall equivalent protection margin28 corresponding to a test point of its entry in
the Region 2 Plan, including the cumulative effect of any previous modification to that Plan or
any previous agreement, falls more than 0.25 dB below 0 dB, or, if already negative, more
than 0.25 dB below the value resulting from:
–     the Region 2 Plan as established by the 1983 Conference; or
–     a modification of the assignment in accordance with this Appendix; or
–     a new entry in the Region 2 Plan under Article 4; or
–     any agreement reached in accordance with this Appendix.                 (WRC-03)



An MSPACE analysis was performed utilizing the Region 2 BSS Plan as contained in IFIC 2886,
and using the characteristics of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network as it is proposed to operate.
The results of the analysis are shown in Annex 1 to this Appendix.




28
     For the definition of the overall equivalent protection margin, see § 1.11 of Annex 5.



                                                                                              Page A1-1 of A1-5


3             Limits to the change in the power flux-density to protect the broadcasting-
              satellite service in Regions 1 and 2 in the band 12.2-12.5 GHz and in Region 3 in
              the band 12.5-12.7 GHz


With respect to § 4.2.3 a), 4.2.3 b) or 4.2.3 f) of Article 4, as appropriate, an administration in
Region 1 or 3 is considered as being affected if the proposed modification to the Region 2 Plan
would result in exceeding the following power flux-density values, at any test point in the service
area of its overlapping frequency assignments:


–147     dB(W/(m2 · 27 MHz))                                                     for 0° ≤ θ < 0.23°
–135.7 + 17.74 log θ                      2
                              dB(W/(m · 27 MHz))                                 for 0.23° ≤ θ < 2.0°
–136.7 + 1.66 θ    2              2
                           dB(W/(m · 27 MHz))                                    for 2.0°   ≤ θ < 3.59°
–129.2 + 25 log θ                     2
                           dB(W/(m · 27 MHz))                                    for 3.59° ≤ θ <10.57°
–103.6                 2
           dB(W/(m · 27 MHz))                                                    for 10.57° ≤ θ

where θ is the minimum geocentric orbital separation in degrees between the wanted and
interfering space stations, taking into account the respective East-West station-keeping
accuracies. (WRC-03)

The GIMS PFD tool was used to assess compliance with this Section. Using the antenna gain
contours and proposed power level of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite, the GIMS PFD tool showed
that no administrations are affected. Therefore, the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network is
compliant with this Section.


4             Limits to the power flux-density to protect the terrestrial services of other
              administrations29, 30, 31

With respect to § 4.2.3 d) of Article 4, an administration in Region 1, 2 or 3 is considered as
being affected if the consequence of the proposed modification to an existing assignment in the
Region 2 Plan is to increase the power flux-density arriving on any part of the territory of that
administration by more than 0.25 dB over that resulting from that frequency assignment in the
Region 2 Plan at the time of entry into force of the Final Acts of the 1985 Conference. The same




29
     See § 3.18 of Annex 5.
30
     In the band 12.5-12.7 GHz in Region 1, these limits are applicable only to the territory of administrations
     mentioned in Nos. 5.494 and 5.496.
31
     See Resolution 34.


                                                                                                       Page A1-2 of A1-5


administration is considered as not being affected if the value of the power flux-density
anywhere in its territory does not exceed the limits expressed below.

With respect to § 4.1.1 d) or § 4.2.3 d) of Article 4, an administration in Region 1, 2 or 3 is
considered as being affected if the proposed new assignment in the Regions 1 and 3 List, or if
the proposed new frequency assignment in the Region 2 Plan, would result in exceeding a power
flux-density, for any angle of arrival, at any point on its territory, of:

         –148     dB(W/(m2 ⋅ 4 kHz))                       for        θ ≤ 5°

         –148 + 0.5 (θ – 5) dB(W(m2 ⋅ 4 kHz)               for 5° < θ ≤ 25°

         –138     dB(W/(m2 ⋅ 4 kHz))                       for 25° < θ ≤ 90°

where θ represents the angle of arrival.       (WRC-03)




The GIMS PFD tool was used to assess compliance with this Section. Using the antenna gain
contours and proposed power levels of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite, the GIMS PFD tool showed
that no administrations are affected. Therefore, the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network is
compliant with this Section.


5             (Not used.)


6             Limits to the change in the power flux-density of assignments in the Regions 1
              and 3 Plan or List to protect the fixed-satellite service (space-to-earth) in the
              band 11.7-12.2 GHz32 in Region 2 or in the band 12.2-12.5 GHz in Region 3, and
              of assignments in the Region 2 plan to protect the fixed-satellite service (space-
              to-earth) in the band 12.5-12.7 GHz in Region 1 and in the band 12.2-12.7 GHz
              in Region 3

With respect to § 4.2.3 e), an administration is considered as being affected if the proposed
modification to the Region 2 Plan would result in an increase in the power flux-density over any
portion of the service area of its overlapping frequency assignments in the fixed-satellite service
in Region 1 or 3 of 0.25 dB or more above that resulting from the frequency assignments in the
Region 2 Plan at the time of entry into force of the Final Acts of the 1985 Conference.

With respect to § 4.1.1 e) or 4.2.3 e) of Article 4, an administration is considered as not being
affected if the proposed new or modified assignment in the Regions 1 and 3 List, or if a proposed




32
     Including assignments operating under No. 5.485.



                                                                                       Page A1-3 of A1-5


modification to the Region 2 Plan, gives a power flux-density anywhere over any portion of the
service area of its overlapping frequency assignments in the fixed-satellite service in Region 1, 2
or 3 of less than:

       –186.5    dB(W/(m2 · 40 kHz))                                for 0° ≤ θ < 0.054°

       –164.0 + 17.74 log θ    dB(W/(m2 · 40 kHz))                  for 0.054° ≤ θ < 2.0°

       –165.0 + 1.66 θ2    dB(W/(m2 · 40 kHz))                      for 2.0°   ≤ θ < 3.59°

       –157.5 + 25 log θ    dB(W/(m2 · 40 kHz))                     for 3.59°≤ θ < 10.57°

       –131.9    dB(W/(m2 · 40 kHz))                                for 10.57° ≤ θ

where θ is the minimum geocentric orbital separation in degrees between the wanted and
interfering space stations, taking into account the respective East-West station-keeping
accuracies.

The ITU’s GIBC software tool was used to assess compliance with this Section. The results
show that no administrations are affected and therefore the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network is
compliant with this Section.



7           Limits to the change in equivalent noise temperature to protect the fixed-
            satellite service (earth-to-space) in Region 1 from modifications to the Region 2
            plan in the band 12.5-12.7 GHz

With respect to § 4.2.3 e) of Article 4, an administration of Region 1 is considered as being
affected if the proposed modification to the Region 2 Plan would result in:
–   the value of ∆T/T resulting from the proposed modification is greater than the value of
    ∆T/T resulting from the assignment in the Region 2 Plan as of the date of entry into force of
    the Final Acts of the 1985 Conference; and
–   the value of ∆T/T resulting from the proposed modification exceeds 6%,
using the method of Appendix 8 (Case II).   (WRC-03)



From a review of the available ITU space network databases there are no assignments registered
in the Earth-to-space direction in the frequency band 12.5-12.7 GHz. Therefore, no Region 1
space stations can be affected and hence the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network is compliant with
this Section.




                                                                                       Page A1-4 of A1-5


                      Annex 1

    ECHOSTAR-23 at 72.6° W.L. MSPACE Results



        Orbital                           Max. OEPM
Admin   Position          Network         Degradation
         (°W)                                (dB)
MEX       69.2     MEX01SUR                    0.779
MEX       77.0     MEX-TDH1                    0.604
MEX       77.0     QUETZSAT-77                 0.787
 B        74.0     B-SAT-3B-1                  6.624




                                                        Page A1-5 of A1-5


                               APPENDIX 2 TO ATTACHMENT A




                              Analysis of ANNEX 1 of Appendix 30A


1        (SUP - WRC-2000)




2        (SUP - WRC-2000)




3             Limits to the change in the overall equivalent protection margin with respect to
              frequency assignments in conformity with the Region 2 feeder-link
              plan33 (WRC-2000)

With respect to the modification to the Region 2 feeder-link Plan and when it is necessary under
this Appendix to seek the agreement of any other administration of Region 2, except in cases
covered by Resolution 42 (Rev.WRC-03), an administration is considered as being affected if the
overall equivalent protection margin34 corresponding to a test point of its entry in that Plan,
including the cumulative effect of any previous modification to that Plan or any previous
agreement, falls more than 0.25 dB below 0 dB, or, if already negative, more than 0.25 dB below
the value resulting from:
–     the feeder-link Plan as established by the 1983 Conference; or
–     a modification of the assignment in accordance with this Appendix; or
–     a new entry in the feeder-link Plan under Article 4; or
–     any agreement reached in accordance with this Appendix except for Resolution 42
      (Rev.WRC-03). (WRC-03)
An MSPACE analysis was performed utilizing the Region 2 BSS Plan as contained in IFIC 2886,
and using the characteristics of the ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network as it is proposed to operate.
The results of the analysis are shown in Annex 1 to this Appendix.




33
     With respect to § 3 the limit specified relates to the overall equivalent protection margin calculated in
     accordance with § 1.12 of Annex 3.
34
     For the definition of the overall equivalent protection margin, see § 1.11 of Annex 5 to Appendix 30.



                                                                                                         Page A2-1 of A2-2


4          Limits to the interference into frequency assignments in conformity with the
           Regions 1 and 3 feeder-link Plan or with the Regions 1 and 3 feeder-link List or
           proposed new or modified assignments in the Regions 1 and 3 feeder-link
           list (WRC-03)

Does not apply to the Region 2 Plan.



5          Limits applicable to protect a frequency assignment in the bands 17.3-18.1 GHz
           (Regions 1 and 3) and 17.3-17.8 GHz (Region 2) to a receiving space station in
           the fixed-satellite service (earth-to-space)

An administration in Region 1 or 3 is considered as being affected by a proposed modification in
Region 2, with respect to § 4.2.2 a) or 4.2.2 b) of Article 4, or an administration in Region 2 is
considered as being affected by a proposed new or modified assignment in the Regions 1 and 3
feeder-link List, with respect to § 4.1.1 c) of Article 4, when the power flux-density arriving at
the receiving space station of a broadcasting-satellite feeder-link would cause an increase in the
noise temperature of the feeder-link space station which exceeds the threshold value of ∆T/T
corresponding to 6%, where ∆T/T is calculated in accordance with the method given in
Appendix 8, except that the maximum power densities per hertz averaged over the worst 1 MHz
are replaced by power densities per hertz averaged over the necessary bandwidth of the feeder-
link carriers. (WRC-03)


The analysis shows that there are no affected Region 1 or Region 3 networks. Therefore, the
ECHOSTAR-23 satellite network is compliant with this Section.



6          Limits applicable to protect a frequency assignment in the band 17.8- 18.1 GHz
           (Region 2) to a receiving feeder-link space station in the fixed-satellite service
           (earth-to-space) (WRC-03)


Does not apply to the Region 2 Plan.




                                   ______________________




                                                                                      Page A2-2 of A2-2



Document Created: 2019-05-07 15:30:46
Document Modified: 2019-05-07 15:30:46

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