Navy/Marine Corps Demonstrations of the DARPA Microsats

Demonstrations of the DARPA Microsats with an emphasis on Navy and Marine Corps applications were conducted by personnel at the United States Naval Academy. These satellite communications demonstrations used the analog FM mode of the Microsats. Radios used were military transceivers, transmitters composed of laboratory signal generators with broadband power amplifiers, a modified amateur radio UHF transmitter, and commercially-available scanner receivers. Voice demonstrations included equipment checks with DARPA personnel, a tactical exercise at a Marine Corps base, and communications with a U.S. Navy destroyer. Position and status report data beacons were relayed through the Microsats from training vessels to Annapolis. Satellite-to-satellite communications using the Microsats and a U.S. Navy FLTSAT were successfully conducted.