Astrapi Receives USF Phase II Contract SBIR for Software Defined Radio Production Efforts

Astrapi won a phase two contract under the US Air Force’s Small Business Innovation Research program to produce a software-defined radio prototype that could enable communications and signal processing in space .

The small Dallas, Texas-based company said Monday that the prototype will use its spiral modulation capability to deliver more data to and from fighters over congested and contested channels while using less signal power.

According to Astrapi, their technology is based on the assumption that the spectrum is not stationary, which is contrary to classical channel capacity theory, to potentially exceed the upper limit of spectral efficiency.

The company, together with its engineering partner Space Micro, plans to demonstrate spiral modulation using a space-capable, radiation-resistant Ka-band radio.

AFWERX’s SBIR Phase II award follows Astrapi’s previous win of a separate Air Force small business research contract to work on symbol waveform hopping.