- From 8 April – 20 May 2026 (7 Weeks, 7 Classes, 14 Classroom Hours, approximately 28 Total Hours)
- Every Wednesday from 6–8 p.m. Eastern Time (all sessions will be recorded and available for replay; course notes will be available for download)
- This new essential course, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, will cover the fundamentals of satellite communications, including basic link analysis, antennas, and real-world system examples in this very dynamic field!
- All students will receive an AIAA Certificate of Completion and an additional Certificate of Completion from Johns Hopkins University.
OVERVIEW
This
practical course gives working professionals a clear understanding of how
modern satellite communications work end-to-end, with real systems examples
applied across seven weeks with one two-hour live session per week. You’ll
build literacy in the language of satcomm (signals and decibels), understand a
high-level link budget via a guided spreadsheet, be able to compare and
contrast antenna options (including electronically steered antennas), grasp
qualitative modulation/coding trade-offs, and survey today’s architectures and
trends (GEO/MEO/LEO/VLEO and beyond, crosslinks, optical links, 5G NTN,
software-defined payloads), with recordings, downloadable slides, an optional
mini-project, and between-session email support—culminating in two Certificates
of Completion – from both AIAA and Johns Hopkins University.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the core segments of a satellite communications link (space & ground) and how they interact.
- Walk through a satellite communications link budget and understand its key parameters (EIRP, G/T, bandwidth, coding) and results.
- Compare and evaluate antenna options (including ESAs) and understand gain/pointing trade-offs.
- Describe modulation/coding trade-offs qualitatively (spectral efficiency, throughput, performance).
- Identify common link impairments (rain fade, noise, interference, polarization) and their mitigations, and speak credibly on spectrum/regulatory basics
- Recognize
current trends and the importance of new developments and systems.
Working professionals (engineering, program management, operations, policy, BD) seeking a practical foundation in satellite communications. No RF, comms, or advanced mathematics background required.
- AIAA Member Price: $1595 USD
- Non-Member Price: $1795 USD
Additional AIAA/Johns Hopkins Courses: In Spring 2026, AIAA and Johns Hopkins University are jointly offering several courses focused on Space Systems Engineering. Those students wishing to deepen their knowledge may be interested the opportunity to participate in more than one of these courses:
- Fault Management and Autonomy for Space Systems – Online Short Course (Starts 7 April 2026)
- Introduction to Satellite Communications – Online Short Course (Starts 8 April 2026)
- Space Weather and Space Systems – Online Short Course (Starts 9 April 2026)
- Spacecraft Rendezvous and Proximity Operations – Online Short Course (Starts 28 April 2026)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OUTLINEWeekly 2-hour live sessions:
- Week
1 — Satellite Communications at a Glance
Use cases, services, GEO/MEO/LEO/VLEO, coverage & latency, vocabulary. - Week
2 — Signal-to-Noise Ratio & Link Budget Essentials
Signal-to-noise ratio measures, dB’s, the link budget, figures of merit, link analysis guided template. - Week
3 — Antennas in Practice
Antenna basics, gain and beamwidth, pointing, trends and electronically steered arrays. - Week
4 — Modulation & Coding (Qualitative)
Modulation schemes (BPSK/QPSK and higher order), bit-error rate, Forward-Error Correction coding (FEC) and coding gain. - Week
5 — Spectrum, Interference, & Propagation
Frequency allocations and licensing, polarization, rain and atmospheric propagation, link performance and mitigations. - Week
6 — Ground Segment & Access Methods
Ground stations, the RF chain (HPA/LNA), gateways; Multiple Access - FDMA/TDMA/SCPC/OFDM — when & why. - Week
7 — Current and Future Systems & Trends + Mini‑Capstone
The New Space environment, LEO mega-constellations, introduction to satellite crosslinks & optical links, 5G non-terrestrial networks, SD payloads, link example walkthrough; learner reflections.
INSTRUCTOR
Chris DeBoy has over 30 years of experience in satellite communications, from systems engineering (he is the lead RF communications engineer for the New Horizons Mission to Pluto) to flight hardware design for both low-Earth orbit and deep-space missions. He leads the Spaceflight Engineering Branch in the Space Exploration Sector at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and is a member of APL’s Principal Professional Staff. He holds a BSEE from Virginia Tech, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins, and teaches the satellite communications course for the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering.
CLASSROOM HOURS / CEUs: 14 classroom hours / 2.8 CEU/PDH
COURSE DELIVERY AND MATERIALS
- The course lectures will be delivered via Zoom. Access to the Johns Hopkins learning platform will be provided to registrants near to the course start date.
- All recorded classes will be available on-demand within 1-2 business days of the lecture. Once available, you can stream the replay video anytime, 24/7.
- All slides will be available for download after each lecture. No part of these materials may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted, unless for course participants. All rights reserved.
- Between lectures during the course, the instructor will be available via email for technical questions and comments.
CONTACT: Please contact Lisa Le or Customer Service if you have any questions about the course or group discounts.