ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Army are engaged in a high-risk/high-payoff project for the development of precision-guided 60mm mortars for the benefit of the optically designated attack munition (ODAM). This paper describes the antenna design and performance characteristics required for a telemetry-based onboard diagnostic system. Efforts executed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD met our primary objective to demonstrate rapid response low-cost capability for body-mounted antennas compatible with commercially-available telemetry products. This presentation reviews the theoretical design and antenna radiation pattern characteristics, tuning process, and returned in-flight signal strength along the trajectory. Experimental results compared favorably with theoretical link analyses. Lessons learned, ongoing applications, and future improvements are also presented.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1993 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Subcarrier use in telemetry has decreased in recent years due to emphasis on all-digital systems, but some cases lend themselves more easily to a mixed-service system carrying subcarriers along with a baseband signal. The 'IRIG 106' Telemetry Standards have maintained and expanded several series of FM subcarriers, but some uses are better served with 'non-standard' subcarriers that might be standard in other types of service, making components relatively easily available and inexpensive. This paper examines topics from the RCC study and describes some of the uses of subcarrier systems available to the telemetry designer.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1992 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / The vast amount of data telemetered from space probe experiments requires careful management and tracking from initial receipt through acquisition, archiving, and distribution. This paper presents the automated system used at the Phillips Laboratory, Geophysics Directorate, for tracking telemetry data from its receipt at the facility to its distribution on various media to the research community. Features of the system include computerized databases, automated generation of media labels, automated generation of reports, and automated archiving.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1992 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / This paper introduces a PPK intelligent demodulator used in the PCM--PPK (pulse position keying) telemetry system. It describes the basic requirement of the system for the PPK signal demodulator and analyses the insufficiancy of the full-hardware PPK demodulator. It also advances a PPK demodulating scheme based on the TMS32020 digital signal processor and a block diagram of the demodulator, states the method of detecting frame synchronization, analyses the precision of sync-building and gives the way of calculating the miss and error probability of frame sync. The result makes it clear that the demodulator based on TMS32020 has programmable feature for the bit rate and frame synchronization and realizes easily the system demand of the separate demodulating of output signals of the multi-channel receiver and then the synthesis processing of the realtime data.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / Joint Advanced Missile Instrumentation (JAMI), a 1997 new-start multi-year Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP), is developing advanced telemetry system components that can be used in an integrated instrumentation package for tri-service small missile test and training applications. JAMI will provide telemetry, Time-Space-Position Information (TSPI), flight termination and end-game vector scoring in a low cost, modular package that will allow world-wide test and training- eliminating, in most cases, the need for range-specific (or multi-system) facilities. JAMI will incorporate Global Positioning System (GPS)-based technology as the TSPI and vector scoring engine, and is completing the development of a solid state programmable safe and arm device for flight safety applications. The JAMI program has progressed into Phase 2 and full-scale development of advanced GPS technologies. This paper discusses the progress of the program during the past year and the efforts planned for fiscal year 2000. Testing of GPS receivers and problems encountered in programming GPS simulator for missile flight profiles are discussed.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / This paper discusses the conversion of an existing telemetry system to the use of fiber optic communications. The change was implemented to provide expanded capabilities of existing capital assets with a minimum of investment. The paper reviews the design constraints and options considered for a specific flight test program. The different options, such as fiber type, connector type, wavelength, bit rate, and encoding method, are compared and discussed as to their applicability, reliability, and cost effectiveness in a telemetry environment. The paper discusses the solution selected and the capabilities of the final design, as compared to the initial system.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1988 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / In the past, telemetry data systems in support of JPL flight projects -- such as Voyager and Galileo -- were designed specifically for each mission. Third-generation computers and minicomputers were combined into a distributed system, and many man-hours of software development were invested to meet each project's unique processing requirements. These systems were used to support the Spacecraft testing on the ground and -- later -- for mission operations after launch. The Magellan System Test Data Processing Subsystem (STDPS) marks a departure from these past designs. For the first time, a re-usable telemetry-processing subsystem has been designed that is flexible enough to meet the spacecraft-testing requirements of the present project -- and can be easily changed for future projects as well. These changes are all accomplished through a user-friendly, menu-oriented interface. Extensive software re-programming is no longer required. The Magellan spacecraft is being constructed for JPL by Martin Marietta Astronautics Group, Denver, Colorado. The STDPS is currently in Denver, supporting the spacecraft testing.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 29-November 02, 1990 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Packet Telemetry Ground Station which receives telemetry data from the Space Station must be able to receive and process various data types including high-rate video, audio, instrumentation, electronic mail, telecommand, and engineering. The Packet Telemetry Ground Station must also be flexible to accommodate changing missions and payloads. Computer simulations of the Packet Telemetry Ground Station provide information about device specifications required to achieve an acceptable level of performance under changing telemetry data traffic configurations. This paper describes a computer simulation model for a Packet Telemetry Ground Station Architecture which was tested using ten different traffic components randomly transmitting data. The Packet Telemetry Ground Station Simulation status and utilization plots are discussed in terms of interpreting the simulation results.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / November 04-07, 1991 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / NASA’s reaction to requirements for the Space Station Freedom era’s telemetry data systems has been the continuing effort to combine a modular design approach with stateof-the-art VLSI technology for developing telemetry data processing systems. As part of this effort, NASA’s Data Systems Technology Division, in cooperation with Clemson University, is developing a Macintosh II based Telemetry and Command (MacTAC) system. This system performs telemetry data processing functions including frame synchronization, Reed-Solomon decoding, and packet reassembly at moderate data rates of 5 Mbps (20 Mbps burst). The MacTAC is a low-cost, transportable, easy to use, compact system designed to meet requirements specified by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) while remaining flexible enough to support a wide variety of other user specific telemetry processing requirements (e.g., TDM data). In addition, the MacTAC can accept or generate forward data (such as spacecraft commands), calculate and append a Polynomial Check Code (PCC), and output this data to NASCOM to provide full Telemetry and Command (TAC) capability. Semi-custom VLSI gate arrays perform the return link functions of NASCOM deblocking, correlation, and frame synchronization. Reed-Solomon decoding (for error detection) and packet reassembly are also performed by modern microprocessor and semi-custom VLSI components. The local user interface is a standard Macintosh application with the wellknown look and feel of the Macintosh environment. A remote interface is possible via Ethernet which allows the system to be completely controlled from any location capable of generating the required remote operating commands. Return link data may be viewed in real time on the local or remote user interface screen in a variety of formats along with system status information. In addition, data may also be archived on SCSI disks for later retrieval and analysis as needed. This paper describes the general architecture and functionality of this MacTAC system including the particular custom telemetry cards, the various input/output interfaces, and the icon driven user interface.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 30-November 02, 1995 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The RAH-66 Comanche flight test program requires a state of the art air vehicle and avionics data system consisting of: 1) An airborne, all digital multiplexing and recording system capable of combining digital streams at very high data rates; 2) The ability to record high speed avionics busses from the MEP (Mission Equipment Package) such as MIL-STD-1553B, HSDB (High Speed Data Bus,) PI (Processor Interconnect) Bus, DFN (Data Flow Network,) and TM (Test and Measurement Bus;) 3) A miniaturized, programmable, modular/distributed high speed PCM measurement system for 550 air vehicle measurements recorded on the Comanche Flight Test Aircraft and Propulsion System Test Bed; 4) an airborne digital multiplexing and recording system for recording a composite stream on an Ampex DCRsi tape recorder; 5) A high capacity ground data processing system using parallel processing computers for real time data compression; and 6) distributed analysis system using workstations for data processing with centralized disk storage.