ORBITAL ANTENNA FARMS.

In the 1980s, a new space transportation system using the Shuttle Orbiter with high-energy upper stages will go into operation. Its ability to launch very large payloads into orbit, and to assemble and service them there, will make it possible in the 1990s to replace many small satellites by a small number of very large platforms in geostationary orbit. Such an orbital antenna farm (OAF) would have a separate electronics module for each mission. Except for their design and physical size, these packages would not differ greatly from those serving single-mission satellites. The OAF has the basic advantage of serving many missions with common functional support systems carried on a single platform. An OAF common support system should weigh less than the combined total of individual systems and could cost less per unit weight because of economies of scale. The OAF may bring within reach services presently too expensive for single-mission satellites. The OAF will certainly cost more than a single-mission satellite, but by sharing support functions, it could reduce the per-mission front-end costs enough to open up truly new markets.