System capacity evaluation of DVB-S2X based medium earth orbit satellite network operating at Ka band

In this paper, the performance of a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite trunking system operating in Ka-band in terms of capacity statistics is studied, taking into account sophisticated propagation and physical layer tools. First, the satellite system model is presented and some general considerations of the MEO constellation and network are given. Afterwards, a tool for generating atmospheric attenuation time series induced on links operating at Ka-band with time dependent elevation angle, such as Earth-MEO links, is described. The tool is derived modifying the atmospheric attenuation time series generators for links with fixed elevation angles. Moreover, an optimized in terms of spectral efficiency physical layer design is provided, employing also some higher constellation modulations from the recent DVB-S2X standard. Finally, considering Adaptive Coding and Modulation which allows providing the instantaneously highest data rate for a given link budget, we evaluate the total system capacity provided by the MEO constellation. In the numerical results section, capacity results are presented for a variety of ground stations located in different climatic areas.