Ultra-small aperture terminals for SATCOM on-the-move applications

This article describes K/Ka-band active phased array antennas (PAA) and mobile terminal technology development project. It demonstrates dual-beam K-band Receive, switchable beam Ka-band transmit PAAs and miniaturized frequency converter technologies. The results support wideband satellite Comm. On-The-Move (COTM) requirements of future mobile vehicle construction. The prototype mechanically augmented phased array (MAPA) antenna terminal uses a combination of mechanical and electronic steering to provide full-hemispherical coverage with single phased array panels suitable for installation onto a variety of existing mobile platforms. The MAPA Ultra-Small Aperture Terminal (USAT) provides full-duplex communications with simultaneous (LHCP/RHCP) dual-beam K-band receive capabilities as well as a switchable (LHCP/RHCP) Ka-band transmit beam to significantly increase the data-rate capacity over a comparable mechanically gimbaled dish antenna. The USAT MAPA terminal can simultaneously receive from two sources and transmit to a third point with less than a 3dB axial ratio over the wide Field-of-View (FOV).