A Software Defined Radio Based Architecture for the Reagan Test Site Telemetry Modernization (RTM) Program

Abstract

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has developed a Software Defined Radio based architecture for the Reagan Test Site Telemetry Modernization (RTM) program, which will enhance the current operations of the ground based telemetry systems and enable new modes of operation. There are three main objectives of the RTM program; increasing overall system performance, improving reliability and maintainability, and enabling future customer needs. RTM provides a fully integrated system that can be configured and remotely controlled from a single location. This centralized command and control provides a way to automate certain functions and frees up operator resources, especially for more complex mission scenarios. Software modules, running on general-purpose computers perform signal and data processing that have been traditionally performed in special purpose hardware based components. This provides the flexibility to scale and adapt to future needs, such as spectrum change, increased need for capacity, and changes to modulation, encoding, and compression. Index Terms - Software Defined Radio (SDR), Open systems architecture, telemetry receiver architecture, Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry (AMT)