At the beginning of 2015, around 1200 satellites were fully operational in orbit around the planet, half of which were communication satellites. This number of satellites is expected to expand at a progressive rate within the next years. In order to have success in the development of satellite projects from the beginning to development, reliable testing needs to be done at each stage. This application note focuses on RF component and module testing of satellite communication payloads as well as complete satellite communication payloads using R&S instruments at pre-launch level.