New generation of ka-band equipment for telecommunication satellites

A new generation of space-borne Ka-Band products has been for the emerging demand of telecommunication payloads for multimedia missions. The technical challenges that they impose together with sharpened cost objectives lead to necessary technological improvements. The described hardware includes Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA), Down and Up Frequency Converters, Channel Amplifiers (CAMP) and Linearizers. Some of these units are grouped in ??assemblies?? which allow the centralization of several commodities. New packaging concepts have been extensively used in parallel to a severe industrialization phase which included the complete space qualification of these technologies. Ultimate performance has been achieved thanks to an extensive modeling work for MMIC design. Finally, it is shown how a specific demand for a very compact Ka-Band antenna has led, for the very first time, to the adoption of non-hermetic hybrids for a space use.