Improved AFSCN FCT Simulator

ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge and team partner AirIn Technologies propose to develop an innovative, low-cost satellite testing system which provides functionality of the TSTR and RBC TSTR electronics and is compatible with the AFSCN. The system will feature state of the art COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) software-defined radio technology and high-speed digital computing to significantly reduce cost and physical size compared to the current TSTR system. Furthermore, the team offers to enhance satellite testing operations by including an enhanced variation of Echo Ridge"s previously developed DYSE RF environment emulation system to provide novel real-time RF link emulation during simulated pre-launch, launch, and orbit operations between ground stations and satellites. This enhancement could significantly de-risk satellite operations by subjecting communications links to realistic propagation phenomena that will be experienced during actual operations. BENEFIT: Large scale US government system of system test infrastructures are being defined which may not adequately address many of the inefficiencies seen with today"s TSTR solutions. These shortcomings could be avoided by leveraging the Improved AFS (IAFS) SDR-Cloud architecture implementation approach described in this proposal. Similarly, in the commercial wireless world, there is optimism that SDR-cloud architectures offer the potential to reduce cost by reducing the number of required radio resources through pooling HW and SW and managing resource allocation and sharing. As with the IAFS, advantages in power consumption, security, maintenance and software licensing costs, scalability, etc., results in lower overall operational expenses which make the approach attractive. The developed approach is well suited as test requirements must often address as yet undefined needs or provide as-yet undefined capabilities. Thus the IAFS approach offers a way to"future-proof"against moving requirements as well as a way to seamlessly on-ramp emerging technology.