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Demonstration of Multi-Gbps Data Rates at Ka-Band Using Software-Defined Modem and Broadband High Power Amplifier for Space CommunicationsThe paper presents the first ever research and experimental results regarding the combination of a software-defined multi-Gbps modem and a broadband high power space amplifier when tested with an extended form of the industry standard DVB-S2 and LDPC rate 9/10 FEC codec. The modem supports waveforms including QPSK, 8-PSK, 16-APSK, 32-APSK, 64-APSK, and 128-QAM. The broadband high power amplifier is a space qualified traveling-wave tube (TWT), which has a passband greater than 3 GHz at 33 GHz, output power of 200 W and efficiency greater than 60 percent. The modem and the TWTA together enabled an unprecedented data rate at 20 Gbps with low BER of 10(exp -9). The presented results include a plot of the received waveform constellation, BER vs. E(sub b)/N(sub 0) and implementation loss for each of the modulation types tested. The above results when included in an RF link budget analysis show that NASA s payload data rate can be increased by at least an order of magnitude (greater than 10X) over current state-of-practice, limited only by the spacecraft EIRP, ground receiver G/T, range, and available spectrum or bandwidth.
Document ID
20110012462
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Simons, Rainee N.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Wintucky, Edwin G.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Landon, David G.
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Sun, Jun Y.
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Winn, James S.
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Laraway, Stephen
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
McIntire, William K.
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Metz, John L.
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Smith, Francis J.
(L-3 Communications Corp. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Date Acquired
September 8, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 2011
Subject Category
Space Communications, Spacecraft Communications, Command And Tracking
Report/Patent Number
NASA/TM-2011-217035
E-17733
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Microwave Symposium for 2011 (IMS2011)
Location: Baltimore, MD
Country: United States
Start Date: June 5, 2011
End Date: June 10, 2011
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 432938.11.01.03.02.02.15
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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