IMPROVED PROPAGATION PREDICTION BASED ON PHYSICAL IONOSPHERIC MODEL

HF CHANNEL PRESENTS SEVERAL TECHNICAL CHALLENGES BECAUSE OF THE DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF THE PROPAGATION MEDIUM. WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A SIMPLE PHYSICAL MODEL OF THE IONOSPHERE - WHICH WILL ALLOW REAL TIME UPDATE WITH DATA ACQUIRED FROM OBLIQUE AND VERITCAL SOUNDERS, COMMUNICATION LINKS AND OTHER SATELLITE AND GROUND BASED SOURCES. THE PHYSICAL MODEL WILL OPERATE IN A PC ENVIRONMENT AND THUS WILL ENHANCE THE CAPABILITIES OF A FULLY ADAPTIVE AND AUTOMATIC HF NETWORKING SCHEME. PHASE I OF THE PROPOSED EFFORT WILL BE DEVOTED MOSTLY IN DEVELOPING THE BASIC APPROACH INTO AN ADVANCED CONCEPTUAL DESIGN. THE KEY ELEMENT OF THE EFFORT IS DIRECTED TOWARDS DEMONSTRATION OF THE CAPABILITIES OF A SIMPLE PHYSICAL MODEL OF THE IONOSPHERE.