SBIR Phase I: An Interplanetary Smallsat for Fast Connectivity, Navigation, and Positioning

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目寻求在地月和深空部署一个商业空间平台，为空间用户提供快速连接、导航和定位。这个地月网络将包括低地球轨道、地球同步轨道和月球轨道上的节点，为科学、商业和军事应用创建一个安全和隐蔽的千兆网络。该项目将开发一种革命性的航天器，它将成为新网络的核心。该产品将是一个小型但灵活的航天器，使用激光，新颖的架构和机器学习软件来提供高数据速率的全方位覆盖其周围环境。该公司计划将这颗卫星的集群作为网络节点。设想空间用户可以利用这些行星际小卫星（及其网络）实现千兆连接，并在地月空间和深空进行精确导航和定位。该项目将开发一种具有嵌入式光通信系统的新型小型卫星。它将配备两个不同的光通信终端，一个用于远程连接，另一个用于短距离群连接。小卫星的远程终端由六个光收发器组成，均匀分布在航天器的身体周围，以提供全向覆盖。收发器将完全集成到一个快速处理器中并由其控制。这颗小卫星将有一个相干调制架构，工作在1550纳米左右。在这个项目中，发射器的设计包括一个分布式反馈激光二极管、一个相位调制器、一个光放大器、一个环行器和一个准直器。所有这些部件将通过光纤连接。种子激光器将产生一个10毫瓦的激光束，通过相位调制器，在那里以高速（10-100千兆位每秒）进行调制。经过调制器后，调制光束通过光放大器升压并通过准直器产生准直的高功率光束。准直器将光束发射到自由空间，并将其引导到一个转向镜，以覆盖其所关注的领域。据设想，该系统可以实现高达每秒100千兆比特的传输速度。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to deploy a commercial space platform in cislunar and deep space to provide fast connectivity, navigation, and positioning to space users. This cislunar network will include nodes in low-Earth Orbit, Geosynchronous orbit and Lunar orbit to create a secure and covert gigabit network for scientific, commercial, and military applications. This project will develop a revolutionary spacecraft that will be the heart of the new network. This product will be a small yet nimble spacecraft that uses lasers, a novel architecture, and machine learning software to provide high-data-rate omnidirectional coverage of its surroundings. The company plans to place clusters of this satellite as network nodes. It is envisioned that space users can use these interplanetary small satellites (and their network) for gigabit connectivity as well as accurate navigation and positioning in cislunar and deep space.This project will develop a novel small satellite with embedded optical communications systems. It will be equipped with two distinct optical communications terminals, one for long-range connectivity and the second one for short-range, swarm connectivity. The small satellite’s long-range terminal consists of six optical transceivers evenly distributed around the body of the spacecraft to provide omnidirectional coverage. The transceivers will be fully integrated into and commanded by a fast processor. The small satellite will have a coherent modulation architecture operating at around 1550 nanometers. The transmitter design to be pursued during this project includes a distributed feedback laser diode, a phase modulator, an optical amplifier, a circulator, and a collimator. All these components will be connected by optical fibers. The seed laser will produce a 10-milliwatt laser beam, which is passed through the phase modulator where it is modulated at high speeds (10-100 gigabit per second). After the modulator, the modulated beam is boosted via an optical amplifier and passed through a collimator to generate a collimated, high-power beam. The collimator launches the beam into free space and directs it to a steering mirror for coverage of its field of regard. It is envisioned that the system could achieve transmission speeds as high as 100 gigabit per second.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.