What is bent-pipe satellite?

A bent-pipe satellite is a type of satellite that receives a signal on one frequency band, amplifies the signal, and retransmits it on another frequency band to the receiving antenna on the ground. The satellite acts as a "bent pipe" because the signal is not processed or manipulated in any way, except for amplification. The signal is simply passed through the satellite and transmitted back down to Earth at a higher power level.

Bent-pipe satellites are commonly used for telecommunications, broadcasting, and military applications. They are also used for satellite internet services and remote sensing applications.

Advantages of bent-pipe satellites include their simplicity, low cost, and high efficiency. They do not require complex signal processing hardware or software, which reduces their cost and complexity. Additionally, they have a high efficiency because the signal is only amplified, without any other processing or manipulation.

However, the main disadvantage of bent-pipe satellites is that they have limited flexibility in terms of signal processing and modulation schemes. They can only support the frequency bands and modulation techniques that they were designed to handle. This limitation makes them less suitable for applications that require more advanced signal processing and modulation, such as high-speed data transmission.