Reconfigurable, Commercial-based Avionics for Responsive Microsatellite Targets

The Missile Defense Agency is seeking novel techniques to enable coherent, accurate, and sustained operation of ground-based phased array radars. MicroSat Systems, a small satellite developer is proposing a low cost Intelligent Power and Data Ring (IPDR) avionics architecture. IPDR for Responsive Microsatellite Target Systems takes advantage of initiatives to integrate high performance, low cost commercial electronics and processors into spacecraft avionics. This architecture provides a near-term solution to reconfigurable avionics while distributing power and data management functions on a single circuit. By integrating the MSI protocol converter technology with the ABET Technologies Digital Current System, MSI provides a network with standardized attachment nodes that carries data and power on the IPDR. This network can host a variety of data protocols and implements a SpaceWire core to support high speed data transfer around the ring and any user-programmable protocol from the ring out to peripheral devices. The standardization of the node design enables full modularity and growth from a minimum of three nodes reducing spacecraft integration to a few days. Since the system is implemented with a common set of standard nodes instead of custom cards in a card cage, the hardware costs are only 40-60% of centralized systems.