Communications Satellite Systems

Communications Satellite Technology has been published simultaneously with its companion, Communications Satellite Systems, Volume 33 in this series.

Communications satellites are now well within the commercial era-most of them are operational rather than experimental devices. And their capacity to process multiple signals simultaneously has expanded enormously: in the six years between the launchings of INTELSAT I (Early Bird, 1965) and INTELSAT IV, this capacity in terms of telephone circuits jumped from the low hundreds to the mid-thousands, and will increase in the next five years by at least one order of magnitude. Moreover, this is likely to be accomplished through the intelligent coordination of new systems and technologies rather than through "brute force" solutions in terms of mass and power.

These companion volumes survey the present successes and future promises of commercial communications satellites. The 42 papers they contain are the work of outstanding authorities who are at the forefront of research and development. Many of the papers are of a general nature that will interest all those concerned with communication, and others will acquaint the specialist with specific network concepts and with satellite components and techniques that have been perfected or proposed.

The 20 papers in Communication Satellite Systems are organized into sections on international applications, advanced concepts, and special topics. Communications Satellite Technology contains 22 papers, covering orbit and attitude control, propulsion and power, and communications.