quantum CMD screenshot. Photo: Kratos

[Via Satellite 02-18-2014] Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced the release of quantumCMD, a portable Command and Control (C2) system designed for small satellite missions.

These small satellites, known as microsats, CubeSats and nanosats, are compact alternatives to the costly larger satellite missions. Traditional satellite missions can cost anywhere from $300 million to $1 billion, while small satellite missions cost between $1 million and $2 million.

The quantumCMD is the industry’s first commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), pre-integrated, turnkey smallsat C2 appliance that includes all necessary hardware and software for small satellite operations. The system includes a built-in HTML5-based Web server, a fully automated “lights-out” operation and the ability to create a Common Operational Picture (COP) across multiple satellites. The system also has a standards-based architecture, requiring minimal customization once purchased.

“quantumCMD’s use of standards-based interfaces such as XML Telemetry and Command Exchange (XTCE) means that it not only keeps initial mission costs down, it also dramatically lowers total cost of ownership across mission and multi-mission lifecycles,” said Victor Gardner, product manager for quantumCMD.

California-based Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems has purchased the quantumCMD to perform C2 functions on its two Endeavor product line nano-satellites that will be launched as a part of NASA’s CubeSat Proximity Operations Demonstration (CPOD) mission. These nano-satellites represent a new generation of three-unit (3U) and 6U CubeSats that have the ability to deliver precision attitude knowledge and control, higher power generation, distribution and storage and higher performance on-board processing capabilities.