High Data Rate/Low SWaP-C GPS Crosslinks

ABSTRACT: The topic requests proposals to develop scalable, flexible lower SWaP-C GPS crosslink capability that allows future operational systems to forego significant dependence upon ground clock and ephemeris refresh with concurrent support of real-time command and control and age of data. The development of this capability will improve the reliability and robustness of future GPS satellites by providing continuous ephemeris updates and terminal control. Future spacecraft will require higher data rate services than those supported today with improved SWAP and other performance criteria.Complicating the environment in which these technologies operate is the shortage of available radio spectrum and the need for interference management.While incremental advances in equipment design and performance in these bands may meet some of these future needs, MaXentric believes that developing equipment to provide high bandwidth communication services in a yet underutilized spectrum, such as the Inter-Satellite 59-71 GHz band, offers a higher potential return on investment and a more significant capability enhancement. In this proposal MaXentric suggests revisiting the utility of these frequencies for space based high data rate communications by developing and demonstrating a high data rate transceiver for the range 59-71 GHz.; BENEFIT: The technology developed in this project results in a cost effective, high performance inter-satellite crosslink. This design can be marketed not only to the DoD, but also to other SATCOM service providers. Below we list applications/benefits of the system: High bandwidth inter-satellite communications, short-range/cluster-flight satellite communications, cable replacement & wireless structural health monitoring (SHM), CubeSat science experiments, lunar/extraterrestrial communications, terrestrial cellular backhaul & Last Mile telecommunications, terrestrial high data rate and covert communications, and other mmWave SATCOM services. Furthermore, the technologies developed during the implementation of this project will be applicable to the creation of many other mmWave based communications links