geometry, averaged over the extent of possible alignment orientations, and then represented in the Orbit Geometry spreadsheet as a curve-fitted function of site latitude and orbit parameters. To illustrate this methodology, Figure 4-9 shows one sample of the (S, E) characteristics of the subsequent four passes over the 13° N latitude site during a 24-hour interval The numerically integrated, normalized energy accumulation of the five different passes is S Eq = 129.0 minutes However, when the orbiter's initial longitude relative to the ground site is varied over 360°, the average value S Eq = 108.6 minutes is obtained. This result yields the average for this MEO SunTower case of Direct beaming contact time for a LEO SunTower is quite limited. For placement altitudes between 900 and 2000 km, contact time varies from only 2.7 to 7.6 minutes with a 30° beam slewing constraint. Corresponding values of Eq vary from 2.4 to 6.6 minutes, and Nep values are in the range 0.4 to 0.8 for Figure 4-10 Typical Characteristics of LEO SunTower - MEO Relay Link
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