INTEX Ka-Band Experiment Ground Terminal

The INTEX Ground Terminal includes a 2.4-m parabolic antenna and a 40-W transmitter that can handle data rates from a few kilobits per second up to 300 megabits per second (Mbps) through the ACTS matrix switch mode transponder. The primary experiment data rates and modulations used with the INTEX terminal are T1 (1.544 Mbps) and 48 Mbps using quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation and 110 and 220 Mbps using serial minimum-shift-keyed (SMSK) modulation. The SMSK modem is capable of time-division, multiple-access (TDMA) bursted transmission at throughput rates of 55, 27.5, and 13.8 Mbps. The INTEX ground terminal also is completely compatible with the ACTS High Burst Rate Link Evaluation Terminal (HBR-LET) terminal, allowing two-terminal duplex link experiments.

Experiments performed so far include: determination of the effects of continuous-wave (CW) interference on a high-data-rate TDMA channel, determination of the two-tone response of the ACTS hardlimiter transponder, determination of the effects co-channel and adjacent channel interference, performance of multisignal transmission, characterization of ACTS Ka-band link and transponder performance, evaluation of INTEX and HBR-LET terminal performance, and demonstration of bursted high-data-rate transmission between TDMA terminals. Other experiments planned or underway include evaluation of the effects of phase noise on the bit error rate of low- and high-data-rate signals, evaluation of the performance of digital video-compression techniques in the presence of noise and interference, evaluation of the performance of high-ratio image compression applied to medical images, characterization of modulation and coding techniques through the ACTS hardlimiter channel, and demonstration and evaluation of satellite telemammography techniques by transmission to remote medical facilities.

The INTEX terminal can support organizations interested in additional qualified experiments with ACTS for a wide range of investigations and applications demonstrations.

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