N102-189 TITLE: Advanced Reconfigurable Communications Components

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Space Platforms

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), ACAT I

RESTRICTION ON PERFORMANCE BY FOREIGN CITIZENS (i.e., those holding non-U.S. Passports): This topic is "ITAR Restricted." The information and materials provided pursuant to or resulting from this topic are restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120 - 130, which control the export of defense-related material and services, including the export of sensitive technical data. Foreign Citizens may perform work under an award resulting from this topic only if they hold the "Permanent Resident Card", or are designated as "Protected Individuals" as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). If a proposal for this topic contains participation by a foreign citizen who is not in one of the above two categories, the proposal will be rejected.

OBJECTIVE: Develop space-qualified, radiation tolerant, advanced reconfigurable communications components for satellite communications (SATCOM) systems.

DESCRIPTION: Currently satellite systems are built in seven to ten years and allow little, if any, ability to reconfigure resources. This results in operational systems built to ten year old requirements and are not flexible. It is desirable for space systems to become increasingly reconfigurable and reprogramable. Examples of recent innovations are Radiation hardened Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), Software Defined Radios (SDR), and other reconfigurable payloads that have been proved in space and continue to improve in performance and reliability. These advances will soon allow for in-space reconfiguration and re-tasking of satellites and ground stations, a concept that PEO Space Systems calls Software Reconfigurable Payloads (SRP).

Advanced communication satellites require a programmable, sampled intermediate frequency (SIF) filter to replace several traditional off-chip IF filters. This includes the necessity of low power and small form factor for analog/digital conversion and digital processing. The SIF filter should display extremely small size, weight, and power, yet provide a high level of reliable performance.

The environmental requirements include immunity to destructive single event latchup (SEL), and total ionizing dose tolerance in the 100 krad (Si) or greater range. Single event effects, including single event functional interrupt, should also be considered, although single event upset may also be masked at the system architecture level if upset rates are manageable. Tolerance to even higher radiation levels is desirable, if a reasonable size, weight, and power is maintained. Increasing temperature tolerance up to the Mil-Spec temperature range (-55 to 125C) is desirable. Reliability for long-term space geosynchronous missions must be addressed.

Offerers should not hesitate to propose approaches other than the one laid out in the Phase I and Phase II descriptions below, but should be prepared to explain clearly how their approach will achieve the desired outcome. Since the desired outcome of this project is a commercially available SIF filter, the proposer must be able to show a plausible path to designing, producing, testing, qualifying, and marketing a space qualified product.

PHASE I: Demonstrate through analysis and modeling that key technology developments or adaptations can achieve requirements and enhance capability for space-based communications systems. Additionally, analysis of should be completed.

PHASE II: Implement the new design and demonstrate its performance against expectations. Evaluate measured performance characteristics versus expectations and make design/process adjustments as necessary.

PHASE III: This phase will focus on further testing and integrating the technology with existing military SATCOM systems such as the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS).

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Commercial opportunities include software defined radio (SDR) applications, such as any new or NASA space communications systems that require block or direct down conversion SDR topology. Commercial applications include telecommunications space systems such as future satellite-based cellular phone networks.

REFERENCES:
1) "Common Operators Design on Dynamically Reconfigurable Hardware for SDR Systems" Loïg Godard, Hongzhi Wang, Christophe Moy, Pierre Leray SDR Forum Technical Conference 2007

KEYWORDS: Software Defined Radio; Space Qualified; Communications; Filter

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between April 21 and May 19, 2010, you may talk directly with the Topic Authors to ask technical questions about the topics. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting May 19, 2010, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

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