An example of an elliptical footprint with a reception area of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The ellipses necessary antenna diameter for reciving in cm is indicated.

The footprint of a communications satellite is the ground area that its transponders offer coverage, and determines the satellite dish diameter required to receive each transponder's signal. There is usually a different map for each transponder (or group of transponders) as each may be aimed to cover different areas of the ground.

Footprint maps usually show either the estimated minimal satellite dish diameter required or the signal strength in each area measured in dBW.

External links

• Interactive map by SES Astra showing the footprints of their satellites serving Western Europe.
• Interactive map by Eutelsat showing their worldwide satellite fleet, linking to the footprints of each.
• Links to interactive maps from Intelsat for their fleet of satellites.
• Links to interactive maps for SES Americom's fleet of satellites.
• Link to maps for Russian Satellite Communications Company satellites
• Link to satellite footprints from SatBeams for Geostationary satellites

This electronics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.