SBIR-STTR Award

.Remote Sensing Solutions (RSS) proposes will develop the next generation ultra-wideband, low power, high fidelity software defined radar/radiometer receiver and signal processor that will be designed for spaceflight applications. This technology and product will enable combined radar-radiometer missions at reduced power, cost, size and weight while enabling multi-mode operation to address multiple objectives from a single platform. With ability to detect and adapt to RFI, it will overcome the ever increasing RFI problem faced by spaceborne radiometers and it provide synchronous and RFI interference migitation techniques to allow the radar and radiometer to share common RF hardware resulting in significant size, weight and power savings enabling deployment on SmallSATs. Its adaptive pulse-to-pulse reconfigurable architecture will enable for a new paradigm in adaptive active / passive sensing with the ability to cue one another to optimize the mission capabilities and power resources. Based on commercial parts with high radiation tolerance, this system will offer an affordable solution that can be deployed on manned and unmanned aircraft and directly transferred to space as the overall system capabilities are proven, offering a means to lower cost to space and provide a rapid development path. The key innovations are: ultra-wide bandwidth operations to support next generation radiometers; high dynamic range to support radar applications; embedded real-time intelligent RFI mitigation, direct sampling into C-band to reduce RF hardware and provide frequency plans for instruments into millimeter wave bands; high resolution spectral and radar signal processing; and modular and reconfigurable architecture to support broad range of instruments and applications Anticipated

Benefits:
NASA has been charged with developing missions to obtain new observations to improve our understanding and ability to predict weather and extreme weather events; improve our understanding of the roles and interactions of the oceans, atmospheric, land and ice in the Earth’s climate system; and aid in natural hazards. NASA will need combined active and passive airborne and spaceborne observations and new instruments to meet these objectives, and the proposed RSS software defined receiver will provide critical capabilities in this effort. The product developed through this effort will offer a unique solution to NOAA and USDA for active / passive remote sensing of the ocean surface, ocean vector winds, precipitation and soil moisture from manned and unmanned UAS platforms and to defense agency for next generation signal intercept and digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) capabilities.

Remote Sensing Solutions proposes for the Phase II effort to develop and demonstrate a novel high-fidelity software defined radar/radiometer (SDRr) that meets the needs of future NASA Earth and planetary missions, as well as airborne demonstration and science programs that support NASA missions and/or mission risk reduction. This game-changing technology not only will provide state-of-the-art performance, support ultra-wide bandwidth applications and enable simultaneous radar/radiometer operations through common hardware, but it will also provide an innovative approach through its unique reconfigurable architecture that can be repurposed (reconfigured) for multiple different next generation sensors and missions while maintaining its TRL thus reducing mission costs, risks and schedules. The SDRr will realize: Ultra-Wideband Instantaneous Bandwidth providing 3 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth and multi-channel, multi-sub channel operations; Embedded Real-time Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Mitigation that detects and removes RFI signals potentially with equivalent brightness temperatures less than 1 Kelvin; Direct RF Digital Receiver capable of directly sampling receive signals up through C-band frequencies and potentially higher; Combined Radar-Radiometer Signal Processor that provides both radar and radiometric signal processing and directly measures radar spectrum to enable operation of both within the same frequency allocation band(s) and provides detection and cancelation of the radar interference; a Reconfigurable Common Architecture capable of supporting multiple different radar and radiometer designs and modes of operations leading to high reuse between different missions and platforms; and will be delivered in a Small Modular Form Factor not much larger than a smart phone. Anticipated

Benefits:
NASA has been charged with developing missions to obtain new observations to improve our understanding and ability to predict weather and extreme weather events; improve our understanding of the roles and interactions of the oceans, atmospheric, land and ice in the Earth’s climate system; and aid in natural hazards. NASA will need combined active and passive airborne and spaceborne observations and new instruments to meet these objectives, and the proposed RSS software defined receiver will provide critical capabilities in this effort. The product developed through this effort will offer a unique solution to NOAA and commercial customers such as Climacell and BAE for active / passive remote sensing of the ocean surface, ocean vector winds, precipitation and soil moisture from manned and unmanned UAS platforms; and to defense agency for next generation signal intercept and digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) capabilities.