NEXTAR - The advanced mini-earth station for satellite communications networks

A satellite data communications network, referred to as NEXTAR, that uses miniearth stations is described. The economical and operational advantages of NEXTAR are discussed in terms of conventional terrestrial networks. The NEXTAR network consists of a user data terminal, miniearth stations, a satellite, a hub station, and a host computer system. Each miniearth station is composed of a very small aperture antenna (1.2 or 1.8 m), an outdoor unit, and an indoor unit; the components and functions of the miniearth station are examined. THE NEXTAR system uses the adaptive assignment time division multiple access method, and this method provides short response time for interactive-type traffic and high throughput efficiency for batch-type traffic. Diagrams of the miniearth station components are presented.