›AMP4SPACE

The Radio Frequency Equipment and Technology Section (TEC-EFE) of the European Space Agency (ESA) organize this Short Course on High Power Amplification for Space.

The aim of this short course is to provide a general overview of high power amplification, particularly in relation to use in the fields of Telecommunications, Navigation and Earth Observation.
Both Travelling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTA) and Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPA) will be introduced, and their general architectures and main technologies will be described. The course will continue by highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each technology in relation to their traditional usage domains. The course will then mainly concentrate on SSPAs, outlining the main considerations in designing SSPAs for space segment applications. The course will describe the space environment in which the equipment operates and give an overview of the necessary provisions made during the design of this equipment to ensure the high level of reliability needed. Finally, market trends will be outlined, driving the need for research and development at architectural and technological levels to increase efficiency, linearity and output power whilst at the same time reducing volume, mass and cost. Some ongoing and future ESA activities will be introduced.