Abstract
The present work deals with the studying of the laser beam propagation through the earth's atmosphere. The linear mechanism of laser atmospheric interactions is taken in our consideration. Under this assumption, the analytical model describing the atmospheric attenuation of the laser beam power during a long rang propagation is studied. The laser power at the surface of the satellite and that reflected from the satellite's retro reflectors to the ground telescopes at the station are discussed in details. Simulation study is applied for the second harmonic Nd-YAG laser. The obtained results are interpreted for the data measured by Helwan Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station for various satellite configurations at different atmospheric conditions.