Q/V-band satellite communication experiments on channel estimation with Alphasat Aldo Paraboni P/L

The Alphasat Aldo Paraboni communication experimental campaign is based on a transparent Q/V band transponder hosted as a piggy-back on a GEO satellite. Together with the transparent payload, two beacons having European coverage, one in Ka-band and one in Q/V-band, are used to perform propagation experiments. The transparent payload has three spot beams, two over Italy and one over Austria. The University of Rome Tor VergataCTIF Italy is the Principal Investigator for the communication experiments and is in charge of operating the payload and the Italian ground stations. The Alphasat Aldo Paraboni experiment is an important step toward the development of future High Throughput Satellite (HTS) systems, able to support hundreds of gigabit/s or terabit/s connectivity. These systems will require: a) use of frequency bands beyond Ka (i.e. Q, V and W bands); b) enhanced frequency reuse; c) use of Propagation Impairments Mitigation Techniques (PIMT). Alphasat Aldo Paraboni payload allows us to perform, for the first time, communication experiments over a Q/V band satellite link with adaptive PIMT, testing: Channel Estimation, Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM), up-link power control (ULPC) and space diversity. This paper presents the first results of the communication experiments campaign.