Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: Q/V band - an ESA perspective; and ALPHASAT TDP5 mission.

The increasing needs of European observation and telecommunication satellite services, with respect to operations efficiency, require the development of an advanced in-orbit infrastructure for data relay services. The function of a data relay satellite is to forward data between two elements with which it has established a direct communication link. Currently the infrastructure is based on the ESA ARTEMIS satellite that has been operative since 2003 and that will be at end-of-life by the end of 2010. In this frame Thales Alenia Space Italia (TAS-I) and University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (TOR) are conceiving the new European Second Generation Data Relay Satellite System (E2GDRSS) based on state of the art and innovative space technologies and telecommunication techniques. This paper presents the main design options according to preliminary trade-off analysis, which will represent the baseline to the design of the full system.

WAVE (W band Analysis and VErification) is a project funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with the aim to design and deploy different missions for scientific experimental use of the W band channel in satellite data communications. The second phase (A2) of the Project is currently in progress. This paper summarises the main scientific results early achieved in the WAVE A2 Project on the analysis assessment of W band GEO and LEO satellite missions.

This paper presents the payload design for an in orbit test of W band technology called IKNOW mission (In orbit Key-test and validatioN Of W band). The increasing demand for frequency bands with large bandwidth availability to satisfy satellite communications applications requirements renders mandatory the need to explore higher and higher frequency ranges. W band (75-110 GHz) could represent the answer to these needs due to the large bandwidth availability, allowing to propose many innovative services that need high-volume transfers. Therefore, the exploitation of W band is foreseen in order to meet the high-quality data transmission for a large number of end users and data-oriented services. The IKNOW mission is a demonstrative experiment foreseen within the phase A2 of the WAVE (W band analysis and verification) project, a study funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), which aims at designing and developing W band payloads for telecommunication applications. This paper will be focused on the characterization of the IKNOW mission within the WAVE project devoted to carry out a preliminary channel propagation assessment. Specifically, special attention will be paid to the payload design, particularly critical from the technological point of view at these high frequencies. The basic idea is to develop the receiving/transmitting chain using MMIC devices, in order to fit cost, power and weight constraints, typically limited for a spacecraft. Technological critical items will be highlighted, focusing on the present state of the art and presenting some architectural choices. Moreover, some simulations based on ADS software will be reported in order to simulate the performance of the identified payload configuration.