Innoflight, Inc. SBIR Phase II Award, February 2018

Future MDA missions will rely heavily on constellations of Space Vehicles (SVs) that are able to communicate securely with each other and with the ground.Ideally, each MDA Space Vehicle will be able to communicate with any other spacecraft and with the ground all of the time, even though different pathways may needed at different times.Mesh networking based on the Internet Protocol (IP) is a natural fit for this type of functionality.In addition to these routing requirements, the communications between MDA assets must be secure with NSA Top Secret and Below (TSAB) encryption.Innoflight developed a prototype version of a High-Assurance Communications Subsystem (HACS) suitable for use in 3U CubeSats or larger vehicles, in support of the CubeSat Networked Communications Experiment (CNCE) Block 2 testbed mission.In this proposed Phase II project, Innoflight will complete development and delivery of the CNCE Block 2 hardware and provide support for flight operations.Our main focus, however, is driving the innovation of HACS in support of CNCE Block 3.These improvements will take place in three main areas: enhanced radio capability; improved security and black-side IP routing capability; and progression of the HAIPE portion of the design toward NSA TSAB certification.Approved for Public Release | 18-MDA-9522 (23 Feb 18)