Pacific Defense, a leading provider of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) products and solutions, announced it has completed a key program milestone on the US Space Force (USSF) Moonraker MOSA space payload contract with successful checkout and integration of the Moonraker payload.
The Moonraker Space Sensor is a 3U Open VPX multi-function, radio frequency (RF) payload consisting of a five-slot chassis populated with a Software Defined Radio (SDR), dual Graphics Processing Units (GPU), dual Power Supply plug-in-cards (PICs) and application software capable of performing a range of RF missions including space situational awareness. All system components are designed to meet requirements for space flight, with the SDR provided by Tomorrow.io and the Chassis and GPU PICs provided by Neutralino Space Ventures.
“Moonraker represents a fresh approach to space payload design, enabling rapid integration and deployment of critical space mission capability in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional proprietary approaches,” said Bryan Terlecky, Vice President of Space Systems at Pacific Defense. “Completion of hardware integration in days rather than weeks is unheard-of in traditional space programs and clears the way for the Pacific Defense team to begin software integration and move forward toward space flight demonstrations.”
Following this milestone, the payload enters a software integration phase, followed by functional testing in Q2 2024 and a key USSF customer demonstration in Q3 2024.
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