Kymeta’s electronically steered Mtenna terminal. Photo: Kymeta.

NASA has awarded Kymeta’s government solutions division two grants via the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop small, space-based, low Size, Weight And Power (SWaP) flat panel Ka-band terminals for CubeSats and other Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

“These grants will allow Kymeta government solutions to supply NASA with our proprietary metamaterials-based low SWaP flat panel solutions for satellite-to-satellite and satellite-to-ground/ground-to-satellite communications, starting with CubeSats, which are about the size of a loaf of bread,” said David Kervin, general manager and vice president of Kymeta government solutions.

Organizations receiving SBIR grants are required to develop solutions with practical significance that have both commercial and non-commercial applications. They also must provide the potential to fulfill NASA needs.

Kymeta’s announcement comes days after the grand finale of the Cassini Mission, noted for its groundbreaking discoveries using 20th century technology. “The Cassini Mission launched in Oct. 1997 with the best technology of the time,” said Kervin. “These NASA grants will further our ability to develop solutions to hard problems for government, military and commercial applications, wherever that technology may travel.”