X-band Communications System for Nanospacecraft

AeroAstro, Inc.

Ashburn, VA 
 

Developed X-Band, power-efficient, low operating voltage, radio telemetry transponder for use in very small earth-orbiting satellites.

• Design includes a high scale of integration, a low mass and volume, a high level of power efficiency, and the ability to operate from low voltage supplies of 6.5 to 8.5 VDC
• Each AeroAstro transponder core unit measures 4.9’’x3.1’’x2.7’’, and the accompanying high power amplifier (HPA) measures 1.5’’x4.5’’x3.0’’, with a combined mass of <1.4kg.
  
• The Full-duplex, coherent DSN-compatible transponder transmits BPSK at a data rate of 200kbps and receives Bi-phase BPSK at a rate of up to 1kbps, with a power consumption of 4W on receive and 20W on transmit; higher TX and RX rates are possible
  
• The system operates using 7V to 9V, suitable for use in the low bus voltage systems typically used in today’s growing nano-satellite market
  
• AeroAstro received the 2000 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration for its design of miniature X-band transponders for small satellites
  

• AeroAstro provided quotes to a number of international and domestic customers, since first offering X-band transponders as a commercial product with several customization options
  
• The technology developed under this contract has become the basis for a family of radio products for this company
  

• Awarded a contract for $5.6 million to build miniaturized X-band transponders for the NASA New Millennium Program’s ST5 Nanosatellite Constellation Trailblazer mission, which was launched March 22, 2006 and is currently operational

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