Design of a Ka band transmitter for the Bepi Colombo radioscience experiment

The design and development of a 500 W(800 W goal) air cooled Ka-band Klystron-based High Power Amplifier (HPA) working in the bandwidth 34200 to 34700 MHz., 300 MHz(500 MHz goal ) instantaneous bandwidth , complete with power supply, internal protection, cooling system, local and remote monitor and control is in progress at Rheinmetall Italia SpA ,Roma (hereafter referred as RhI) in the contest of the ASI contract based on the requirements included in Capitolato Tecnico Realizzazione di un Prototipo di Trasmettitore in Banda Ka per la radioscienza di Bepi Colombo, DC-TST-2007-006 rev. B, 19/01/2007. RhI was chosen by ASI on the basis of the experience gained on the development of a 20 kW X band water cooled Klystron based transmitter done on the contest of ESA contract. Scope of this prototype is to acquire experience on Ka Band and to explore the feasibility of the requirements on the basis of lab tests. A possible follow on could be the industrialisation of such prototype and its tailoring in order to install it in the Antenna Equipment Room (AER) of ESA Deep Space Ground Stations (DSGS).