Many key parabola-antenna technologies began with Mitsubishi Electric

Let's begin with the Cassegrain antenna and the 4-reflector focused-beam feed. When most people imagine a parabola antenna, they think of a cup shape with a rod in the center. The basic structure focuses the electric signals at one point, i.e., the rod in the center of the cup. The Cassegrain-type is the ideal form for large-scale parabola antennas since it places a reflector on the central rod and directs the signal to the base of the cup.

Mitsubishi Electric built the world's first Cassegrain antenna in 1963. Incidentally, the first broadcast made with this antenna was the footage of the assassination of President Kennedy. The traditional antenna's transmission and reception equipment was both complex and heavy, so Mitsubishi Electric invented the 4-reflector focused-beam feed, a multi-reflector technology that separated the transmission and reception equipment from the rotating antenna. This technology offers many benefits, such as improved antenna stability and accuracy. This break through technology has now become the world standard.