The two UHF transmitters have opposite circular polarity. Is that a desired feature (and why?), or an unfortunate consequence of the hybrid design?

The new Mary turnstile antenna and matching hybrid combiner were designed to provide RHCP for one transmitter and LHCP for the other. This was a conscious decision to provide the maximum isolation between the transmitters. 4a.

The answer doesn't really address the question I was trying to ask. Let me rephrase. If it were not for the hybrid design and the need for isolation between the two transmitters, would there be any advantage to having opposite circular polarizations on the two transmitters?

It seems to me it would be more convenient for ground stations if both transmitters used the same polarization. If that's misguided, I'd like to understand why. If not, it would be nice to clarify that the tradeoff between groundstation convenience and spacecraft engineering was made knowingly.

There is no advantage to the ground station to having the two transmitters using opposite polarities. While it might be convenient for the ground user if both transmitters were RHCP that would have ... more.

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