Rain fades on low elevation angle earth-satellite paths : comparative assessment of the Austin, Texas, 11.2-GHz experiment : Propagation effects on sattelite communication links

Several hundred station years of rain attenuation measurements on earth-space paths have been accumulated in the literature and were used to derive and test the CC/R fade prediction model. Only a few years of data are available for low elevation angle paths, however, and these show a consistent tendency of the model to under-predict rain fades. We contribute four years of 11.2-GHz measurements to the data base, taken on a 5.8 o elevation path in Austin, Texas, and assess higher than predicted fade results with respect to earlier measurements and the CC/R model. At the fiducial 0.01 percent of time, the rainfall rate was 73 mm/h andthe attenuation exceeded the 25 dB measurement fade margin. The monthly variability of rainfall rates and dB fades follows a normal distribution