Ka band converter assemblies for next telecommunication satellites

Telecommunication payloads for multimedia missions demand a large diversity of Ka-band products, particularly in term of frequency conversions (down-conversion from Ka to L-band and opposite up-conversion) and number of units. Consequently, versatility and flexibility are key answers to these constraints. Ka-band converter assemblies have been developed to address to this growing need for space communication systems. These assemblies centralize several commodities and include a large number of identical RF slices that are plugged vertically. An optimized packaging solution in a single "macrohybrid" has been designed and adapted to all type of conversions (up or down) and all frequency plans (L, Ku, Ka). An extensive modeling work of active (MMIC) and passive functions in all frequency bands, leads to a great RF modularity. Severe space qualification and industrialization steps have accompanied and completed the development and final performance is shown here.