Aerospace

Going Out of This World with NASA

Case Study

NASA needed a solution for their robotic arm on the space shuttle. Astronauts on the shuttle couldn’t operate the arm unless they were able to see it — a task that required them to put on a spacesuit and go for a walk.

To solve this issue, NASA needed a PC card that could plug into the laptop onboard the space station and communicate with the robotic arm. However, the laptop only held two PC cards, and both slots were taken for other applications. NASA needed a custom PC card able to accommodate additional functionality.

Upgrading Command-and-Control Military Communications

Video

A client partner reached out to Sealevel for a product to be used in aerospace defense communications. The application is for the system that connects commercial radar with military radar. That radar network conducts air surveillance, identification of objects in airspace, and security in support of North American homeland defense. It is the center of air defense command-and-control for North America. The network has been heavily updated in the last 10 years, with all new communications systems intended to integrate information between multiple US Military branches.

Serial Communications for Ground Control

Case Study

The U.S. Navy’s arsenal includes a jet-powered, long-range cruise missile that receives real-time, in-flight guidance via SATCOM. This communication enables the missile to dynamically track and engage targets. This capability is extremely valuable as it can take some time for the missile to reach a designated target.

An aerospace prime contractor contacted Sealevel to explore options for serial communications adapters to provide the connectivity for the communication and navigation in the ground control guidance system.

Aircraft Test Interface

Case Study

A leading military contractor performing diagnostic testing and calibration functions on aircraft wanted to reduce the number of physical connections required for their test computer. The contractor was using a combination of Ethernet, serial and digital I/O interfaces between their test computer and aircraft transport rack (ATR). The contractor wanted to limit the costs associated with a custom design by leveraging as much off-the-shelf material and products as possible. The interface solution needed to mount in an existing 19″ rack using the 2U (3.5″) space available and have as few connections to the test computer as possible.