Classifying All The (Right) Things

When performing missions in Red, it’s crucial to limit where the classified data can go. Using a telemetry antenna system should not involve classified information at the antenna itself. If you need to send classified pointing data to your antenna controller or use classified nominal files for your launches, TCS has the solution.

Our FPGA-based system at the pedestal connects to the ACU via a fiber optic control cable. The FPGA monitors system health, ensures all safety conditions are met, and controls the antenna’s motors based on ACU commands. The communication between the ACU and the pedestal is a synchronous serial stream, ensuring no IP traffic on the fiber optic cable. Don’t just take our word for it—validate it with a packet sniffer on the cable.

Data from the ACU consists of motor velocities encoded as voltages and discrete commands for enabling and disabling equipment at the antenna. The antenna returns encoder data as a single large number, which is not an angular measure, making it impossible for eavesdroppers to determine the antenna’s angles or speed.

No geodetic data leaves the ACU. No classified data leaves the ACU.

This secure architecture is why TCS ACUs and antennas are trusted at U.S. top-secret locations worldwide. We do everything to help keep our customers’ secrets where they belong…secret.