A new generation of space-borne Ka-Band
products has been for the emerging demand of
telecommunication payloads for multimedia missions. The
technical challenges that they impose together with
sharpened cost objectives lead to necessary technological
improvements.
The described hardware includes Low Noise Amplifiers
(LNA), Down and Up Frequency Converters, Channel
Amplifiers (CAMP) and Linearizers. Some of these units
are grouped in “assemblies” which allow the
centralization of several commodities. New packaging
concepts have been extensively used in parallel to a severe
industrialization phase which included the complete space
qualification of these technologies. Ultimate performance
has been achieved thanks to an extensive modeling work
for MMIC design. Finally, it is shown how a specific
demand for a very compact Ka-Band antenna has led, for
the very first time, to the adoption of non-hermetic hybrids
for a space use
