Using The Q/V-Band Aldo Paraboni Payload To Validate Future Satellite Systems: Test Campaign And Preliminary Results Of The Qv-Lift Project

In future communication satellite systems, the adoption of higher frequencies as Q/V-band (around 40 GHz for downlink and 50 GHz for uplink) is seen as a promising step forward to achieve higher performance in terms of total system throughput.The subsystems developed in the course of the project will be tested in a real environment using the Q/V-band Aldo Paraboni (AP) payload on Alphasat (25 east) and its associated ground segment, made available by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). This project has been granted by the European Commission and involves a consortium of companies and universities coordinated by ASI. The consortium consists of: Martel GmbH, Erzia Technologies SL, Eutelsat SA, MBI Srl, Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni (CNIT), OMMIC SAS, Heriot-Watt University and SkyTech Italia Srl. In preparation of the on-field test campaign using the Aldo Paraboni payload (to be started in July, 2018), two earth stations have been equipped with the QV-LIFT gateways component, whereas a third station hosts the fixed user terminal. This paper describes the preparatory activities carried out to assess the performance of the hardware and software components specifically designed for the Q/V-band satellite communications system. The QV-LIFT project also includes the development of a Q/Vband Airborne Terminal providing a two-way on-the move communication link for aircrafts. However, this activity is not presented in this paper.