Processing and nonprocessing satellite architectures for support of ATM traffic

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is likely to be the dominant infrastructure of the next generation telecommunication networks. For satellite communications to play an important role in provisioning the ATM-based services and networks, it is essential to specify satellite network architectures based on the requirements of the ATM traffic. The authors propose two such architectures-one based on the nonprocessing satellite system and the second one based on the onboard processing satellite system. Furthermore, a demonstration payload concept, resulting from downsizing the design of the onboard processing payload, is described