Updated Question 4 Description

0050-EX-CM-2019 Text Documents

General Atomics

2019-03-07ELS_224941

                      BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE
                      ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE

                      This document supports the General Atomics Electromagnetic
                      Systems (GA-EMS) Orbital Test Bed Satellite FCC license.




          Date: March 2019

Document No.: OTB-DOC-000636-05

                      General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
                      345 Inverness Drive South, Suite 100
                      Englewood, CO 80112

                      Tel: 303.790.0653 | Fax: 303.792.2386




    DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Confidential and proprietary information of GA-EMS. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018



APPROVALS

 Prepared by:             Raven Moreland, System Engineer                                     Signed:

 Reviewed by:             Will Thompson, Project Manager                                      Signed:

 Approved by:             Clare Martin, Director Orbital Solutions                            Signed:



DOCUMENT REVISION STATUS

 Revision         Nature of Changes                                                                   Edited by                           Date
 Number
 01               Initial issue for comment                                                           M Brown                             Aug ‘13
 02               Incorporates updated spacecraft design                                              M Brown                             Aug ‘13
                  information.
 03               Incorporates change in frequency and update of                                      T Murphy                            June ‘15
                  critical dates
 04               Incorporates change in ground station selection                                     S Taylor                            Jan ‘18
 05               Incorporates change in Hawaii ground station                                        R Moreland                          Mar ‘19




                                                                                                                                                                   i
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018



Table of Contents
1     Applicable Documents .............................................................................................. 1
2     Acronyms and Abbreviations ....................................................................................... 1
3     Preamble .............................................................................................................. 2
4     Overview .............................................................................................................. 3
5     Satellite Description................................................................................................. 5
6     RF Communications.................................................................................................. 6
7     Further Information ................................................................................................. 8



List of Figures
Figure 6-1: Emission spectrum of S-band Low Rate Tx ............................................................. 7
Figure 6-2: Emission spectrum of S-Band High Rate Tx ............................................................. 8




                                                                                                                                                                  ii
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018



1 Applicable Documents
 AD#                      Title                                                                                       Doc. No.               Issue
 AD-1                     GUIDANCE ON OBTAINING LICENSES FOR SMALL                                                    13-445                 March 15th,
                          SATELLITES                                                                                                         2013
 AD-2                     Orbital Debris Assessment Report (ODAR) for the Orbital OTB-DOC-                                                   December
                          Test Bed (OTB) Satellite                                000638-05                                                  2017


2 Acronyms and Abbreviations
AFRL                     Air Force Research Laboratory
CAD                      Computer Aided Design
DAS                      Debris Assessment Software
DSAC                     Deep Space Atomic Clock
EELV                     Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
EOM                      End of Mission
ESPA                     EELV Secondary Payload Adapter
FCC                      Federal Communications Commission
GA-EMS                   General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
HDRM                     Hold Down Release Mechanism
HDRS                     Hold Down and Release System
JPL                      Jet Propulsion Laboratory
LANL                     Los Alamos National Laboratory
LEO                      Low Earth Orbit
MSA                      Modular Solar Array
N/A                      Not Applicable
NASA                     National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ODAR                     Orbital Debris Assessment Report
OTB                      Orbital Test Bed
PDM                      Power Distribution Module
RF                       Radio Frequency
SERB                     Space Experiments Review Board
USAF                     United States Air Force




                                                                                                                                                                  1
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018



3 Preamble
This document supports GA-EMS’ application for an experimental license [1]. General information on
the Orbital Test Bed (OTB) spacecraft is provided in reference [2].




                                                                                                                                                                  2
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018



4 Overview
4.1 Mission Concept of Operations
The GA-EMS ‘Orbital Test Bed’ (OTB) satellite is a small LEO experimental satellite that will provide an
in-orbit test bed for the experimentation and demonstration of a variety of scientific, research and
prototype payloads, subsystems and equipment. These ‘hosted’ payloads are detailed in section 2 of
this document.

GA-EMS will make an experimental license application to the FCC to operate the OTB satellite and are
providing this document (together with the related Orbital Debris Assessment Report (ODAR) ref [2]) as
supporting evidence.

The RF transmitter communications links required to operate the OTB satellite are reviewed in Section
6 of this document.

4.1.1       Launch Schedule & Critical Dates
The OTB satellite is currently in development against the following launch schedule:

            Preliminary Design Review                                      18th September 2013

            Critical Design Review                                         January 2014

            Flight Readiness Review                                        November 2017

            Launch                                                         June 2018

The spacecraft will operate in orbit for 2 years to allow data to be gathered on the effects of long term
exposure to radiation on the experiments. Therefore GA-EMS will apply for a 2 year experimental
license.

4.1.2       Launch Site
The OTB satellite will be launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral AFS, 28° 24' 20" N
/ 80° 36' 18" W, using the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch Vehicle, designation STP-2 for the US Air Force.
GA-EMS is not sponsoring the launch.

4.1.3       Orbital Parameters
The orbit will be a 720+/-18.5 km altitude LEO circular orbit of 24deg inclination. OTB has no means of
altering the orbit into which it is delivered as it has no propulsion.

4.2 Earth Stations
GA-EMS has completed selection of an appropriate ground station, which will be used for TT&C (transmit
and receive) and payload data download. The selected primary groundstation location is in Pendergrass,
Georgia, USA. Multiple backup stations are also listed below.

4.2.1       Primary: 5.4m Antenna – Pendergrass, Georgia, USA
Location: 34.1747° N, 83.6719° W
Site Elevation: 283 m
Antenna Height above Terrain: 6.4 m
Antenna Type: Parabolic Tracking Antenna
Azimuth Range: 000 – 360 degrees
Minimum Elevation Angle: 5 degrees downlink, 10 degrees uplink

                                                                                                                                                                  3
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018


Antenna Polarization: Right or Left Hand Circular
Peak Gain: 38.1 dBi @ 2025 MHz
Antenna Beamwidth: 1.9 degrees @ 2025 MHz

4.2.2       Secondary: 12m Antenna – Naalehu, Hawaii, USA
Location: 19.0138°N, 155.6629°W
Site Elevation: 378 m
Antenna Height above Terrain: 20 m
Antenna Type: Parabolic Tracking Antenna
Azimuth Range: 000 – 360 degrees
Minimum Elevation Angle: 5 degrees uplink and downlink
Antenna Polarization: Right or Left Hand Circular
Peak Gain: 45.9 dBi @ 2025 MHz
Antenna Beamwidth: 0.8 degrees @ 2025 MHz

4.2.3       Secondary: 5.4m Antenna – Cordoba, Argentina
Location: 31.52° S, 64.46° W
Site Elevation: 691 m
Antenna Height above Terrain: 6.4 m
Antenna Type: Parabolic Tracking Antenna
Azimuth Range: 000 – 360 degrees
Minimum Elevation Angle: 5 degrees uplink and downlink
Antenna Polarization: Right or Left Hand Circular
Peak Gain: 38.1 dBi @ 2025 MHz
Antenna Beamwidth: 1.9 degrees @ 2025 MHz

4.2.4       Secondary: 3.7m Antenna – Hartebeesthoek, South Africa
Location: 25.8865° S, 27.7056° E
Site Elevation: 1563.5 m
Antenna Height above Terrain: m
Antenna Type: Parabolic Tracking Antenna
Azimuth Range: 000 – 360 degrees
Minimum Elevation Angle: 5 degrees uplink, 3 degree downlink
Antenna Polarization: Right or Left Hand Circular
Peak Gain: 27 dBi @ 2025 MHz
Antenna Beamwidth: 2.8 degrees @ 2025 MHz


4.3 Contact(s) for Interference Issues

4.3.1       Primary
Will Thompson

General Atomics EMS
345 Inverness Drive South, Suite 100
Englewood,
CO 80112
Will.Thompson@ga.com

Tel: 001 720 255 0909




                                                                                                                                                                  4
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018


4.3.2       Secondary
Raven Moreland

General Atomics EMS
345 Inverness Drive South, Suite 100
Englewood,
CO 80112
Raven.Moreland@ga.com

Tel: 001 720 545 0868

4.3.3       Secondary
Rebecca Yoder

General Atomics EMS
345 Inverness Drive South, Suite 100
Englewood,
CO 80112
Becky.Yoder@ga.com

Tel: 001 720 256 2590

5 Satellite Description
The OTB satellite is an evolution of the ESPA compatible SSTL-150 spacecraft, first flown in 2007 for
LANL (http://www.sst-us.com/downloads/datasheets/sstl_150-feb-09). OTB is an ESPA class spacecraft
with four deployable solar panels. The spacecraft will be operated in a nadir fixed orientation for the
mission duration and requires only seasonal attitude maneuvers to adjust for the position of the Sun
relative to the orbit.

For further general information on the OTB platform, see reference [2].

5.1 Data Download
All data generated from the various payloads are multiplexed within the OTB spacecraft and down
linked via a single, high rate, S-band; 2.0352 Mbits/s data link to the ground station. None of the
payloads separately radiate RF signals.

5.2 Spacecraft Link Sessions
GA-EMS will require four 7-8 minute link sessions during launch and commissioning. The launch and
commissioning phase will last for 75 days. Following launch and commissioning GA-EMS will enter the
nominal operations phase. During the nominal operations phase GA-EMS will require one 7-8 minute link
session per day for satellite TT&C and to download platform status information and payload data. A
separate FCC application will be made for ground station operations.

5.3 Operations of Payloads
No testing of the payloads listed in section reference [2] will alter the orbital, physical or RF
characteristics of the OTB satellite from nominal during their testing, as such they should be regarded
as ‘passive’ in operation.




                                                                                                                                                                  5
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018



6 RF Communications
6.1 Summary
The OTB satellite RF transmitters, as references from the ground station, are:

      1. A low rate; 38.4kbits/s; S-band transmitter to downlink platform status information to the
         ground station.
      2. A high rate; 2.0352 Mbits/s; S-band transmitter to downlink payload data to the ground station
         (NOTE: there are two S-band transmitters onboard although only one is operational, the other
         is a cold redundant spare).

For information the satellite uplink is a low rate, 19.2 kbits/s S-Band uplink from the ground station.

6.2 S-band; Low-rate 38.4 kbits/s transmitter
The RF characteristics of the S band low rate downlink are as follows.

            Identifier                                                     S-Band Low Rate Tx
            Function:                                                      Downlink of satellite state of health – ‘platform data’
            Necessary bandwidth:                                           70 kHz
            Operating Frequency:                                           2272.5 MHz
            Maximum Transmit Power:                                        24 dBm           (0.25W)
            EIRP                                                           -11.5 dBW        (70mW)
            Antenna Gain in main pattern lobe                              0 dBi
            Modulation type:                                               BPSK
            Polarization type:                                             Linear-V
            Data Rate:                                                     38.4Kbits/sec
            Out of band emission                                           -29 dB relative to maximum, Figure 6-1
            Emission Designator                                            G-1-D




                                                                                                                                                                  6
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018

                                                                                      p
          dBm LRTx 38.4kbps
             40

                30
                                                                                  1
                20

                10

                  0                              2-1

               -10

               -20

               -30

               -40

               -50

               -60
                       Start: 2.2724 GHz                                                                    Stop: 2.2726 GHz
                       Res BW: 500 Hz                                 Vid BW: 1 Hz                         Sweep: 322.35 ms
                       15/06/2015 10:45:14                            Atten: 35 dB                                       FSV-3
           Mkr Trace                             X-Axis                       Value                         Notes
           1       LRTx 38.4kbps                 2.2725 GHz                   16.81 dBm
         2-1       LRTx 38.4kbps                -52.4638 kHz                 -24.87 dB


                                            Figure 6-1: Emission spectrum of S-band Low Rate Tx

6.3 S-band; High-rate 2.0352 Mbits/s transmitter
The RF characteristics of the S band high rate downlink are as follows.

            Identifier                                                     S-Band High Rate Tx
            Function:                                                      Downlink of satellite payload data
            Necessary bandwidth:                                           3.26 MHz
            Operating Frequency:                                           2272.5 MHz
            Maximum Transmit Power:                                        37 dBm          (5W)
            EIRP                                                           7.8 dBW         (6W)
            Antenna Gain in main pattern lobe                              3 dBi
            Modulation type:                                               QPSK
            Polarization type:                                             Circular-RHC
            Data Rate:                                                     2.0352 Mbits/sec
            Out of band emission                                           -27.8 dB relative to maximum, Figure 6-2
            Emission Designator                                            G-1-D



                                                                                                                                                                  7
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018




                                            Figure 6-2: Emission spectrum of S-Band High Rate Tx


7 Further Information
7.1 Related Frequency Filing Activity
A previous frequency filing submission was performed for OTB under Surrey Satellite Technology US
(SST-US), prior to the acquisition of SST-US by GA-EMS. The previous FCC submission file number was
0426-EX-PL-2015.

7.2 Exhibits Relating to FCC Form 422 – Question 4
Question 4: Is this authorization to be used for fulfilling the requirement of a government contract
with an agency of the United States Government? If "YES", include as an exhibit a narrative
statement describing the government project, agency and contract number.

The OTB satellite will accommodate the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Deep Space Atomic Clock
(DSAC) under JPL subcontract No 1468935. The website address describing the program can be found at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/clock/ and the fact sheet describing the DSAC technology
can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/DSAC_Fact_Sheet.pdf.


                                                                                                                                                                  8
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018


7.2.1       Contact Information for DSAC
Primary

Dr. Todd A. Ely
PI/PM
Deep Space Atomic Clock Technology Demonstration Mission
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive, M/S 301-121
Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
Todd.A.Ely@jpl.nasa.gov
Office: 818-393-1744
Mobile: 626-319-3478

Secondary

Jill Seubert
Mission Design & Navigation
Deep Space Atomic Clock Technology Demonstration Mission
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive, 329A
Pasadena, CA 91109
Desk (818)354-4076
Cell (626)590-4981
Jill.Tombasco@jpl.nasa.gov


7.3 Exhibits Relating to FCC form 442 – Question 6
Question 6: Is this authorization to be used for providing communications essential to a research
project? (The radio communication is not the objective of the research project)? If "YES", include
as an exhibit the following information:

      1. A description of the nature of the research project being conducted.
      2. A showing that the communications facilities requested are necessary for the research
         project.
      3. A showing that existing communications facilities are inadequate.

The OTB satellite uses two RF transmitters as referenced from the ground station, which are:

      1. A low rate; 38.4kbits/s; S-band transmitter to downlink platform status information to the
         ground station.
      2. A high rate; 2.0352 Mbits/s; S-band transmitter to downlink payload data to the ground station.
         (NOTE: there are two S-band transmitters onboard although only one is operational; the other
         is a cold redundant spare).

These transmitters are essential to the operation of the satellite and the retrieval of data from the
various experiments onboard. They are not the objective of the research themselves.

The Orbital Test Bed (OTB) satellite is a GA-EMS owned and operated small LEO satellite that will
provide an on-orbit test bed for the demonstration of scientific, research and prototype payloads,
subsystems and equipment. A number of hosted payloads are sponsored by external parties:

      1) Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) ― sponsored by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) under
         subcontract No 1468935 (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/clock/).


                                                                                                                                                                  9
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.


OTB-DOC-000638-05                                ODAR FOR THE ORBITAL TEST BED (OTB) SATELLITE                                                     January 2018


      2) iMESA-R ― a space weather monitor built by the USAF Academy and sponsored through AFRL
         Space Experiments Review Board (SERB) (http://www.usafa.edu/df/dfe/dfer/centers/sparc).
      3) Modular Solar Array (MSA) ― built by Vanguard and sponsored through AFRL Space Experiments
         Review Board (SERB).
      4) Cremains – sponsored by Celestis, Inc.

In addition, the GA-EMS primary payloads are:

      1) FlexRx ― a new spacecraft RF receiver design.
      2) Radiation Monitor ― a new spacecraft radiation monitor device.
      3) Custom Experimental Solar Panel ― a new solar panel technology.

All data generated from the various payloads are multiplexed within the OTB spacecraft and down
linked via the single, high rate, S-band; 2.0352 Mbits/s data link to the ground station. None of the
payloads separately radiate RF signals. GA-EMS will require one 7 - 8 minute RF link session every day
for satellite Telemetry & Telecommand (TT&C) and to download satellite status information and
payload data. This is the minimum practical to ensure spacecraft health and retrieve experimental
data. The satellite will not radiate any RF signals at any other time.

The spacecraft will operate for 2 years, although a number of payloads will operate for a shorter time
and will be switched off as required. No testing of the payloads will alter the orbital, physical or RF
characteristics of the OTB satellite from nominal during their testing, as such they should be regarded
as ‘passive’ in operation.




                                                                                                                                                                 10
All information contained in this document is proprietary and confidential to GA-EMS and shall not, in whole or in part, be reproduced or disclosed, or used for any
                              purpose other than for which it is provided, without GA-EMS prior written consent. All rights reserved.



Document Created: 2019-03-07 15:15:06
Document Modified: 2019-03-07 15:15:06

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