NASA's SGSS command and control infrastructure integration completed
NewsMay 04, 2015
FAIRFAX, Va. – Implementation, integration, and test of the the Bearer Network and Basic Ground Terminal hardware and software for the NASA Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS) program Increment A3 was completed by a team led by General Dynamics.
A3 includes the capability for receiving and transmitting mission data across the Space Network and has telemetry and control for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) second-generation satellites, which make up NASA's next-generation, digital ground system that will keep the NASA Space Network working efficiently for the next 3 decades by replacing old analog radios and communications equipment. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the program.
All work for Increment A3 took place at General Dynamics' new SGSS development and test laboratory based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Each piece of software and hardware used for SGSS will be tested in the SGSS lab in conditions that simulate the day-to-day operations that take place in a live ground system station. The lab can also connect remotely to existing NASA Space Network ground stations.
"Testing all of the SGSS ground system elements in the 'real-life' ground station environment will also streamline the integration of the new digital system as it replaces the legacy Space Network system that is decades old," says Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics Mission Systems.
Increment A4, the Functional Ground Terminal Space Network Operations Center, is the next SGSS increment that will transition from the development phase into the system integration and testing phase at the Scottsdale lab. A4 A4 completes tracking, telemetry, and control for TDRSS generation one and three satellites, high data rate communication relay modes, and remaining capability for a fully functional Ground Terminal.
Upcoming program increments will then complete the remaining SGSS ground terminal capabilities. This new SGSS ground system architecture will make sure the Space Network will continue to enable global space-to-ground telecommunications and tracking coverage for Earth orbit and near-Earth space flight missions. Operating out of the White Sands Complex in New Mexico and TDRSS Ground Terminals in Guam and Blossom Point, Maryland, the new system will have also the capacity to increase network capabilities that will be needed for future space missions by enabling larger quantities of data and higher data rates.
On this program General Dynamics engineers work with Harris Corp., in Melbourne, Fla.; MetiSpace Technologies in Rockville, Md.; Rincon Research Corp. in Tucson, Ariz.; a.i. Solutions in Lanham, Md.; RT Logic in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Qwaltec in Tempe, Ariz.
