INNOSYS, INC. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: S4

Description

The purpose of this project is to develop and demonstrate an S-band communication radio capable of operation at extreme high temperatures and pressures in hostile and corrosive environments.nbsp; This directly addresses NASArsquo;s interest in expanding the ability to explore the deep atmospheres and surfaces of the Moon, planets, asteroids, and comets through the use of long-lived (days or weeks) balloons and landers. This will be based on the transmitter that InnoSys has developed based on its proprietary SSVDTM technology, which has been proven to operate at S band and survive anbsp;500 oC environment.nbsp; Although it could possibly be applied to other missions, we believe Venus mission is a good target for us as it has a dense CO2 atmosphere completely covered by clouds with sulfuric acid aerosols, a surface temperature of 460 to 486ordm;C, and a surface pressure of 90 atmospheres.nbsp; As a result, we will call our S band radio a Venus radio to signify our plan to meet Venusrsquo; surface working condition.nbsp; We expect the proposed S-band radio will support space systems that can operate without additional environmental protection housings in the extreme environments of these NASA missions.nbsp;nbsp; InnoSys will also ensure the radio that will be developed to be capable of high reliability, ease of maintenance, small form factor, low mass, and low out-gassing characteristics. nbsp;For the Phase I study, InnoSys proposes to develop a highly integrated SSVDtrade;-based transmitter design for the Venus radio to benbsp;built in the Phase II of this proposed SBIR project. We will perform studies to determine whether SSVDTM or other proven technologies such as the impressive progress made through wide band semiconductor materials by NASA Glenn Center should be used for the receiver design.nbsp; We will thennbsp;focusnbsp;in proper integration to enable essential and critical communicationsnbsp;for, for example, between vehicles and probes located on Venusrsquo; surface and systems in orbit around Venus.nbsp;