Tag Archives: nasa

Program Update: NASA DSI PDR Passed

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We’re excited to have passed the preliminary design review (PDR) milestone in our work developing the digital subsystem to run Aloft Sensing, Inc.‘s embedded PNT algorithm. Now it’s time to start implementing!

In phase 1, we’ll build out the signal processing FPGA firmware, validating it first through simulation and then running on evaluation hardware. After that, we’ll design custom hardware.

This effort is funded under NASA’s Decadal Survey Incubator (DSI) Program with the overall objective of developing, implementing, and demonstrating a hardware module that captures and digitally processes radar pulses to establish the precise relative positioning and timing of a sensor within a distributed sensing architecture such that coherent image alignment for interferometrics can readily occur and high-quality products can be achieved.

You can learn more about the objectives in the award announcement from NASA and by following our partner in the program Aloft Sensing.

Delivery: JPL CRISTAL/CIMR Digital Backend Design

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October 24, 2022 – Design review passed and final delivery released to JPL for the multi-mission (CRISTAL & CIMR) digital back-end (DBE) engineering model hardware.

This compact module, destined for space flight, carries an FPGA, two high performance ADCs, a standalone processor and a full compliment of memories and interfaces.

It was a pleasure working with Kayla Nguyen and Robert Jarnot on the program. We’re looking forward to working together again in the future!

Program Update: CRISTAL/CIMR DBE Schematics

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September 6, 2022 – Customer schematic review passed! This particular design is for a space-based radiometer digital backend. The hardware contains four 3.2 GSPS ADC channels, JESD interfaces linking the ADCs to an FPGA, Xilinx’s Kintex KU060, microprocessor, telemetry, spacecraft/instrument interfaces and a full complement of support components.

This design is our second centered around the KU060 targeting Class D missions, though this particular unit has been designed to also serve higher mission classes when greater reliability is needed.

Now on to layout…

Contract Award: NASA Decadal Survey Incubator

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August 23, 2022 – Wide Swath Research is excited to be working with Aloft Sensing, Inc. as a co-investigator on “Embedded PNT Module for Distributed Radar Sensing” a program recently awarded by NASA’s ESTO office as a part of its 2021 Decadal Survey Incubation Program (DSI-21). To learn more about the program objectives, take a look at NASA’s award announcement (linked below). 

The next next few years are going to be a lot of fun!

Contract Award: JPL VISAR Onboard Processor

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August 1, 2022 – Wide Swath Research was awarded a contract by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop the firmware for the Venus Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (VISAR) onboard processor. We’re very excited to contribute to this important science, to play a part in the international development team and to have our footprint on a Venus mission!

VISAR is one of the instruments on the upcoming Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy (VERITAS) mission.

Oh yeah… and we’re also excited to work with some former colleagues like Ernie Chuang (and maybe even Dragana Perkovic-Martin)

Contract Award: JPL CIMR/CRISTAL Programs

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June 22, 2022 – Wide Swath Research was awarded a contract by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to design an engineering model (EM) for the Spectrometer Digital Backend (DBE) suitable for both Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) and Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) programs.

Below are links with details on each program:

Once again, we’re very excited to be contributing to such important science!