Part 1 Low Earth orbit satellite systems promise prolific bandwidth on demand in virtually any part of the globe. By Steven Leeland LEOs represent ultimate challenges in business planning, program planning and execution, and cutting-edge technology. LEOs are the projects of the millennium, equivalent to the exploration of the Moon, the building of the Panama Canal, and even the construction of the pyramids. Earth-bound fiber optics and both analog and digital cellular systems are rapidly spanning the globe. Fiber companies have announced that their completed projects will instantaneously triple worldwide bandwidth.
Fierce competition makes for perilously short market windows of opportunity.
System and design engineers face daunting tasks of their own. LEO system specifications demand the maximum bandwidth per dollar to justify the billions of dollars in business investments. Left with no other viable alternative, technology that has yet to be invented is drafted. More pins and gates per ASIC and higher clock frequencies than have ever been used before in radiation-hardened technology are just samples. Although confidential and proprietary information will not be disclosed, many LEO satellite payload concepts are general enough to be of interest.