Proceedings of the Second Caltech Conference on Very Large Scale Integration, held at the California Institute of Technology 19-21 January, 1981 ; Organized by the Caltech Computer Science Department and the Caltech Industrial Associates Office, and sponsored by Caltech Industrial Associates and the National Science Foundation

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Advanced space communications architecture study. Volume 2: Technical report

The technical feasibility and economic viability of satellite system architectures that are suitable for customer premise service (CPS) communications are investigated. System evaluation is performed at 30/20 GHz (Ka-band); however, the system architectures examined are equally applicable to 14/11 GHz (Ku-band). Emphasis is placed on systems that permit low-cost user terminals. Frequency division multiple access (FDMA) is used on the uplink, with typically 10,000 simultaneous accesses per satellite, each of 64 kbps. Bulk demodulators onboard the satellite, in combination with a baseband multiplexer, convert the many narrowband uplink signals into a small number of wideband data streams for downlink transmission. Single-hop network interconnectivity is accomplished via downlink scanning beams. Each satellite is estimated to weigh 5600 lb and consume 6850W of power; the corresponding payload totals are 1000 lb and 5000 W. Nonrecurring satellite cost is estimated at $110 million, with the first-unit cost at$113 million. In large quantities, the user terminal cost estimate is $25,000. For an assumed traffic profile, the required system revenue has been computed as a function of the internal rate of return (IRR) on invested capital. The equivalent user charge per-minute of 64-kbps channel service has also been determined

Multiple beam antenna/switch system study

In the study of the Multiple Beam Antenna/Switch for the space to ground link (SGL) uplink and downlink services, several issues related to system engineering, antenna, transmit/receive, and switch systems were addressed and the results are provided. Bandwidth allocation at Ku band is inadequate to serve the data rate requirements for the forward and return services. Rain and depolarization effects at EHF, especially at Ka band, pose a significant threat to the link availabilities at heavy rain areas. Hardware induced effects such as the nonlinear characteristics of the power amplifier may necessitate the use of linearizers and limiters. It is also important to identify the components that are susceptible to the space radiation effects and shield or redesign them with rad-hard technologies for meeting the requirements of the space environment

NASA Space Engineering Research Center Symposium on VLSI Design

The NASA Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) is proud to offer, at its second symposium on VLSI design, presentations by an outstanding set of individuals from national laboratories and the electronics industry. These featured speakers share insights into next generation advances that will serve as a basis for future VLSI design. Questions of reliability in the space environment along with new directions in CAD and design are addressed by the featured speakers