An improved model for diversity gain on earth‐space propagation paths

An empirical model has been generated to estimate diversity gain on earth‐space propagation paths as a function of earth terminal separation distance, link frequency, elevation angle, and angle between the baseline and the path azimuth. This analysis utilized 34 diversity experiments which have been conducted in Canada, England, Japan, and the United States during the past decade. The resulting model reproduces the entire experimental data set with an rms error of 0.73 dB. The separation distance dominates the dependence of the diversity gain. The dependence on link frequency is small but significant. No identifiable dependence on baseline orientation was found.