high resolution image available here |
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high resolution image available here |
| COMPLETED WING -- Technicians
make final adjustments to the --X (minus-X) wing of a Milstar satellite,
which contains the medium-data-rate (MDR) communications payload and a
portion of the crosslink payload. Hughes Space and Communications Company
(HSC) recently delivered the --X wing for the Milstar F-6 to prime contractor
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. It is identical to the wing shown
here, which is for the Milstar F-5 satellite. For MDR, HSC integrated antennas
and electronic units supplied by TRW onto the structure. On the left side
of the wing are the assemblies for the two nuller antennas, including round
reflectors, rectangular electronic units and the feedhorns. Visible along
the right side are the reflectors and electronics for the six Distributed
User Coverage Antennas, or DUCAs. The large reflector at the edge of the
wing is the crosslink antenna. Milstar was the first constellation of satellites
with operating crosslinks, which allow the satellites to pass signals directly
to each other without going through a ground terminal.
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| HUGHES SPACE AND
COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
Communications and Customer Relations P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323) Los Angeles, CA 90009 Media Relations (310) 364-6363 Investor Relations (310) 662-9688 www.hughespace.com |
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7/00 |