This device is a traveling wave tube (TWT), built by Martin Marietta in the early 1990s for the BS-3N communications satellite, owned by the Japanese NHK television company.
TWTs have been and remain a critical technology for communications satellites in geostationary orbit. After a satellite receives a signal, processes it, and then prepares to transmit it, the satellite must first amplify the signal to ensure that it arrives at a receiving antenna on Earth with sufficient strength and integrity. Typical TWTs can amplify a signal by a factor of 100,000 to 1,000,000.
Lockheed Martin donated this artifact to the Museum in 1998.
Display Status
This object is on display in One World Connected at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Instruments & Payloads
Manufacturer
General Electric Space Systems Division
Dimensions
Overall (as pictured): 55.9 × 14 × 35.6cm (1 ft. 10 in. × 5 1/2 in. × 1 ft. 2 in.)
3-D (Larger Black Box): 34 × 8.7 × 13.7cm, 2.7kg (1 ft. 1 3/8 in. × 3 7/16 in. × 5 3/8 in., 6lb.)
3-D (Smaller Black Box): 35.6 × 5.9 × 3.7cm, 0.7kg (1 ft. 2 in. × 2 5/16 in. × 1 7/16 in., 1.5lb.)
Materials
Non-magnetic white metal
Aluminum
Anodized Coating
Synthetic Fabric
Steel
Synthetic Rubber
Paint
Plastic
Paper
Adhesive
Ink
Gold Plating
Inventory Number
A19980291000
Credit Line
Gift of Lockheed Martin
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.