NASA has expressed interest in developing swarms of coordinating nano satellites, such as for an interferometer. In such a scenario comms can be a challenging design problem. In order to downlink the data generated by such an array and also to command / control it pointing the spacecraft is typically required, however this can interfere with the primary mission. This antenna allows developing a dedicated comms satellite to fly in the swarm which collects the data over an ISL and then downlinks the data either through TDRSS or through ground stations.
There are many potential commercial applications for an antenna that can be used to maintain a comms link to GEO from a LEO CubeSat. Tyvak is actively pursuing commercial business in this area. The main limitation that Tyvak has faced so far is not being able to accurately quote the development time and cost. With the Phase I STTR award Tyvak would be able to make much more progress in commercializing this technology.
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