The Genesis of Better Satellite Telemetry

  • Published
  • By Eva Blaylock
  • Space Vehicles
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  The success of Air Force Research Laboratory's Genesis Black Box program translates to a breakthrough capability for transmitting critical satellite data--whether emergency or nonemergency--from almost anywhere in space to the ground. A recent launch activity confirmed the viability of using a local sensor suite for autonomous data capture and leveraging the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System infrastructure for data download. With the launch rocket serving as the "satellite" for demonstration purposes, the Genesis Black Box tested the capacity of the TDRSS to track transmissions from a dynamic, spinning body. The positive outcome of this experiment paves the way to the creation of tiny transponders that will one day be embedded in every spacecraft, including rockets.

The Genesis Black Box transponder is to spacecraft what the black box radio device is to airplanes. As such, it captures not only satellite functions, including power levels and payload status, but malfunctions in such areas as well. The point, as with conventional airplane devices, is to be able to retrieve an operational snapshot in the event that an incident occurs. Unfortunately, the fact that the black box designs presently used aboard spacecraft must be located, collected, and analyzed after an incident means that knowledge remains inaccessible until--or worse, unless--the device is able to reenter the atmosphere and returned to the earth. Along the lines of reentry difficulties, the current designs must be very large and heavy in order to survive the event.

The Genesis Black Box provides a solution to these shortcomings. Instead of merely storing information, it transmits forensic data from spacecraft to ground immediately after an incident occurs, eliminating the requirement--and the associated concern--of surviving reentry and with it, the need for excessive size and weight. On the contrary, the Genesis Black Box is much smaller and uses negligible power compared to its predecessors. Selected by the lab as one of just eight programs (of the original 34 responding to a call for innovative research issued at the end of Fiscal Year 2009), this effort involved collaboration across government, academia, and industry.