Jan 10 1976
From The Space Library
An unmanned ground terminal that could operate with several satellites in synchronous orbit above the earth was patented by three engineers for the Communications Satellite Corporation. Previously, a separate earth terminal was needed for each satellite. William K. Sones, Laurence F. Gray, and Louis Pollack, of the ComSat staff in Washington, D.C., invented the new facility, considered a major advance that would add reliability and reduce costs. The structure included a single reflector about 9.7m by 15.4m with enough traveling-wave tubes, transmitters, receivers, and amplifiers to handle two or more satellites, plus monitors and controls; the reliability feature was a system that switched in another tube if one became defective. Possible uses would be on offshore rigs or at oil-pipeline installations that were unmanned but required constant communication by satellite. (NYT, 10 Jan 76, 31)
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