The Milstar payloads

Abstract

Milstar is an advanced military satellite communications system providing low and medium data rate sewices to tactical and strategic users worldwide. With four satellites placed in geosynchronous orbits and fully interconnected with 60 GHz crosslinks. Milstar will provide assured access, secure, antijam, SuNiVable communication networks with the ondemand availability that U.S. military users require. Using 44 GHz uplinks and 20 GHz downlinks, extensive on-board processing, and switchboardin-the-sky network services. Milstar supports land, sea, and airborne terminals ranging in size from manpotrable to large fixed sites. The first two Milstar satellites are referred to as Milstar-I and have Crosslink and Low Data Rate (LDR) payloads. The third and subsequent satellites are called Milstar-ll and, in addition to Crosslink and LDR payloads, have a new Medium Data Rate (MDR) payload. This paper discusses the existing LDR payload architecture and how that architecture has been applied to the development of the MDR payload. The details of the Crosslink payload are transparent to Milstar users and are therefore not addressed. Milstar-ll extends the maximum per channel capability of the Milstar system from 2400 bps through the LDR payload to 1.544 Mbps with MDR. MDR takes full advantage of the LDR functional designs and operations concepts while incorporating advanced technology for -/