In the Milstar EHF and SHF bands, small antenna apertures produce narrow beams, which are difficult to jam, with high transmit and receive gain.

The Milstar payloads perform extensive on-board processing of the uplink and downlink waveforms for efficient on-orbit resource use and maximum antijam performance. On-board signal processing ensures full interoperability among the military services and other users who operate terminals on land, sea, and air.

Often described as a switchboard in the sky, the Milstar payloads have on-board computers that perform communications resource control. Milstar responds directly to service requests from user terminals Without satellite operator intervention, providing point-to-point communications and network services on a priority basis.

The Milstar payloads can reconfigure in realtime as users' connectivity needs change, providing the dynamic communication networks that highly mobile tactical warfighters require.

Worldwide connectivity is established using space-to-space crosslinks. Crosslinking allows user communication networks to extend around the globe without retransmission, through intermediate ground stations. Crosslinking also provides worldwide command and telemetry access to every Milstar satellite.

The entire Milstar constellation can be operated through the crosslinks firm a single CONUS-based mission control station; potentially vulnerable foreign control sites are not required.

Each Milstar satellite has a mass of approximately 10,000 pounds and produces nearly 5000 Watts of solar array power. The first two Milstar satellites (Milstar I have a low data rate (LDR) payload. The third and subsequent vehicles (Milstar II feature a medium data rate (MDR) payload. The completed Milstar II constellation will consist of four satellites in near-geostationary equatorial orbits.

Highlights

• Global coverage via Earth coverage, agile, and steerable antennas
• Automatic terminal logon and network setup procedures
• Assured global connectivity via onboard router, processor, and crosslinks
  · Any LDR uplink beam to downlink beams within constellation
  · Any MDR uplink beam to MDR downlink beams within constellation
  
• CINC-controlled resource allocation for dynamically changing situations
• Flexible communication services:
  · Point-to-point
  · Conference network
  · Broadcast
  
• Voice, data, imagery, and video teleconferencing capabilities
• Throughput and dam rates to simultaneously support a two-corps Army theater, Navy battlegroups, Air Force ground stations, Navy shore stations, and Naval independent operators
• LPI/LPD to protect terminal assets and special operations
• UHF capability and EHF/UHF crossbanding for interconnecting with AFSATCOM IIR and fleet broadcast terminals
• Operates between mall, disadvantaged manpack and submarine terminals as well as high-gain ground stations
• Interoperable waveforms and data rates
• Robust, antijam, antiscintillation waveforms
• Nulling antennas for in-beam jamming protection
• COMSEC/TRANSEC protection with over-the-air rekey (OTAR) capabilitySpecifications

Specifications