SWIFT® Radios and RAVEN – SDR
Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (AMERGINT)
The SWIFT® family of Software Defined Radios (SDR) provides high-performance communications for small satellite operations, built on a modular platform with diverse software control of RF parameters. The RAVEN SDR is a next-generation, highly configurable SDR with low sWaP-C, local application suppo
Technical specifications
- Flight heritage
- Yes
- Networks (SWIFT-XTS)
- NEN/DSN: CCSDS TC/TM, Raw bit-sync; USN: SLGS, CCSDS; AFSCN: SGLS, USB; RBC, Atlas, SFN; Custom/commercial/private; Crypto units such as the KI-55 and GNOME
- Networks (RAVEN - SDR)
- USN: SLGS, CCSDS; AFSCN: SGLS, USB; RBC, Atlas, SFN; Custom/commercial/private; Crypto units such as the KI-55 and GNOME
- Electrical interfaces (SWIFT-XTS)
- RS-232/422/485; LVDS; 3.3v CMOS/TTL; CAN/SPI/I2C; Ethernet 10/100; MIL-STD-1553
- Electrical interfaces (RAVEN - SDR)
- LVDS; 3.3v CMOS/TTL; CAN/SPI/I2C; Ethernet 10/100; MIL-STD-1553
- Modulations (SWIFT-XTS)
- TX: BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK, 8PSK, 16APSK; RX: BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK; PM, CPM; SGLS-Ternary
- Modulations (RAVEN - SDR)
- RX: BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK; PM, CPM; SGLS-Ternary
- Fec (SWIFT-XTS)
- Reed-Solomon w/ interleaving; Convolutional w/ puncturing; Soft-Viterbi; BCH; Turbo/LDPC; CRC
- Fec (RAVEN - SDR)
- Convolutional w/ puncturing; Soft-Viterbi; BCH; Turbo/LDPC; CRC
- Protocols (SWIFT-XTS)
- Sync. Clock+Data (200 Mbps); Dual SpaceWire (100 Mbps); Dual UART (10 Mbps); HDLC Framing; GPIO for Rx IRQ/Tx Enable
- Protocols (RAVEN - SDR)
- Dual SpaceWire (100 Mbps); Dual UART (10 Mbps); HDLC Framing; GPIO for Rx IRQ/Tx Enable
- Support (SWIFT-XTS)
- Idle/pilot insertion; Randomization; Bit-diff., Bi-Phase; NRZ-L/M/S; Coherent tone ranging; PN Ranging
- Support (RAVEN - SDR)
- Randomization; Bit-diff., Bi-Phase; NRZ-L/M/S; Coherent tone ranging; PN Ranging
About
The SWIFT® Radios are a family of Software Defined Radios (SDR) built on a modular platform, offering diverse software control over RF parameters. They are specifically designed to provide high-performance communications for small satellite operations and have flight heritage. These SDRs are compatible with Type-1 encryption modules like the KI-55 and GNOME, and natively support AES-256 encryption. They have successfully passed exhaustive compatibility testing with multiple ground stations and can provide compatibility with a wide spectrum of existing networks, interfaces, and protocols. SWIFT Radios also support IP-protocol mesh-network inter-satellite link communications via the SWIFT-LINQ software module.
The RAVEN – SDR represents the next generation of Tethers Unlimited Inc. Software Defined Radios. It is designed to readily accept third-party applications with incredible throughput, speed, and flexibility. With a wide array of electrical interfaces and AES encryption, RAVEN offers high resiliency combined with high bandwidth on an adaptive platform for customization. Key features of RAVEN include low sWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power, and Cost), local application support, SWIFT-LINQ customization, and additional AES256 Quantum Secure Zero Trust Blockchain capabilities. Both SWIFT and RAVEN SDRs support a range of networks including NEN/DSN (CCSDS TC/TM, Raw bit-sync), USN (SLGS, CCSDS), AFSCN (SGLS, USB), RBC, Atlas, SFN, and custom/commercial/private networks, as well as crypto units like KI-55 and GNOME. They feature electrical interfaces such as RS-232/422/485, LVDS, 3.3v CMOS/TTL, CAN/SPI/I2C, Ethernet 10/100, and MIL-STD-1553. Supported modulations include TX: BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK, 8PSK, 16APSK; RX: BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK; PM, CPM; and SGLS-Ternary. FEC capabilities include Reed-Solomon with interleaving, Convolutional with puncturing, Soft-Viterbi, BCH, Turbo/LDPC, and CRC. Protocols supported are Sync. Clock+Data (200 Mbps), Dual SpaceWire (100 Mbps), Dual UART (10 Mbps), HDLC Framing, and GPIO for Rx IRQ/Tx Enable. Additional support features include Idle/pilot insertion, Randomization, Bit-diff., Bi-Phase, NRZ-L/M/S, Coherent tone ranging, and PN Ranging.
Documentation
- SLX.pdf PDF source: web.archive.org ↗
- XTX.pdf PDF source: web.archive.org ↗
- XTRX.pdf PDF source: web.archive.org ↗
- XTS.pdf PDF source: web.archive.org ↗
- RAVEN-SDR.pdf PDF source: web.archive.org ↗
- RAVEN.pdf PDF source: web.archive.org ↗
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.