Application of advanced technology communications satellites in the 1980-1990 time period

The satellite communications technology which may be available in the 1980-1990 time period is considered. Current trends toward increasing satellite antenna size and power and corresponding reductions in the size of ground terminals will continue. The ability to construct large telecommunications structures in space, the availability of high prime power, and the development of small, high-performance processors to perform on-board switching from beam-to-beam or among channels demodulated to baseband will facilitate the evolution of large telecommunications satellites capable of performing functions previously reserved for ground-based telephone networks. Two possible applications for the telecommunications technology of the 1980s, a personal navigation device and a wristwatch-sized microwave communications device, are discussed.