The Role of Array Antennas in Commercial

Telecommunication Satellites
H. Fenech1, S. Amos2, T.Waterfield3
1
Eutelsat: Director of Future Satellite Systems, Paris, France
2
Eutelsat: Communication Mission Manager, Future Satellite Systems, Paris, France
3
Airbus Defence & Space: Senior Specialist, Antennas, Stevenage, UK

Abstract— Array antennas have been employed on
commercial satellites for a number of years, however as
technology from the military sector makes itself commercially
available and attractive, we see an evolution of the role of the
array as they respond to ever increasing demands from satellite
operators. Improved volume footprints that aid accommodation
of multi-band payloads, reduction in hardware for additional
beams, flexibility in coverage definition and the ability of
interference mitigation are all key aspects that have seen an
increasing demand for array antennas, and phased arrays on-
board commercial telecommunication satellites. This paper
highlights some of the key steps from both an operator and
manufacturer perspective and how it has ultimately led to the
fully flexible satellite in production of Eutelsat Quantum by
Airbus Defence and Space.
Index Terms—Array antennas, phased array, Single Feed Per
Beam, Multi-Feed Per Beam, Flexibility, anti-interference,
geolocation, beam hopping
must provide a cost efficient solution comparable to Direct to
the Home services. One way of improving the cost per bit is
increasing the spectral efficiency of the system. Single Feed
Per Beam (SFPB) array antenna designs utilize the increased
antenna gain from smaller spot beams that are tessellated over
a defined coverage.
Launched in 2010 and positioned at 9° East, the KA-SAT
[1] is an example of such a SFPB design providing over
90Gbps over 82 spots. Utilising a 4-colour reuse scheme that
achieves a 20-times frequency reuse factor, the design employs
a four antenna configuration. Each antenna is fed by a cluster
of feed arrays that are specifically designed to provide the high
performance and good C/I over the densely covered user area.
The satellite provides a wide range of applications and delivers
high-bandwidth services to users beyond range of terrestrial
networks.

I. INTRODUCTION
Array antennas are becoming more prevalent in
commercial telecommunication satellites. As applications and
requirements become more diverse, satellite operators and
manufacturers are finding new ways to utilise the flexibility
offered by arrays and phased array antennas.
Typically maligned as having complex configurations,
limitations in antenna gain and expensive, this paper highlights
through direct examples how antenna arrays on-board the
Eutelsat fleet can answer critical demands in terms of
performance, satellite accommodation, coverage flexibility and
more novel applications such as interference mitigation, Fig. 1. Ilustration of KA-SAT Single Feed Per Beam satellite and antenna
geolocation and beam hopping. design [1]
It is clear that the role of the antenna array is becoming
more influential as satellite operators and manufacturers push
the boundaries of technology and dynamic reconfiguration.
III. REDUCING THE SATELLITE FOOTPRINT -
II. ANSWERING A DEMAND FOR INCREASED PERFORMANCE EUTELSAT 36C
– KA-SAT The previous section highlighted KA-SAT, a very powerful
In telecommunication satellites, large fixed beams provide satellite offering high capacity through colour re-use schemes
a shaped coverage that adequately serve broadcast demands. formed by SFPB antennas. MultiFeed Per Beam (MFPB) array
However, as demand for capacity increases satellite technology antennas utilize beam forming techniques to generate the
multi-spot coverage from a multi-feed cluster arrangement,
where each beam is formed by seven feeds, as illustrated in Fig
2 and summarised in [2] and [3]. In doing so, the uplink and
downlink antennas may be separated, providing two direct
advantages: 1) number of antennas reduced to two for a four-
colour reuse scheme 2) the uplink and downlink antennas may
be independently optimized to best serve the frequencies of
interest. Constructed by Airbus Defence and Space for Eutelsat
and RSCC, the EUTELSAT 36C / Express-AMU1 satellite,
launched on December 24th 2015, will further extend Eutelsat’s
Ka-band HTS missions and the diverse set of antennas being
employed in order to serve a variety of applications.
shaped/spot beams (4H, 4V) anywhere over the visible Earth,
with full RF power sharing between the four beams in each
polarization and the capability to reconfigure on-board the
pointing, shape and spectrum of the beams. The beamforming
occurs at low power and the array coefficients must therefore
be carried intact through the combination and common high-
power amplification stages, through to the radiating array. For
thermal reasons the HPAs are mounted on the spacecraft Y-
walls, and to maintain coefficient tracking each Y-wall set is
dedicated to one co-polarised set of beams. To this end, a fifth
beam is provided on each polarisation to allow in-orbit
calibration of the common output section without interruption
to service.

Fig. 2. Example of the multifeed cluster by beam arrangement [2] and

example hardware [3].

The ability to provide a four-colour reuse scheme from two

apertures is critical when considering multi-payload satellites
as operators strive for the most efficient cost and complexity
trade-off. However, depending on the beam number, layout
and size, MFPB configurations are not always the most
efficient choice of array and as designs evolve such as
oversized single aperture configurations, SFPB antennas
continue to have an important role in the use of array antennas
in telecommunication satellites.
IV. ANSWERING THE NEED FOR FLEXIBILITY – EUTELSAT
QUANTUM
The previous sections have provided examples of how
array antennas have been utilized to not only improve
performance through high gain spot beams but also reduce
antenna accommodation. As technology evolves in the
military sector, we see more of this technology becoming
available in the commercial sector and this is no more evident
than in the use of phased array antennas.
Phased array antennas provide key criteria in today’s
evolving commercial market. They are capable of providing
numerous beams from a single aperture without the direct
one-to-one relation of additional mass and complexity, they
provide efficient use of the payload footprint in terms of
volume and crucially, they are capable of being reconfigured
in orbit, a vital element within today’s evolving markets and
in an unpredictable world.
Redefinition of the amplitude and phase coefficients of the
phased array via software provides a powerful tool in Fig. 3. Downlink antenna concept
answering market evolution, new applications and
The separation of the array into two single-polarised
opportunities and ensuring a more efficient use of the beam
clusters follows the Y-wall split of the output section by
and in turn the satellite resources.
polarization and enables efficient (i.e. short) routing of the
As described in [4], the downlink active antenna of Eutelsat
output waveguides to the respective array. The use of a
Quantum operates over the full FSS downlink frequency band
deployable reflector enables a high degree of decoupling
of 10.7 to 12.75 GHz, providing up to eight independent
between the side-mounted downlink antenna and the top- resources ensures that optimum capacity and availability are
floor-mounted uplink antenna, and, via its deployment and maintained.
trimming mechanism, also allows an extra degree of freedom
in beam pointing.
It should be noted that this antenna configuration has two
main advantages:
 Each feed operates at relatively low power and
 The output circuitry between the high power
amplifiers and the feeds is relatively simple which
imply low losses.
However, this antenna system is basically a multi-carrier
application. This implies no disadvantages for most data
usage but may not be efficient for broadcast applications.
With separate Uplink and Downlink antennas, Eutelsat Fig. 5. Eutelsat Quantum Interference Mitigation example
Quantum provides separate, independent reconfiguration for
the Uplink and Downlink Service Areas.
The uplink antenna is a development of the ELSA VI. GEOLOCATION
(ELectrically Steerable Antenna) from Airbus Defence & Typically, geolocation is performed through a second
Space in Madrid. satellite within the same neighbourhood as another, operating
at the same frequency. An on-board geolocation unit
developed by CASA of Airbus Defence and Space which is
integrated into the uplink array antenna of Eutelsat Quantum
eliminates the need of the second satellite. The unit is capable
of geolocating a high number of simultaneous signals
transmitting at the same frequency and polarization and
resolving with a good degree of accuracy. Since it is
integrated within the uplink antenna the footprint and need for
additional hardware on-board the satellite is minimized.

Fig. 4. Eutelsat Quantum Uplink antenna evolution

In expanding the bandwidth from 0.25 GHz in a single

polarization to a dual-polarised antenna covering 1.80 GHz,
the microstrip radiating elements are replaced by waveguide
assemblies each comprising horn, filter and OMT. The
antenna covers practically the full FSS Ku-band over the three
ITU regions from 13.00 GHz to 14.8 GHz. (12.75 GHz to
13.00 GHz is not utilised to allow for a guard-band). The low-
noise amplification and beamforming sections retain the
architecture and chipset developed for ELSA. In a further
development for Eutelsat Quantum, a small subset of the array
is dedicated to Geo-Location which is discussed later.
V. ANTI-INTERFERENCE
Another significant advantage of array antennas is the
Fig. 6. Eutelsat Quantum Uplink antenna evolution
ability to form a null in a given direction. Spatial nulling is
another key attribute of the Eutelsat Quantum antennas in
which interference mitigation answers the need for beam VII. POWER SHARING & BEAM HOPPING
resilience from intentional and unintentional interference and Active array antennas (with low-level beamforming) are
jamming. Eutelsat Quantum [5] combines spatial nulling with capable of not only reshaping its antenna pattern footprint but
spectrum notching at the repeater level through frequency also of sharing resources and quick redefinition. This
agility, providing a notch at the jammed frequency and for a capability is a powerful tool when beams are subsequently
variable bandwidth. hopped in order to track within mobile environments or
With the coverage and power dynamically reconfigured hopped over diverse coverages.
through the antenna arrays, fast reconfiguration of the satellite
Flight paths or maritime routes can be more efficiently served
through array antennas that provide a more focused footprint
over the areas of interest ensuring efficient link budgets.
Eutelsat 172B provides coverage of flight paths over the
Pacific Ocean through a more conventional antenna array in
which Multi-Port Amplifiers are employed to enable pooling
of power across the eleven beams.
Fig. 7. Ku-band HTS Pacific Ocean coverage from Eutelsat 172B
Eutelsat Quantum takes this a step further where beams of
varying shapes and sizes can be directly hopped over the
region of interest. The beams can be modified as and when
necessary and the antenna array can also be re-programmed
such that the dwell time of each beam can be altered in direct
response to the traffic demand. Figure 8 illustrates how
Eutelsat Quantum is capable of providing a flight-path over
the Atlantic, from Europe to Brazil, but it is equally capable
of forming higher gain beams to cover the area, increasing the
G/T or EIRP. The beam shapes and dwell time of each ‘spot’
can be modified to best match the traffic profile.
Fig. 8. Eutelsat Quantum flight-path coverage with & without beam hopping
The beam hopping of Eutelsat Quantum is not limited to
contiguous paths. In using array antennas, coverages that are
spatially diverse can be hopped in a time-synchronous manner
such that the same high performance of a small coverage is
applied to a much larger area or indeed a diverse set of areas.
Figure 9 provides an example of four diverse locations in
which the downlink antenna pattern can be switched rapidly
ensuring an EIRP of 52-53dBW is supplied to all areas in a
time-synchronous manner. The illustration also highlights
how the antenna array is capable of generating a mixture of
size and shape of pattern within the hopping configuration,
matching to the coverage requirements.
Fig. 9. Eutelsat Quantum beam hopping of diverse locations
VIII. CONCLUSION
As technology and systems evolve, the role of the array
antenna is continuing to play a vital element in answering the
changing needs of satellite communication satellites. This
paper has presented how even within the last 5 years we have
seen a diverse set of arrays answer a variety of applications
from high gain small spot beams to real time reconfiguration
that enables beam hopping of coverage’s, tracking of mobile
terminals and interference mitigation techniques. As the
demand for flexibility continues, enabling a more dynamic
response to market evolutions and global uncertainties, the
role of array antenna will continue to play an active part in its
continued evolution.
REFERENCES
[1] H. Fenech et al “KA-SAT and Future HTS Systems” IVEC May 2013
[2] R; Gehring et al, “Trade-off for overlapping feed array configurations,”
ESTEC 2007
[3] “Flexible Payload Technologies for Optimising Ka-band Payloads to
Meet Future Business Needs” N.Porecki, G.Thomas, A.Warburton,
N.Wheatley, N.Metzger,
[4] N.Gatti, P.Gabellini, L.Russo, T.Waterfield, J.Hinds, S.Amos, H.Fenech
“Ku-band Downlink Reconfigurable Active Antenna for Eutelsat
Quantum Mission” Joint ICSSC, AIAA Conference 2015
[5] H..Fenech,S.Amos “Eutelsat Quantum: A Game Changer” Joint AIAA
ICSSC Conference 2015