The multibeam transponder allows one to use a smaller ground station in satellite reception system and to make good use of the frequency band. The redundant system is important for the higher reliability of transponder, especially as the number of the beams increases. This paper considers a redundant system for a multibeam transponder. The concept of the expected system value herein introduced takes the reliability and the transponder weight into account simultaneously. Comparing the performance of eight typical redundant configurations, the importance of the common and active redundancy is shown. Copyright © 1993 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company