Satellite Communications Glossary

Van Allen Radiation Belts.  Communications satellites operate in the area of space that is dominated by the Earth’s magnetic field: the magnetosphere. Some of the stream of protons and electrons produced by the solar wind and solar corpuscular radiation are trapped by the Earth’s closed magnetic field and form two toroidal (doughnut-shaped) regions called the Van Allen radiation belts, which are separated by what is commonly called the slot.

Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT).  Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) are digital C-band and Ku-band satellite communications terminals using small-diameter (aperture) antennas for the Earth stations. VSAT terminals are used in networks that primarily support point-to-multipoint communications as part of large private networks, particularly in large retail networks to support transactions such as inventory management and credit-card authorisation.

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