Narrowband system activities in the NASA communications program

The objective of NASA's narrowband system activities is to identify, develop, and test the technology needed for future commercial satellite-aided mobile communications systems. Desired characteristics include low service cost, efficient spectrum utilization, and compatibility with terrestrial systems. Ongoing effort includes system concept definition and market analysis. A typical system would need a large spaceborne antenna with 50 to 100 beams, each 0.5 to 0.7 degree wide, onboard switching and processing, linear solid-state amplifiers, and low-cost user terminals. The paper describes current studies and discusses future NASA plans in this field.