Bent-pipe Repeater

A bent-pipe repeater is a satellite payload architecture in which the satellite simply receives an uplink signal, amplifies it, translates it in frequency, and retransmits it on the downlink without demodulating or processing the user information. The satellite therefore acts as a transparent relay, with all modulation, coding, multiple access, and switching functions performed at the Earth stations.

Bent-pipe repeaters are simple, reliable, and widely used in both commercial and military satellite communications systems. Their simplicity reduces onboard processing complexity and latency, but limits flexibility compared with digital transparent or regenerative payloads, as bandwidth and routing are largely fixed by the transponder configuration.