seaspace antenna system technology overview presented by: cary c. bedford vice president of sales and marketing cbed

1. SeaSpace Antenna System Technology Overview

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3. 3 Background and Past Experience

4. 4 Background and Past Experience 40+ Years of Experience Designing, Specifying, Installing & Maintaining Satellite Ground Stations. Installation and commissioning of more than 40 RSS, Telemetry, and TT&C antenna systems in over 20 countries. Designed RF subsystems, Frequency Converters, Antenna Control Units Expertise spans Feed / RF subsystem, antenna G/T, and RF link modeling and system design analysis

5. 5 Overview of Presentation Antennas and Antenna Systems � What are they? Why do we need them? Some Basic Antenna Types Some Basic Antenna Concepts What is G/T and why is it so important? Tracking Technologies What About Radomes? Antennas for SeaSpace Customers AXYOM Technology Future Customers for SeaSpace Developed Antennas

6. 6 Antennas � What are they ? Antennas are Transducers � Transducers convert one form of energy into another Antennas convert Radio Waves into Electricity and / or Electricity into Radio Waves Antennas come in many shapes and sizes Shapes range from very simple to extremely complex � as simple as a short piece of wire to complexities involving thousands or more parts Sizes can range from millimeters in length to Reflectors over a hundred meters (328 feet) in diameter Antenna prices can range from pennies to well over 10s of millions of dollars each Antenna Systems are often referred to as simply Antennas Here we will be talking about both Antennas and Antenna Systems

7. 7 Antenna Systems � What are they? Antenna Systems use an Antenna and other components to perform a specific function or set of functions SeaSpace Antenna Systems normally include an Antenna, Positioner, LNA or LNB, Control System and a Data Receiver Most SeaSpace Antenna Systems require a RADOME Most of our Antenna Systems track and receive data from Weather and Earth Observation (EO) satellites A SeaSpace Antenna System normally outputs digital data. The data output is recorded and processed to provide value added products from the satellite signals it receives

8. 8 Why do we need Antennas? We need antennas to send Information or Energy from one place to another when there is no physical connection between the places We need antennas to receive information sent to us from distant locations Information transmissions can include sound, text, pictures, movies, images, telemetry, and other kinds of data Energy transmissions can include RADAR pulses, sounding signals, and special beams for military purposes SeaSpace needs Antennas to get data from satellites to its customers on the ground AND SeaSpace needs Antennas to grow and expand its business

9. 9 Some Basic Antenna Types Antennas - Omni-directional, Broad Area Coverage, and Directional Antenna Systems - Fixed, Limited Motion, Full Motion Axes � One, Two, and Three Drives � Single, Dual, and Bias Yagis Arrays Parabolic Reflectors � Best overall cost vs. performance Phased Arrays � cost, performance, and complexity issues preclude widespread use in our industry Prime Focus and / or Cassegrain Single, Dual, and Multi-Band Antennas Dichroic Optics for Dual Band Antennas

10. 10 Some Basic Antenna Concepts Gain is how much more signal an antenna can receive when compared to an isotropic antenna. An isotropic antenna receives signals equally from all directions.

11. 11 What is G/T and why is it so important ? G/T is the sensitivity figure of merit for an antenna system Technically, it is the ratio of the antenna system�s numeric gain to its noise temperature in Kelvins It is normally expressed in dB/K units G/T is what a customer really pays for when buying an antenna system. It is a key parameter that drives the performance, size, and cost of an antenna system G/T performance is degraded somewhat by a Radome G/T performance also goes down as the elevation angle approaches the horizon Extra G/T performance can be expensive. An antenna size needs to increase by over 40% to get an extra 3 dB of G/T if all else stays the same The engineering challenge is to deliver the required G/T performance for the lowest cost

12. 12 Tracking Technologies Program Track vs. Autotrack Autotrack Technologies Step Track � lowest cost but not normally good enough for LEO tracking applications Parasitic � very low cost Conical Scan (CONSCAN) $ Single Channel Monopulse (SCM) - $$$ Full Monopulse - $$$$$ Phased Array - $$$$$$$$.......$$$ Most SeaSpace Antennas are program trackers or CONSCAN autotrackers The POC antenna for NPOESS is an SCM autotracker

13. 13 What About Radomes Radomes � Some customers love them, some hate them and others don�t care one way or another Radome advantages Eliminates wind forces and provides environmental protection Improves system pointing and tracking accuracy Improves system operational availability Minimizes maintenance and increases system life Reduces pedestal torque requirements Reduces system cost (often but not always) Radome disadvantages Negative impact on G/T and EIRP performance Technical and performance trade-off issues for dual and multi-band requirements Additional cost and facilities requirements

14. 14 Antennas for SeaSpace Customers Traditional customer applications utilized third party antenna suppliers GOES (GEO) � Small fixed flat plate array antenna (Seavey/MicroAnt) NOAA HRPT (LEO) � 1.2 to 2.4 m full motion antenna (SeaTel) MODIS (LEO) � 2.4 to 3.1 m full motion antenna (SeaTel) Multi-mission Systems � 2.4 to 4.5 m full motion antenna (SeaTel) Current Customers for SeaSpace developed antennas: University of Purdue � 4.5 m AXYOM Model 50 L/X-Band LAPAN Indonesia � 5.5 m AXYOM Model 50 X-Band MDA Canada � 1.5 m AXYOM Model 20 Ka-Band RX/TX Bigelow Aerospace USA �Three 6.1 m AXYOM Model 50 S-Band Antennas

15. 15 AXYOM Technology AXYOM is high performance and low cost technology for LEO satellite tracking 3-Axis, X-Y over Azimuth Pedestal Lowest possible tracking dynamics Eliminates all operational keyholes LRU�s are externally located = low MTTR Designed for high MTBF True full hemispherical coverage The best value solution for precisionLEO satellite tracking

16. 16 Future Customers for SeaSpace Antennas Future Customers for SeaSpace developed antennas include: Traditional SeaSpace customers MDA Canada � Cassiope follow-on Bigelow Aerospace USA � Follow-on for additional 6.1-M AXYOMs Vexcel � Pending order for South American multi-satellite ground station antenna RSI � RADARSAT-2 and other multi-mission ground station antennas Carlo Gavazzi Space AXYOM Model 50 5.5 m X-Band antenna with SeaSpace MODIS software and processing Ground station antennas for major Remote Sensing Satellite operators such as DigitalGlobe, GEOEye, ISRO, NASA, and other US and foreign government and military agencies Domestic and foreign scientific organizations and universities Domestic and Foreign prime contractors

17. 17 Summary SeaSpace is in the Antenna Business Our AXYOM technology provides a high performance and low cost solution for LEO satellite tracking AXYOM Antennas have already been sold to four different customers AXYOM technology has been delivered and proven at Bigelow Aerospace Follow-on orders are pending AXYOM technology is currently being offered by other potential customers SeaSpace will continue to offer and support its legacy antenna product lines

18. 18 Thank You for Attending