SBIR-STTR Award

CesiumAstro proposes a software-reconfigurable and mechanically adaptable tactical communications payload (SR-ATP). The payload is envisioned as a modular system that can be added to commercial satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), extending Navys communication systems. Military assets would send/receive data through the host satellites gateway link, where SR-ATP would exchange this data through its interface with the host. From there, SR-ATP would modulate/demodulate the data using a selected military waveform and transmit/receive the data through its RF front-end module (FEM) and the antenna. In this design, each tactical payload is composed of a common processing module and one or more FEMs and the antennas. The common module has an FPGA-based communication processor, Ethernet connection, memory, and a power conditioning unit. For the FEMs, Cesium will develop two RF personalities, one for UHF operations and one for L-band operations. In addition, Cesium will develop a payload bus that would support the modular payload and allow for a variety of integration options with the host satellite. Using the core module, one or more bus units, and one or more RF personalities, Navy would be able to quickly assemble payloads of various complexities and integrate them on a host satellite.

The major challenge in constellation-wide deployment of tactical payloads in low-Earth orbit (LEO) lies in achieving the performance requirements that are imposed by constellation dynamics while maintaining a design simplicity that is compatible with large-scale production, along with typical constraints on size, mass, and power consumption. Cesium’s proposed solution is a small reconfigurable payload. This approach offers the right balance between performance, size, weight, and power consumption.