The primary goals of the program were to:

• conduct a complete set of technology verification experiments that validated and characterized ACTS technology

• conduct a balanced set of user investigations and application demonstrations that evaluated on-demand, integrated voice, video, and data applications, and

• collect a comprehensive series of propagation measurements to aid in the design of future Ka-band communication satellite systems

This chapter covers the user investigations. Chapter 2, Satellite Technology, presents significant results from the technology verification experiments, and Chapter 5, Ka-band Propagation Effects, provides detailed information on the propagation measurements.

User applications comprised over half of the investigations conducted. They involved a variety of fixed, mobile, and video broadcast services. Most of the user trials were oriented toward services with commercial potential and included the following: medical; terrestrial network restoration; business, science and ISDN networks; education; DOD tactical communications; broadcast video; supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA); very high-data-rate SONET/ATM networks; aeronautical, land vehicle, and maritime mobile; and protocol and network interoperability.

Members of the user development team from LeRC, NASA headquarters, and Lockheed Martin.

Left to right Ron Schertler, users manager; Laura Randall; Dean Olmstead, NASA program manager from December 1988-March 1992; and Richard Gedney, LeRC project manager.