“Army SATCOM OTM full elevation performance characterization”

The Army has a well established requirement for satellite communications (SATCOM) on-the-move (OTM), in order to support the needed level of real-time, tactically-relevant information on a non-contiguous battlefield. The US Army CERDEC Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate Joint SATCOM Engineering Center (JSEC) is doing relevant research and development in order to provide the best SATCOM OTM technology for transition to the Warfighter. Part of this is the development of a technical test and characterization capability for SATCOM OTM systems. This SATCOM OTM Lab will utilize both motion simulator based testing and vehicle based testing on APG cross-country courses. The SATCOM OTM Lab will support a multitude of development and testing capabilities, but will focus on measuring acquisition and tracking performance. This paper will focus on the motion simulator based SATCOM OTM test and characterization approach, to include a way to simulate operation, given a specified motion profile, over a full range of elevation angles. The recent technical achievements in developing this technical capability will be discussed. Initial test data will be presented and technical challenges will be addressed.