NuWaves Engineering has been awarded a contract too research and develop advanced RF cavity filters
NuWaves Engineering, an international Radio Frequency (RF) and Microwave solutions provider, has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to research and develop advanced RF cavity filters for use on Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellites.
NuWaves worked with Exelis Geospatial Systems’ Positioning, Navigation and Timing business located in Clifton, New Jersey, to propose an innovative method to dramatically reduce the size and weight of space-based diplexers, triplexers, and quadruplexers – or “n-plexers” – for multicarrier RF combining by incorporating specialized inserts within the filter cavities. The proposed design also supports wider bandwidths and higher signal power levels than previous generation nplexer solutions. As a culmination of the Phase I SBIR project, NuWaves expects to develop and fabricate one or more filter prototypes.
“Our team’s solution has the potential to drive a significant reduction in the GPS III satellite’s launch weight, reducing cost to orbit,” said Jeff Wells, President and CEO of NuWaves Engineering. “We’re thrilled to have GPS III navigation payload provider Exelis on the team, and together we look forward to helping the Air Force exceed its GPS III mission goals.”
“Exelis welcomes the opportunity to work with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NuWaves with researching and developing this advanced technology to improve the GPS technological base,” said Mark Pisani, vice president and general manager of positioning, navigation and timing systems at Exelis.
