Description
(*) On Delegation Request (formerly called Priority 2)
Objective: The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test Ka-band high power demultiplexers intended to be accommodated outside the satellite platform using novel materials suitable for such anenvironment.
Targeted Improvements: Enabling technology development to increase the number of feeds in single-feed-per-beam antenna concepts (up to twice the number of feeds with respect to two-channel de-/multiplexers) and hence significantly increase system capacity (almost linear with respect to the number of beams).
Description: In systems with single-feed-per-beam antennas, a significant constraint on the number of beams is the very high number of waveguide runs needed to connect the repeater to the antenna feeds. In addition, satellite platforms have structural limitations in terms of the maximum number of fixation points that can be accommodated for the waveguides from the repeater (located inside the satellite platform) to the antenna feed array (located outside the satellite platform). In order to overcome these limitations, the placement of demultiplexers (for the transmit path) and multiplexers (for the receive path) outside rather than inside the satellite platform is an attractive solution. For two-channel multiplexers/demultiplexers, this reduces the number of waveguide runs between the repeater and the antenna by one half. However, this requires operation of the multiplexers/demultiplexers over a much wider temperature range of about +150 to -100 degrees Celsius in comparison to equivalent units located inside the platform. Considering the accommodation constraints, the available thermal dissipation area, the required temperature stability and mass requirements, material selection for the filter channels is critical. In this activity a fullscale engineering model of an extended temperature, high power, Ka-band demultiplexer shall be designed, manufactured and experimentally tested in a thermal environment that is representative of the environment outside of the satellite platform. Novel materials with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion (for example advanced alloys (e.g. RSA-473, RSA-483) and metal-matrix composites) shall be assessed as part of the development.
(*) On Delegation Request (formerly called Priority 2) activities will only be initiated on the explicit request of at least one National Delegation.