“Black Box� RF Sat-Link for Mission Success, Risk Mitigation, and Space Debris

The proposed NSL Black Box redundant radio link (Globalstar constellation) is a very timely topic for the AF as a Dual Purpose Technology. The small and autonomous Black Box solution with its 24/7 global coverage (latency of seconds) can greatly increase performance, reduce risk with redundancy, and help with orbital debris tracking. The Black Box technology has recently been proven on 14 satellites in LEO orbit with 100% success (see SSC18-PII-11&SSC16-WK-11 papers in “Other Document� folder). Primary AF Customers identified at KAFB are in the ADS, ADX, and ADY Divisions. We have previously participated with KAFB in the successful launch of three recent Globalstar satellites in the SmallSat Portfolio group. In addition, we have sold two NSL EyeStar radios to our neighbors in Dayton, OH at the AF-Tech group. In Phase 1 we plan to visit both facilities. The Black Box is ready for SBIR prototyping in Phase 1 with preliminary AF security, reliability, testing, and documentation requirements: encryption, ground segment data transfer to DoD secure bases, Globalstar security for AF, documentation, options (Mechanism Camera, GPS, sensors, receiver, lifetime requirements), radiation hardness, form factors, constellations, NTIA/FCC approvals, and much more.