SoylentNews

NASA Team Develops New Ka-band Communications System to Break Through the Noise

posted by janrinok on Thursday February 19 2015, @07:25PM   
from the shut-up-I'm-trying-to-talk dept.

AnonTechie writes:

The radio frequency band that many NASA missions use to communicate with spacecraft — S-band — is getting a bit crowded and noisy, and likely to get more [congested] as science missions demand higher and higher data rates.

A team of NASA technologists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, just may have a solution, particularly for potential missions that plan to operate in low-Earth orbit and have limited real estate to accommodate communications gear.

Under two different research and development projects, technologists Mae Huang and Victor Marrero-Fontanez have collaborated to test and verify components of a prototype end-to-end Ka-band space communications system, which promises significantly higher data rates — a whopping 2.4 gigabits of data per second (Gbps) — over more traditional S-band systems, which theoretically could achieve data rates of 90 megabits of data per second (Mbps).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-02/nsfc-ntd021715.php

• Re:Ah, Ka band Re:Ah, Ka band (Score: 4, Insightful) by JeanCroix on Thursday February 19 2015, @09:20PM

  by JeanCroix (573) on Thursday February 19 2015, @09:20PM (#147119)

  Upping the power is fine for transmitting from earth to orbit, but going the other way, maybe not so great. As I understand it, power tends to come at a premium in space.

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+2
  Insightful=1, Informative=1, Total=2
  Extra 'Insightful' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		4

• Re:Ah, Ka band (Score: 1) by hopp on Friday February 20 2015, @02:00AM

  by hopp (2833) on Friday February 20 2015, @02:00AM (#147233)

  If the attenuation is at the far end of the path it has a lower bearing on overall attenuation.

  Parent