Stellant Systems in Space

Stellant Systems has a heritage in microwave vacuum assemblies, components and subsystems dating back over 90 years. Stellant’s products support critical industries such as Space, Defense, Medical, Communications, and Science. As an industry leader in production and process management, Stellant can innovatively advance frequency and output power while maintaining industry leading size, weight and power (SWaP).

Stellant Systems in Space

As production and launch capabilities have rapidly transformed the satellite industry over the past several years, the demand for complimentary technology is ever increasing. With smaller satellites having smaller buses and payloads, the need for efficiency and reduced size in all aspects of the on-board electronics is critical. Stellant Systems has been consistently investing in such advances and are poised to remain a key player in the “new” satellite age. Stellant has long been depended on by the space industry with thousands of components and subsystems in flight.

In addition, Stellant’s participation in the non-space, defense sector provides the expertise to understand the tradeoffs with different levels of screening depending on the specific mission. Stellant’s recent developments include the nanoMPM®, which allows for inflight phase combining up to mission specific power levels. The Digiflex EPC provides state of the art flexibility to support many bus power configurations with a powerful digital interface. Lastly, Stellant continues to push into higher frequency bands as the need for data throughput will continue to grow exponentially.

The World’s First QUAD MPM! nanoMPM®

Stellant’s nanoMPM® opens the door for new orbital applications previously not achievable by SSPAs (not enough power) or LCTWTAs (too big). By enabling a satellite K-band phased array at record high total RF output power and efficiency, end users have a single satellite that can be used across almost any orbital slot and with almost any kind of coverage area for power and flexibility, including tracking mobile objects such as cruise ships. Communications is evolving very rapidly, and the market is demanding more flexibility. We're providing products that enable that flexibility. Stellant has now shipped two flight sets of nanoMPMs, including the first flight set of nanoMPMs to Airbus in support of the OneSat mission.

Some of the Design Features of the nanoMPM® include:

• Fully digitally controlled MPM
• Flexible saturated RF output for optimal performance
• Digitally tunable quad linearizer integrated within the Electronic Power Conditioner (EPC)
• Compact dual TWT package enables use on phased array satellites
• Modular, compact EPC capable of powering 4 TWTs
• Connectorized high-voltage cable greatly improves satellite integration
• Simplified manufacturing and test flow, enabling volume production and reduced schedule
• Ka-band (60-80W saturated)
• Ku-band (40W nominal)

In addition to the nanoMPM®, Stellant designs and manufactures traditional space TWTs and TWTAs all the way up to 200–300 W. These high-efficiency heritage Space TWTAs are available from L-band to Q-band. We also offer a V-band TWTA with in-orbit heritage to 80 W.

DigiFlex EPC-L: Single, High-Power Single or Dual

In addition to TWTs, Stellant designs and manufactures the necessary power conditioners (EPCs) needed to create a full TWTA subassembly. Having this capability internally reflects Stellant’s commitment to vertical integration and fully controlling the critical pieces of our products. The satellite industry is deadline driven with critical launch dates dependent on trustworthy suppliers like Stellant.

With a proven track record providing ultra-reliable high-voltage electronic power conditioners (EPCs) for Space applications (over 4000 modern Stellant EPCs in orbit with over 300 million operating hours), Stellant is now introducing its Digiflex EPC to address the wide variety and flexibility needed in the Space payload market. This next-generation EPC will have a digital interface and significantly expanded on-orbit capability while maintaining Stellant’s excellence in EPC reliability, efficiency, size, and mass.

Some of the design features of the Digiflex EPC include:

• Modular EPC circuit technology to reduce manufacturing complexity (leveraging the nanoMPM design)
• Operation up to 7 kV and 350 W of processed power (single)
• Drop-in replacement for L to Q-band EPC applications
• Integrated, commandable linearized, channel amplifier (LCAMP)
• Multiple communication interfaces including CAN bus, SWSI, Serial 32-bit, or pulsed interface
• Modular bus interface compatible with 50-V, 70-V and 100-V regulated buses
• All of the following are adjustable by commanding the EPC, simplifying production:
• Cathode voltage
• Heater voltage
• Saturated RF output power (via anode control)—up to 2 dB – for real-time optimization of operational efficiency and satellite DC power budget
• LCAMP mode, gain setting, mute, distortion
• High efficiency (> 90%) and low mass (< 1500 g including LCAMP)

Traveling-Wave Tubes / Traveling-Wave Tube Amplifiers for Space

Stellant is the only company in the world to design, manufacture, integrate, test, and ship complete Space-qualified linearized traveling-wave tube amplifiers (LCTWTAs). With over 3500 all-Stellant LCTWTAs in orbit from L-band to V-band having accumulated over 250 million operating hours, Stellant has an outstanding legacy of in-orbit performance and reliability.

As the Ku-band and K-band satellite frequency bands are becoming more and more congested, Stellant is prepared for the future with products to cover the Q/V-band and even W-band downlink bands. These higher frequency bands will be utilized by the next generation of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) programs. By moving backhaul links between a satellite and its hubs from the Ku/K-band to the Q/V-band, significantly more bandwidth can be made available for users and the number of hubs can be reduced, helping drive down cost per bit. Stellant’s latest development, a W-band downlink (71 – 76 GHz) TWTA produces 50 W saturated RF output power at up to 40 percent efficiency.

Stellant also offers the matching uplink TWTs for both Q/V-band communications (47 – 52 GHz) and W-band communications (81 – 86 GHz). The Q/V-band uplink TWT has recently been upgraded in RF output power, delivering 150-W CW power over the full 47.2 – 51.4 GHz uplink band, with a saturated peak power of 300 W. Our E-band uplink offering can provide up to 100-W of CW output power over the 81 – 86 GHz uplink band.

With capabilities covering TWT manufacturing, EPC manufacturing, chip-in-wire LCAMP manufacturing, and MMIC-based SSPAs, Stellant offers the widest array of Space-qualified products to enable upcoming architectures.

Facilities:

Stellant produces the above space products at facilities in Torrance, CA and Folsom, CA. Additional facilities in Williamsport, PA and Milford, NY produce our non-space products. Internal expertise is the key to Stellant’s success over many decades. Some of these specific disciplines include:

• Cathode manufacturing
• Ceramic metalization
• Vapor deposition of materials
• Wet Chemical cleaning, etching and plating
• High-temperature furnace brazing
• Real-time X-ray inspection
• Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX)
• Welding (laser and tungsten-inert gas/gas tungsten arc welding
• Hermeticity fabrication and testing
• RF chip and wire assembly
• Environmental, electromagnetic, and mechanical testing
• Advanced 3D modeling
• Inspection capability (traceability, MIL-Spec, Space standards)
• With the acquisition of Comtech PST in 2023, Stellant now has expertise in both vacuum-based power technologies and solid-state power technologies.