[Satellite TODAY 04-05-13] Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ subsidiary RT Logic has launched two new products for building cost-effective satellite control centers: the Software Front End Processor (FEP) and the Software Gateway. Both are based on a "software only" architecture that replaces the hardware/software appliances used in the industry today.
 

    RT Logic’s Software FEP and Software Gateway products help reduce the physical space needed, power and cooling requirements, and costs and complexity associated with building satellite control centers. In a satellite ground network control center, RT Logic’s Software FEP connects the Command & Control system to an encryption/decryption (COMSEC) device, and the Software Gateway connects the COMSEC to a wide area network (WAN). The FEP and the Gateway work together to transmit commands to, and receive telemetry from, a remote ground station communicating with a satellite.

    Both products support virtual machine environments, and they eliminate custom drivers, firmware and hardware cards, thus achieving platform independence. Both products are scalable and support blade-server architectures, enabling them to match the expanding requirements of satellite constellations as they grow over time.