Protocol Converter

The Protocol Converter (PC) autonomously converts data from one standard or protocol to another. It is intended to allow a variety of payloads and devices that have incompatible interfaces to connect to the standard satellite bus interfaces. It may be sold as a commercial product for other satellites, for UAV’s or for industrial applications. Currently, if a payload was incompatible, the C&DH must be customized and re-qualified. The PC is a pre-qualified stand-alone hardware/firmware design, rapidly configurable to accommodate payloads. The PC is reconfigured through a programming port without replacing hardware, eliminating the need to repeat qualification. Tremendous savings in time and money can thus be realized. Phase I will develop an architecture to support the general PC as well as the particular application of a binary-to-ternary converter. Phase II will build a prototype binary-to-ternary converter, which has immediate cost-saving application to allow use of any generic low-cost command receiver to connect to a decryptor device.