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CubeSat and SmallSat

Closing a Low Earth Orbit link across hundreds of kilometers is challenging, and the difficulty only multiplies as CubeSats become tasked to provide increasing amounts of bandwidth and data rates across limited-spectrum links. The relatively short mission lengths of CubeSats allow for their radio systems to be continually upgraded and deployed at a much faster rate than traditional large satellite deployments. RF subsystem technology must keep pace.

That’s why Triad’s engineering team remains adept at designing for the rigors of the CubeSat environment. In addition to designing in advance for lighter weight and tighter requirements, Triad performs the requisite analysis to ensure each RF amplifier and radio system they deploy passes all pre-flight requirements. This has led Triad RF Systems to be a leading designer and manufacturer of CubeSat custom RF amplifiers and subsystems for CubeSat payloads. These include extremely efficient, ultra small, power amplifiers, bi-directional amplifiers, TX down-link amplifiers, BUCs, and complete bi-directional RF sub-systems from UHF to the Ka-band. Triad's RF labs is regularly upgraded to support mm-Wave design and test, and are currently designing micro-size, Ka band BUCs and Tx/Rx modules for advanced CubeSats. These assemblies are circuit card form factors that fit up/down conversion, RF filtering, amplification, LNAs and switching in unprecedented package sizes of low size, weight, and power to achieve SWaP objectives.

Our custom-designed products work with any SDRs and have logged over a combined 20 years of Low Earth Orbit flight time. With over 550 units successfully delivered, Triad’s proven flight heritage makes it the company to trust with your CubeSat radio solutions.

Below we’ve listed products and datasheets relevant to this application type. If you have questions regarding our products or areas of expertise, get in touch today!

Product		Datasheet
TTRM2020-DO3	The TTRM2020-DO3 is an S-Band (n256) RF Subsystem, with proven flight heritage, created in support of NB-IoT and NTN-NR networks. There are numerous currently in service on CubeSats operating in LEO. The unit contains a fully integrated PA, LNA and dual filter assembly. The unit is designed to deliver exceptional performance in terms of high power, efficiency, and out-of-band rejection, aligning with 5G 3GPP specifications to support NTN MNOs in achieving compliance.
TSYS1055	The TSYS1055 is a radio / signal agnostic frequency extender card that enhances the capabilities of CubeSat / SmallSat radio systems. The system was originally developed to extend a AD9361-based SIGINT receiver system’s frequency range from 600 - 6000 MHz to 600 - 12000 MHz, eliminating the need for a radio re-design.
TA1295	The TA1295 is a S-Band PA circuit card, designed for low earth space applications. Built to the stringent requirements of the CubeSat industry, it provides 2.5W of linear power (3.2W PSat) and is micro-processor controlled. The TA1295 has been engineered to support any signal type, from simple CW/FM signals to complex, highly modulated carriers such as 32APSK.
TA1134	S Band 4W Circuit Card Amplifier that has a flight heritage since 2017. It covers the 2000-2500 MHz Band, with a gain of 28dB that can be adjusted for different requirements. It can interface with any SDR that operates in this band and has a compact 2.7 x 1.3” footprint.
TFTA1010	The TFTA1010 is a highly integrated, extremely low SWaP S to X-band frequency converter card. It has been designed to fit into half the space of a standard CubeSat card. It allows CubeSat designers to operate their link in the X band with existing S-Band hardware. Upconversion of the target radio system only requires an RF input, and no external oscillator reference is required for simple, seamless integration.
TA1120	380-470 MHz UHF 4W Circuit Card Amplifier with flight heritage since 2019. This unit is capable of 4W of output power and supports any modulation from FM to highly modulated 32APSK signals.
TTRM1212	Full Duplex L-Band Tx/Rx Transceiver Card with a single 4W amplifier section from 1518-1559 MHz that supports two SDR Tx channels and dual, tightly filtered receive sections (1518-1559 and 1626-1675 MHz) with over 60 dB of cross band isolation. There is a switch bank on board that is controlled via CPLD for high speed, <1uS switching capability. TTL or serial control is available. This product was launched on a 2020 CubeSat mission. Request a quote today!
TTRR1086	180W Dual Channel Bi-Directional UHF Rack Mount Amplifier for CubeSat Ground Stations operating in the 400-450 MHz bands. This rack mount and its predecessors have been deployed worldwide for Ground Station Deployments since 2015, and has been used by several leaders in the CubeSat industry. This supports two SDR radios operating concurrently, and has integral Tx and Rx filtering and Tx power and VSWR measurement. Remote Control and Monitoring is available over Serial and TCP/IP - it also features a Browser Based GUI and SNMP monitoring and control. Request a quote today!