A satellite is a radiofrequency repeater. New-generation satellites are regenerative; that is, they have onboard processing capability making them more of an intelligent unit than a mere repeater (more is said of onboard processing in Section 2.9). This capability enables the satellite to condition, amplify, or reformat received uplink data and route the data to specified locations, or actually regenerate data onboard the spacecraft as opposed to simply acting as a relay station between two or more ground stations.
A typical satellite with onboard processors is the NASA Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) shown in Figure 2.1. It was part of the payload on the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on September ...
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