An experimental satellite system with on-board processing and low to medium rate access

The European Space Agency (ESA) is planning to develop a telecommunication satellite system with on-board processing able to handle a wide range of applications, access schemes, and terminal classes. This system is an extension of the TST/SS-TDMA laboratory prototype and is going to be tested in the field (including reduced representative on-board digital hardware) in the framework of the experimental technological program of the early nineties. The engineering guidelines of the preliminary design are described, the critical points and the relevant solutions are pointed out, and the remarkable improvements for small terminals and low-rate access schemes are highlighted