 Prototype communications system |
The ACTS Gigabit Satellite Network was a pioneering, high-speed communications satellite network in the years 1993-2004, created as a prototype system to explore high-speed networking of digital endpoints.12 The system was jointly sponsored by NASA and ARPA, implemented by BBN Technologies and Motorola, and was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame in April 1997.
The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) network was designed to provide fiber-compatible SONET service to remote nodes and networks through a wideband satellite system, and provided long-haul, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint full-duplex SONET services, at rates up to 622 Mbit/s, over NASA's Advanced Communication Technology Satellite (ACTS).3
The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite itself, built and operated by , was launched on on September 12, 1993, by the , and occupied a at 100° west longitude. It was the first to operate in the 20–30 GHz frequency band (), with 30 GHz uplink and 20 GHz downlink signals. The satellite incorporated advanced on-board switching and multiple dynamically-hopping antennas for selected areas of the United States including Hawaii. Up to 3 uplink and 3 downlink antenna beams could be active simultaneously.
