A Novel Method for High-Power Thermal Vacuum Testing of Satellite Payloads Using Pickup Horns

Author

Rao, Sudhakar K. ; Lee-Yow, Clency ; Venezia, Philip

Author_Institution

Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Syst., Newtown

Volume

49

Issue

3

fYear

2007

fDate

6/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

134

Lastpage

145

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a novel method for high-power thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing of satellite payloads using pickup horns (PUH). It describes the design, manufacture, and qualification results for a Ku-band pickup horn, followed by high-power thermal vacuum test results of a Ku-band satellite for fixed satellite service. Based on the successful demonstration of this method, a generic pickup horn (GPUH) - with improved performance over a large bandwidth, covering 7.0 GHz to 21.0 GHz - was developed for testing of X-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band satellite payloads. Detailed design and qualification aspects of the generic pickup horn are addressed, including measured results. This method has been successfully employed for high-power thermal vacuum testing of three different satellites at Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS), and is the planned testing method for all future payloads.

Keywords

aerospace test facilities; satellite antennas; space vehicles; thermal analysis; thermal variables measurement; Ku-band pickup horn; Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems; high-power thermal vacuum testing; horn antennas; pickup horns; satellite antennas; satellite payloads; space vehicle power systems; thermal variables measurement; Antenna measurements; Manufacturing; Payloads; Qualifications; Satellite antennas; Satellite broadcasting; Space vehicles; System testing; Thermal factors; Vacuum systems;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Antennas and Propagation Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1045-9243

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MAP.2007.4293951

Filename

4293951