Soviet Satellite Communications Science and Technology. (Foreign Applied Sciences Assessment Center: Technical Assessment Report)

摘要

The report represents the contributions and consensus of six US scientists and engineers concerning the current state of the art and projections of future Soviet satellite communications technologies. The panel The panel assessed the Soviet ability to support high-data-rate space missions at 128 Mbps by evaluating current and projected Soviet satellite communications technologies. A variety of space missions were considere, including Earth-to-Earth communications via satellites in geostationary or highly elliptical orbits, those missions that require space-to-Earth communications via a direct path and those missions that require space-to-Earth communications via a relay satellite. Soviet satellite communications capability, in most cases, is 10 years behind that of the United States and other industrialized nations such as Japan, Italy, and France. However, based upon an analysis of communications links needed to support these missions using current Soviet capabilities, it is well within the current Soviet technology to support certain space missions outlined above at rates of 128 Mbps or higher, although the published literature clearly shows that the Soviet Union has not exceeded 60 Mbps in its current space system. In response to decreased governmental support, the Soviet communications satellite industry is showing signs of some internal competition, is working on increasing communications satellite lifetime, and is also striving to develop joint ventures with Western firms.