1. Plenary Round Table Interoperable Space and Enabling Technologies and Capabilities
The State of Key Technologies that Ease Interoperability Between Government and Commercial Networks
Rainee N. Simons, Ph.D.
Program Officer, Planetary Science Division
Science Mission Directorate, NASA HQ, Washington, DC 20024
(On Detail from NASA Glenn Research Center)
Mobile: (216) ;
25th Ka and Broadband Communications Conference
Sorrento, Italy,
September 30, 2019

2. Outline Gaps Being Addressed Power Amplifiers LNAs Wideband Front-EndsCP
Power Amplifiers
LNAs
SDR Waveforms
Wideband Front-Ends
Gaps Being Addressed

3. Power and Frequency Flexible Ka-band Traveling-Wave Tube Amplifiers Up to 250-W for Space Communications
L3 Model 999HA TWT - WR-28 waveguide ports in a conduction cooled package
Saturated performance over 5-GHz bandwidth
Saturated performance over 9-GHz bandwidth
Saturated performance over 31.8 to 32.3 GHz
Wide Bandwidth Enables: (a) Cognitive Communications & Interoperability Between Networks, &
(b) LEO User Spacecraft to communicate with TDRSS ( GHz) and with GEO Commercial Communications Satellites ( GHz)

4. Power and Frequency Flexible Traveling-Wave Tube Amplifiers with WR-34 & WR-22 Waveguide Ports for Space Communications
L3 EDD Model 999HA K-Band TWTA with WR-34 Waveguide Ports
18.0 to 26.5 GHz
L3 EDD Model 2000HDA-A16
Q-Band TWTA with
WR-22 Waveguide Ports
33.0 to 50.0 GHz
RF Power Amplification Flexible Across the 18.0 to 40 GHz Range
Enables LEO User Spacecraft to be Interoperable and Downlink Data Either to NASA NEN Stations ( GHz) or to Commercial Ground Stations ( GHz)
Q-band Enables Downlinking Data to Commercial Ground Stations

5. Ultra-Broadband Low Noise Amplifiers for Flexible Wideband Receiver Front End
Circuit* is fabricated using 0.15 micron GaAs E-mode pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (pHEMT) process
Frequency range: 1 to 40 GHz (DC to Ka-Band)
Average gain: 26.5 dB
Input/output return loss: better than 9 dB
Noise figure: 2.8 to 3.9 dB
Peak OP1 dB: 4.9 to 12.7 dB
Supply voltage: 4.5 V
Chip area: 1.06 mm2
*J. Hu and K. Ma, “A 1-40 GHz LNA MMIC Using Multiple Bandwidth Extension Techniques,” IEEE Microwave & Wireless Components Lett., vol. 29, no. 5, pp , May 2019.

6. Front End Design/Development & SDR Waveforms for Interoperability
NASA & Harris Wideband Front-End Development Cooperative Agreement
Historically, NASA & Harris developed the 1st SDR – flew 7 years on ISS & supported the SCaN Testbed
Harris now offers a new product line of SDRs for satcom
Wideband Front-End Design Goals:
Cover frequencies from GHz
Bandwidth > 500 MHz
Interoperability between Government and commercial satellite networks with the selection of appropriate waveform and modulation
Capability to port a wide variety of waveforms
Compatibility of Up & Down Converter with AppSTAR Micro SDR in 3U form factor
Leverages components developed through IR&D
Plan to deliver a prototype by early CY2020
Harris SDR transceiver to fly on STPSat-6 & support the NASA LCRD experiment