Question: What does the ProSync Adaptive Engineering Group (AEG) do? What’s one of your new products?
Answer: The Adaptive Engineering Group, AEG, is a product and solution provider focused on supplying high-end telemetry ground support equipment for the military and civil space communities. Telemetry data, defined as the transmission and measurement of data from a remote location via wire or radio or other means, can originate from a variety of sources such as a rocket, satellite, or a ballistic missile. The information can consist of sensor data, satellite image data, or ballistic missile trajectory information to name a few. Our products consist of tracking receivers, modulators, bit synchronizers and front-end processing equipment which support satellite and sub-orbital launch vehicle RF(radio frequency) communication links.
The Modulator takes in digital data, encodes the data and places it on an RF carrier signal which is then transmitted up to a satellite/launch vehicle for commanding. The Receiver, with the aid of a tracking antenna, locks on to an RF satellite signal and tracks the signal during its pass before disappearing over the horizon. The Bit Synchronizer takes the raw data the receiver recovers, locks onto the data, generates a clock and outputs synchronous clock and data in digital form to the Front-End Processor. The Front-End Processor then takes that digital data, decodes it, processes the data according to a protocol specified by the customer, and distributes the data to the end user.
The new ProSync Telemetry System (PTS-1000), which we recently showcased at the International Telemetry Conference (ITC-2010), currently integrates three of these four components (Receiver, Modulator, and BitSync) into a Compact PCI form factor allowing it to be rack mounted or easily transportable. The system is capable of handling data transfer rates of up to 1Gbps. The system was designed to support the current missions, up to 150Mbps, as well as future missions with higher data rates. The Modulator can synthesize virtually any standard or custom modulation scheme the user desires with minimal effort and no hardware re-design due to its reconfigurable nature. This makes it appealing to the Telemetry community designing the next generation modulation schemes and launch vehicles.
AEG is also looking at ways to expand its offerings into different sectors of the Telemetry community by providing equipment such as high efficiency RF power amplifiers, which will enable the community to achieve higher data rates, and integrating the Front-End Processing into the same unit. These offerings will help propel the Satellite and launch vehicle communities into the next generation data rates.
Dave N.
Principal RF Engineer
