Oct 29, 2019   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

Object Management Group Begins Creation of Standard for Space Telecommunications Interface for Software Defined Radios

NEEDHAM, Mass., Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- International technology standards organization Object Management Group® (OMG®) announced it is creating a new standard, through issuance of a request for proposal (RFP) for the Platform Space Telecommunications Interface (STI) for Software Defined Radios (SDRs). The objective of the RFP is to expand the Software Radio Components Specification to support future space communications.

"For space missions, Software Defined Radio (SDR) systems are deployed in environmental conditions that require unique provisions in order to accommodate such communication services as new frequencies, latencies, data rates and dynamic reconfiguration of components," said Jeff Smith, Co-chair of the OMG Analysis and Design Platform Task Force and Chief Systems Engineer at Sierra Nevada Corporation supporting the Multi-Agency Collaboration Environment (MACE). "The expanded space communication specification will support the ability to collect and provide voice, video, data and networking signals to process and share communications throughout the spectrum agnostically. It will also support a networking layer and standardized interfaces for interacting with networks that support cross-platform security measures."

Responses to this RFP are intended to address the following issues associated with space communications: 

    --  Radiation Suitable Processing: The use of radiation capable processors
        limits both the footprint and complexity of the infrastructure.
    --  Spacecraft Resource Constraints: Each mission has specific allowances
        for the resources a radio can consume such as, real-time performance,
        mission classes (high-capacity), network, reconfigurability and
        reprogrammability. Overhead for supporting an open architecture must be
        balanced against these spacecraft constraints.
    --  Reliability (fault tolerance, guaranteed delivery) and Availability:
        Reliability is of paramount importance to space radios in both manned
        and unmanned missions. For example, if communication to a satellite is
        lost, the ability to command and control the satellite is also lost.
    --  Specialized Signal Processing Abstraction: The architecture should
        support the abstraction of the platforms that waveforms are deployed on
        so they are able to execute on a variety of different specialized signal
        processor elements including Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), FPGAs,
        and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).
    --  Static Deployment: The hardware resources assigned to the radio platform
        onboard the spacecraft are fixed and verifiable, and rarely will be
        changed. Waveforms may change operating parameters, due to commands from
        the flight computer, or autonomously, due to waveform input signal
        levels or other predetermined conditions.
    --  Long Mission Development Times: The development time of the radios is
        often much longer compared to their commercial equivalents. This often
        leads to requirements creep. The ability to make software changes aids
        in the ability to make any late enhancements before the radio has been
        launched. The SDR enables more efficient change management.
    --  Space Waveforms: The waveforms that are used for these applications
        often are unique to the space environment. For example, NASA utilizes a
        selected set of waveforms that correspond to frequency allocations and
        existing space assets.
    --  Small Space Market: The number of radios built for space use is much
        lower than most terrestrial markets. The cost to develop and maintain
        the open architecture must be in proportion to the overall market. It is
        anticipated that this specification will be size agnostic and capable of
        being utilized on CubeSats.

Both members and non-members of OMG may show their interest in participating in the creation of the Space Telecommunications Interface for Software Defined Radios specification process by submitting a Letter of Intent by January 15, 2020. In order to become a submitter, individually or as part of a submission team, companies must become members of OMG by the initial submission deadline of February 24, 2020.

About OMG
The Object Management Group® (OMG®) is an international, open membership, not-for-profit technology standards consortium with representation from government, industry and academia. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a wide range of technologies and an even wider range of industries. OMG's modeling standards enable powerful visual design, execution and maintenance of software and other processes. Visit http://www.omg.org for more information.

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SOURCE Object Management Group