Scenarios
Worked constellation coverage scenarios
Each page opens the calculator with a configuration already loaded, explains what the numbers mean for that kind of service, and shows the figures it quotes so you can check them against the tool underneath.
- Why continuous coverage is not a thresholdContinuity depends on the elevation mask, altitude, latitude and plane arrangement, not on a satellite count. The explanation behind the sizing tool.90 sats · 550 km · 53° · min elev 25° · lat 50°
- Direct-to-phone coverage at 5, 25, 45 and 90 satellitesWhat a direct-to-device constellation can promise at each stage of a buildout, from a first block of five satellites to a 90-satellite shell.25 sats · 520 km · 53° · min elev 25° · lat 40°
- IoT store-and-forward with a polar constellationRevisit time for a sun-synchronous IoT constellation with a 10 degree mask, where the product is message latency rather than continuous service.22 sats · 550 km · 97.5° · min elev 10° · lat 60°
- Why single-plane deployments have long outagesThe same satellite count can mean a 15 hour outage or a 25 minute one. Deployment order and plane spread decide which.5 sats · 520 km · 53° · min elev 25° · lat 40° · 1 plane
- Coverage vs latitude, and why 53 degrees stops at 61Inclination plus the coverage half-angle sets a hard latitude ceiling. Above it, no fleet size produces a single second of service.48 sats · 520 km · 53° · min elev 25° · lat 55°
How to read these
Every figure quoted in the prose is computed when the page is built, by the same physics module the calculator runs in your browser. If the model changes, the sentences change with it. Nothing is typed in by hand, so the editorial cannot drift away from the tool.
The configurations are illustrative rather than descriptions of any particular operator's fleet. Load one, then move the controls: the point of each page is the shape of the relationship, not the specific row.