BENEFITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN SATELLITE TRANSPONDERS

The challenge for communication satellite payload designers is to achi eve increased transmission capacity and radiated power for a given mas s and power consumption. Continuous pressure for satellite production time reduction recently added to this technical challenge, as a result of the industrial maturity of space communications and the operators' needs for quick returns on investments in programmes. This new constr aint gradually leads to an evolution of the products and design method s and to more and more extensive standardization, along with continuou s search for competitiveness. This article reviews the current and fut ure technical and technological advances which may contribute to such optimizations and improve the competitiveness of Alcatel products and systems in this field.