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The Communications Technology Satellite and the associated ground terminals for experiments

The CTS project is a joint effort between the Communications Research Centre in Canada and National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States with both nations equally sharing available spacecraft communication time. The CTS spacecraft will be placed in synchronous orbit at 116 deg west longitude. General spacecraft operational characteristics are discussed with particular emphasis on communication system parameters. The associated Canadian and United States user ground terminals are reviewed with particular emphasis on wideband communications. In Canada the experimenter (user) ground terminal communication equipment is government owned whereas in the United States the user terminal equipment is the responsibility of each user.

Wright, D. L.

The NASA communications R & D program

About two years ago, NASA decided to reactivate its communications R&D Program, which had been phased down in 1973. The new program focuses on three major areas: (1) technology development in the 30 and 20 GHz bands for wideband communications; (2) system definition for an integrated terrestrial and satellite-aided system for land mobile communications in the 860 MHz band; and (3) development of system concepts and pilot networks for applications data services. The paper summarizes the new activities in the three areas and describes their status and plans.

Durrani, S. H.

Space Communications Artificial Intelligence for Link Evaluation Terminal (SCAILET)

A software application to assis end-users of the Link Evaluation Terminal (LET) for satellite communication is being developed. This software application incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and will be deployed as an interface to LET. The high burst rate (HBR) LET provides 30 GHz transmitting/20 GHz receiving, 220/110 Mbps capability for wideband communications technology experiments with the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). The HBR LET and ACTS are being developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The HBR LET can monitor and evaluate the integrity of the HBR communications uplink and downlink to the ACTS satellite. The uplink HBR transmission is performed by bursting the bit-pattern as a modulated signal to the satellite. By comparing the transmitted bit pattern with the received bit pattern, HBR LET can determine the bit error rate BER) under various atmospheric conditions. An algorithm for power augmentation is applied to enhance the system's BER performance at reduced signal strength caused by adverse conditions. Programming scripts, defined by the design engineer, set up the HBR LET terminal by programming subsystem devices through IEEE488 interfaces. However, the scripts are difficult to use, require a steep learning curve, are cryptic, and are hard to maintain. The combination of the learning curve and the complexities involved with editing the script files may discourage end-users from utilizing the full capabilities of the HBR LET system. An intelligent assistant component of SCAILET that addresses critical end-user needs in the programming of the HBR LET system as anticipated by its developers is described. A close look is taken at the various steps involved in writing ECM software for a C&P, computer and at how the intelligent assistant improves the HBR LET system and enhances the end-user's ability to perform the experiments.

Shahidi, Anoosh

An overview of Space Communication Artificial Intelligence for Link Evaluation Terminal (SCAILET) Project

A software application to assist end-users of the link evaluation terminal (LET) for satellite communications is being developed. This software application incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and will be deployed as an interface to LET. The high burst rate (HBR) LET provides 30 GHz transmitting/20 GHz receiving (220/110 Mbps) capability for wideband communications technology experiments with the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). The HBR LET can monitor and evaluate the integrity of the HBR communications uplink and downlink to the ACTS satellite. The uplink HBR transmission is performed by bursting the bit-pattern as a modulated signal to the satellite. The HBR LET can determine the bit error rate (BER) under various atmospheric conditions by comparing the transmitted bit pattern with the received bit pattern. An algorithm for power augmentation will be applied to enhance the system's BER performance at reduced signal strength caused by adverse conditions.

Shahidi, Anoosh K.

SCAILET - An intelligent assistant for satellite ground terminal operations

Space communication artificial intelligence for the link evaluation terminal (SCAILET) is an experimenter interface to the link evaluation terminal (LET) developed by NASA through the application of artificial intelligence to an advanced ground terminal. The high-burst-rate (HBR) LET provides the required capabilities for wideband communications experiments with the advanced communications technology satellite (ACTS). The HBR-LET terminal consists of seven major subsystems and is controlled and monitored by a minicomputer through an IEEE-488 or RS-232 interface. Programming scripts configure HBR-LET and allow data acquisition but are difficult to use and therefore the full capabilities of the system are not utilized. An intelligent assistant module was developed as part of the SCAILET module and solves problems encountered during configuration of the HBR-LET system. This assistant is a graphical interface with an expert system running in the background and allows users to configure instrumentation, program sequences and reference documentation. The simplicity of use makes SCAILET a superior interface to the ASCII terminal and continuous monitoring allows nearly flawless configuration and execution of HBR-LET experiments.

Shahidi, A. K.

LANDSAT-D flight segment operations manual, volume 1

Hardware, systems, and subsystems for the multimission modular spacecraft used for LANDSAT 4 are described and depicted in block diagrams and schematics. Components discussed include the modular attitude control system; the communication and data handling subsystem; the narrowband tape recorder; the on-board computer; the propulsion module subsystem; the signal conditioning and control unit; the modular power subsystem; the solar array drive and power transmission assembly; the power distribution unit; the digital processing unit; and the wideband communication subsystem.

Varhola, J.

Numerical aerodynamic simulation program long haul communications prototype

This document is a report of the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Long Haul Communications Prototype (LHCP). It describes the accomplishments of the LHCP group, presents the results from all LHCP experiments and testing activities, makes recommendations for present and future LHCP activities, and evaluates the remote workstation accesses from Langley Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and Colorado State University to Ames Research Center. The report is the final effort of the Long Haul (Wideband) Communications Prototype Plan (PT-1133-02-N00), 3 October 1985, which defined the requirements for the development, test, and operation of the LHCP network and was the plan used to evaluate the remote user bandwidth requirements for the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Processing System Network.

Cmaylo, Bohden K.

A 10.6 micron laser-receiver RF subsystem

One of the problems inherent in the use of optical communication systems is the exceedingly high Doppler shift which can be expected. With the recent development of stable, linear, octavebandwidth, voltage-tunable oscillators, this problem has been solved. A laboratory tracking receiver which is capable of tracking a 1-GHz frequency shift at rates up to 12 MHz/s with subsequent coherent data demodulation was designed and tested. This work demonstrates that the design and fabrication of an RF subsystem, utilizing coherent demodulation of data, for wideband communications systems is now both feasible and practical.

Santarpia, D. E.

Wideband, high efficiency optical modulator requires less than 10 watts drive power

Wideband optical modulation system operates with less than 10-watts drive power. It consists of an optical modulator and transistorized driver that combines small cross-section potassium dideuterium phosphate crystals with laser beam-condensing optics. Optical modulation systems may serve importantly in future space wideband communication systems.

Becknell, W. E.

A wideband Gaussian noise generator utilizing simultaneously generated pn-sequences.

A digital system has been constructed for the generation of wideband Gaussian noise with a spectrum which is flat to within plus or minus 0.5 dB from 0 to 10 MHz. These characteristics are substantially better than those of commercially available analog noise generators, and are required in testing and simulation of wideband communications systems. The noise is generated by the analog summation of thirty essentially independent binary waveforms, clocked at 35 MHz, and low-pass filtered to 10 MHz.

Hurd, W. J.

Design/cost tradeoff studies. Appendix A. Supporting analyses and tradeoffs, book 1. Earth Observatory Satellite system definition study (EOS)

A listing of the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) candidate missions is presented for use as a baseline in describing the EOS payloads. The missions are identified in terms of first, second, and third generation payloads. The specific applications of the EOS satellites are defined. The subjects considered are: (1) orbit analysis, (2) space shuttle interfaces, (3) thematic mapping subsystem, (4) high resolution pointable imager subsystem, (5) the data collection system, (6) the synthetic aperture radar, (7) the passive multichannel microwave radiometer, and (8) the wideband communications and handling equipment. Illustrations of the satellite and launch vehicle configurations are provided. Block diagrams of the electronic circuits are included.

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Earth Observatory Satellite system definition study. Report 5: System design and specifications. Volume 4: Mission peculiar spacecraft segment and module specifications

The specifications for the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) peculiar spacecraft segment and associated subsystems and modules are presented. The specifications considered include the following: (1) wideband communications subsystem module, (2) mission peculiar software, (3) hydrazine propulsion subsystem module, (4) solar array assembly, and (5) the scanning spectral radiometer.

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Networks systems and operations

The application of wideband communication techniques for data links with satellites is discussed. A diagram of the demand assigned voice communications system is provided. The development of prototype integrated spacecraft paramps at S- and C-bands is described and the performance of space-qualified paramps is tabulated. The characteristics of a dual parabolic cylinder monopulse zoom antenna for use with the tracking and data relay satellite system (TDRSS) are analyzed. The development of a universally applicable transponder at S-band is reported. A block diagram of the major subassemblies of the S-band transponder is included. The technology aspects of network timing and synchronization of communication systems are to show the use of the Omega navigation system. The telemetry data compression system used during the Skylab program is evaluated.

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Landsat 2 on-board computer

The Landsat Spacecraft Project (formerly known as ERTS) was based essentially on the use of Nimbus spacecraft hardware. It was soon recognized that the availability of only 30 stored command locations (which were sufficient for the Nimbus mission) would limit the operation of the Landsat 1 mission with much higher power sensors, recorders, and wideband communications being cycled on and off throughout the orbit. The solution described is a simple memory with hard wired logic, of a design that can interface with the existing hardware, without modifications. The design was implemented using an existing APO (Advanced Onboard Processor) and a 4096 word X 18 bit plated wire memory. (The AOP has been subsequently designated the NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer.)

Lesko, J. G., Jr.

An operational video data compression system for ATS and ITOS

An operational data compression system has been developed and implemented for transmission of digitized ATS and ITOS-VHRR satellite video data over the wideband communication link between the Wallops Island, Va. Command and Data Acquisition Station and the National Environmental Satellite Service at Suitland, Md. This system uses minicomputers for the coding and decoding of the data to achieve maximum flexibility together with specially designed interface equipment for greater efficiency. No loss in data quality occurs due to the compression, and, in certain cases, data is transmitted which would be otherwise unavailable due to the limited channel capacity. This paper describes the method of compression, the equipment used, and the compression results attained.

Kutz, R. L.

Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems

A brief overview of the Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems support functions is given along with a description of the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network and the Deep Space Network. Preparations for upcoming missions, wideband communications, and Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Systems are discussed.

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