Satellite-to-ground optical communication-s usability with different weathers and ground station location

The attenuation of satellite-to-ground optical link in fog, rain, snow and cloud is calculated with empirical formulas. The result of simulation shows the longer the length of the light wave, the smaller the attenuation of the laser in the fog; the attenuation in the snow is 10～100 times higher than that in the rain; when the optical depth of cloud is 4.7, the laser attenuation is higher than 20 dB. Considering the geographic distribution, meteorological features and cloud cover statistics, it is suggested that the Tarim basin, the desert of western Inner Mongolia and the northwestern part of Loess Plateau in northwest of China should be favorable for satellite-to-ground optical communication ground station location.