Integrated RF and Optical Communications (IROC)

As the name IROC (Integrated Radio and Optical Communication) implies, this project is building a hybrid laser and Radio Frequency (RF) communication / data terminal that will enable a ground demonstration. The technical capabilities of RF and optical complement each other well for deep space communication but the marriage of the two onto a common boresight is challenging. Placing a telescope in the center of a high gain RF dish requires the design and integration of an RF permeable telescope. The telescope's structure, secondary mirror, and retroreflector all need to be RF transparent.

The IROC project will also remove the need for a terrestrial beacon to establish an optical link. The most challenging part of IROC will be demonstrating the capability of operating without a terrestrial beacon, what is called beaconless operation.

IROC is an exciting project that is tackling three difficult design challenges. First, is the beaconless opperation, second is the RF transparent telescope, and third is the integrated high gain Ka Band mesh dish.

GOAL

IROC will ground demonstrate the feasibility of a deep space beaconless terminal with hybrid RF (32 GHz) and optical (1550 nm) communication by 2024.
APPROACH3 groups of Technology must be developed and integrated;1. Beaconless Precision which is enabled by precise positional knowledge from the novel Interferometric Star Tracker and also enabled by the pointing authority provided by the jitter and vibe isolation of the advanced vibration isolation platform.

2.The Ka Band Permeable Space Telescope will have an RF permeable secondary mirror in front of the Ka Band horn and the novel telescope structure of doped SiC will also be RF permeable and located at the center of the RF dish.

3. The Ka Band Deployable Mesh for integrated RF will perform at the Ka Band frequency and contain strucutre to hold the telescope without signigicant reduction in RF performance or increase in weight.

1. Beaconless operation is safer, reduces administrative burden, and simplifies deep space autonomy2. Hybrid design provides seamless link optimization irrespective of distance and reduces Size Weight and Power (describe Mesh)
3. Simultaneous RF and optical transmit increases data throughput and mission utility rates. The Ka band mesh will provide signifacant weight savings over composite RF dishes and still enable the optical telescope to be co-aligned, increasing data throughput.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.