Spacecraft Communications Payload (SCP) for Swampworks

The long-term goal of the Spacecraft Communications Payload SCP program is to build a payload that can be flown on a constellation of low earth orbiting satellites. The immediate goal of the SCP program is to design, build, and fly an SCP on the TacSat-3 spacecraft. This payload will serve as a router in the sky for the Ocean Data Telemetry Microsatellite Link ODTML system for data exfiltration from ocean buoys. The objective of this program is to design and build a low cost, low power, space based, two-way communications payload for the TacSat-3 spacecraft. This payload is a protoflight version of the Spacecraft Communications Payload SCP concept originally envisioned in ONR SBIR N02-062, Ocean Data Telemetry Microsatellite Link ODTML and uses a Commercial Off-The-Shelf COTS radio frequency RF transceiver and modem. This payload provides data exfiltrationinfiltration capabilities via the Internet for ocean buoys and other low data rate sensors, and could also be used to collect data from terrestrial sensors, such as unattended ground sensors UGSs and Low Probability of Intercept LPI communication devices. In fact, once a system is in place, it could be used for data exfiltration from a host of different data terminals. The intended result of this program is both a near term payload for TacSat-3 and a flight qualified design for future flight opportunities.