Modeling the Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Hybrid Satellite System

The aim of this paper is to present the approach used to model the greenhouse gas emissions of a hybrid broadband terrestrial/satellite system over its lifecycle. The lifecycle analysis showed that the electricity used by the customer premises equipment was responsible for the majority of the GHG emissions, assuming that the power plants continue to use fossil fuels. Emissions from manufacture, transport and waste treatment represented only 0.00453 % of the total emissions. Under a 1 % cut-off rule only the in-use emissions from on grid electricity would need to be considered. Manufacture, transport, and waste treatment can be safely ignored. This includes emissions from the manufacture of the satellite launch vehicle and the transport of the satellite into geostationary orbit.