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Completed TRL 5 (started at 5, targeting 5)
The first unit of a modernized Software Defined Radio (SDR) version of the high-altitude capable Navigator GPS receiver, based on SpaceCube v2.0 and known as the NavCube 2.0 (NC2), is currently on-orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the X-ray Communication (XCOM) experiment hosted on the US Air Force Space Test Program Houston-6 (STP-H6) payload, launched April 2019. There is a unique opportunity, while the hardware is on-orbit and the team is assembled, to verify and update the XCOM/NC2 navigation functions including updating to the latest version (v3.0) of the flagship GSFC navigation software Goddard Enhanced Onboard Navigation System (GEONS), which is planned for use in numerous upcoming and proposed missions. These are critical validation steps for future use of the NavCube/GEONS v3.0, which have application to the Modular Architecture for a Resilient Extensible SmallSat (MARES) bus (formally DellingrX), the LunaNet lunar communication and navigation architecture for the Artemis program, and as a core element of the autoNGC autonomous navigation, guidance, and control framework.
The STP-H6 XCOM experiment provides a unique opportunity to test, optimize, and update the NavCube2 GPS and GEONS filter software and firmware in an on-orbit flight configuration to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for future applications. These applications include, but are not limited to:
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