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Milstar Flight 5 Payload Features New, Northrop Grumman-Developed Agile Beam Antenna

Northrop Grumman integration and test staff complete antenna checks in 1999 on the Milstar Flight 5 low data rate (LDR) communications payload. This payload is the first to fly a Northrop Grumman-developed consolidated agile beam antenna (CAB), which merges the functions of five previously separate agile beam antennas into a single smaller, less costly unit (cube-like structure at upper left). Agile beams provide scanning coverage of the Earth's surface. The CAB dramatically improves the Milstar satellite's EHF (extremely high frequency) communications performance. It also cuts weight of the previous five-antenna configuration by 45 percent and "footprint" size on the satellite by 65 percent. Each CAB saves the Air Force $1.2 million dollars versus the build-to-print cost of the five antennas on previous payloads. In foreground is the LDR's round narrow spot beam antenna. Northrop Grumman builds the Milstar LDR payloads for Lockheed Martin, the Milstar prime contractor.