PRESS RELEASE 93-29

Immediate 
Mary Ann Peto
(Bus: 216/433-2902)
<h3>Communications Satellite to Fly this Summer</h3> Cleveland, OH -- 
NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) is being 
prepared for liftoff from Cape Kennedy, Fla., aboard Space Shuttle 
Discovery in July 1993. ACTS, which is managed by the Lewis Research 
Center in Cleveland, OH, is an experimental satellite that will 
pioneer a number of new communications satellite technologies. The 
key new technologies include Ka-band (20 and 30 GHz) operation with 
dynamic rain fade compensation, multiple hopping and fixed spot beams 
which will allow the use of smaller, less expensive Earth stations, 
and advanced onboard switching and processing of communications 
traffic. Over 60 experiments will be conducted with ACTS during the 
satellite's two-year mission.



# # #

Photo number is C-93-02994.

	
-end-