yet2 is supporting NASA in their technology scouting search for providers of an audio distribution system to enable voice communication on and between spacecraft/modules. Among other requirements and specifications, the system must:
- Have radiation exposure tolerance in operation and over service life of 5+ years, minimizing functional disruption and preventing destructive latch-up
- Provide independent push-to-talk (PTT) and Voice Operated Transmitter (VOX) modes for each analog audio port
- Provide simultaneous ITU G.729 or G.729A audio codecs for 4 or more channels
Ideally, the system will operate on a time triggered Ethernet (TTE) network, though standard Ethernet network systems will be considered if effectively redundant. NASA’s preference is for complete systems meeting all requirements, however individual components contributing to a system as described above are also of interest.
Key Requirements By Category
Radiation Tolerance: No destructive latch-up with 5+ year exposure to the lunar radiation environment
Networking: Provide a Time Triggered Ethernet interface for transmitting/receiving audio as Rate Constrained TTE traffic class. Standard Ethernet network systems will be considered if effectively redundant.
Voice Channels: At least 4 analog I/O ports with minimum bandwidth of 4 kHz for analog audio for voice communications
User Interface: Provide independent push-to- talk (PTT) and Voice Operated Transmitter (VOX) modes for each analog audio port
Encoding: Provide simultaneous ITU G.729 or G.729A audio codecs for 4 or more channels
Conferencing: Perform conferencing of local analog audio and audio received via the TTE network in G.729 format and linear PCM
Hardware: Any platform will be considered (CompactPCI, PCI-104, custom etc.)
If you would like to submit to NASA a solution, provided by your company, meeting the above requirements, or for more information, please use the yet2 contact information below.