The JSC provides spectrum management support for all Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) projects, including terrestrial, space and Earth science projects and sensors flown or planned for use on GSFC satellites. It encompasses spectrum management activites on both the national and international level. Spectrum management at GSFC will serve to accommodate new GSFC services, applications and technology of both a terrestrial and satellite nature by the selection of appropriate frequency bands and specific carrier frequiencies to minimize the likelihood of interference to and from the RF environment; to coordinate the use of RF requirements with national and international agencies and organizations to assure maximum recognition and protection for GSFC systems; and to promote the efficient use of the RF spectrum by GSFC projects and missions.
The JSC also provides independent systems engineering analysis and evaluation in support of customer mission-related activities as well as analysis and support of new capabilities considered for inclusion into the NASA Space Network (SN) and Ground Network (GN). This also includes RF communication systems engineering support to independently evaluate and assess current space and ground network capabilities, system improvements, and new services to meet future mission needs. Additionally, this includes performing signal-to-noise (S/N) analyses for current space elements (Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS F1 through F10 and TDRS K, L, M, and N) and the corresponding current ground elements at the White Sands Complex (WSC), Guam Remote Ground Terminal (GRGT), and Space Network Expansion (SNE) Terminals.
The JSC provides spectrum planning support to developers of satellite and space systems to ensure their systems can obtain approval to operate compatibly with other systemsusing the electromagnetic spectrum. An example is the support being provided to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the F6 program. The objective of this task is to aid Orbital Science in developing DD Form 1494s to ensure compliance with NTIA requirements, national and international spectrum regulations, and identify potential EMI interactions.
The goal of the F6 Program is to demonstrate a new space system architecture which replaces traditional monolithic spacecraft with a wireless "virtual spacecraft" operating as a cluster of modules. The creation of the F6 architecture of distributed modules will enable all major spacecraft hardware components to function as network-addressable and shareable devices.
