Suitability of ANSI standards for quantifying communication satellite system performance

A study on the application of American National Standards X3.102 and X3.141 to various classes of communication satellite systems from the simple analog bent-pipe to NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) is discussed. These standards are proposed as means for quantifying the end-to-end communication system performance of communication satellite systems. An introductory overview of the two standards are given followed by a review of the characteristics, applications, and advantages of using X3.102 and X3.141 to quantify with a description of the application of these standards to ACTS.