Novel on-board processing architectures for satellite spread spectrum communications

At present, there is a drive to establish some form of on-board signal processing in satellite communication systems. Further, spread spectrum techniques can, in some cases, be an attractive contender for the multiple access scheme. The paper discusses a novel implementation of the spread spectrum correlator, using high temperature superconducting technology, which is well-suited to space payloads. In addition the various design constraints and benefits are examined. It then reports on the experimental results obtained using a copper-based prototype device operating in the C-band region with a spreading code rate of up to 500 Mbit/s