On-board processing equipment for mobile satellite communications

This paper gives an outline of the On-board Processing Equipment for mobile communications such as the OBP (On-Board Processor) and the OPS (On-Board Packet Switch) developed for the On-board Switching System using the ETS-VIII (Engineering Test Satellite VIII). The ETS-VIII will be launched by H-IIA rocket. One of the main objectives in this experimental system is to establish elemental technologies for the on-board switches that have large capacity and high flexibility for personal and mobile satellite communications. The ETS-VIII is an advanced satellite being developed primarily to establish and verify the world's largest geostationary satellite bus technology, which is necessary for space missions at the beginning of the 21st century.