Satellite communication generally involves three types of nodes: the ground station (also known as teleport), the satellite in geosynchronous orbit, and the satellite receiver/transceiver. I am interested in knowing how much a signal leaks into space during the ground-space-ground communication process.
The following images are two possible scenarios which I drew to help illustrate the path for a signal uplink, and I'm unsure which scenario is more accurate.
Possible Scenario One: The satellite uplink maintains it's path/signal width into geosynchronous orbit. Either little, or none of the signal leaks into space.
Possible Scenario Two: The signal of the satellite uplink spreads from the source of the uplink, similar to the path of a light of a flashlight. As a result, this spread results in much of the signal leaking into space.
Which of these scenarios seems to be more accurate? Does the type of satellite uplink affect how much a signal spreads? (Ku-band, Ka-band, S-band?) Is a standard household satellite internet transceiver uplink more likely to leak then a teleport uplink due to the dish design?
Another note to consider, I discovered while doing some Google-fu that satellite signal uplink also consists of "lobes". The main lobe has the strength to travel into geosynchronus orbit, but I'm unsure if the side lobes are capable of leaking into space.
Source: http://www.marinesatellitesystems.com/index.php?page_id=1086
The above points are things to consider with satellite uplink leaking into space, but I am also curious if satellite downlink can also leak. As a final note, the following is a diagram showing the main lobe from a satellite leaking during the downlink process. I am unsure if the diagrammed scenario happens universally with all geosynchronous satellites, or only with the one listed in the image source.