Communication Technologies and Engineering Division

All spacecraft, launch vehicles, and ground systems rely upon successful communications.
Communication Technologies

 

Main-mission communication satellites, wideband links, command and telemetry, and terrestrial networks, along with their enabling technologies, are the domain of the Communication Technologies and Engineering Division. The division comprises all aspects, from architectures to implementation; our engineers work directly with corporate customers to ensure robust and resilient communications.

Aerospace maintains an impressive array of laboratories, software tools, and computing resources available to perform conceptual design, feasibility and trade studies, modeling and simulation, prototype construction, integration and test modeling, and anomaly investigation and resolution.

The division continues to push forward state-of-the-art efforts in advanced antenna design, digital signal processing, millimeter wave technologies, optical communications, and evolving regulatory processes employed to ensure the access of its customers to RF spectrum. Division staff on both coasts apply the fundamentals of communications to diverse areas including GPS signals and receivers, geolocation, and radar systems.

Laser Communications Abstract

Optical, Laser, and Digital Communications

Optical, Laser, and Digital Communications encompasses the design, analysis, simulation, and system engineering of all types of communication systems, including space-based military and commercial systems and terrestrial wireless radio systems, optical communications end-to-end systems engineering, developing and using lasercom modeling and simulation resources, applied knowledge of photonic device physics to lasercom terminal development including laser transmitter and receiver designs, prototyping space-grade lasercom hardware, and maintaining world-class verification and validation of optical communication testbed resources.
Rapid Prototyping

Rapid Prototyping

Rapid Prototyping includes developing proof-of-concept digital communication systems in relevant mission environments using a variety of technologies including FPGAs, GPUs, embedded processors, and developing advanced digital signal processing, geopositioning, anti-jamming and anti-spoofing algorithms.
Radio Frequency Electronics

Radio-Frequency Electronics

Radio-Frequency Electronics includes working with microwave components used in RF and communication payloads including solid-state GaN power amplifiers and traveling wave tube amplifiers, assessing high-power failure modes for receiver electronics including RF breakdown, analyzing microwave electronic subsystems to assess receiver sensitivity, dynamic range, spur free dynamic range, and out-of-band signal rejection, designing filters and multiplexers, conceptualizing antenna design and simulation, and working with electronically steered arrays, phased arrays, nulling antennas, and adaptive beamforming.
Networking around the World

Networking

Networking incorporates the design, analysis, and simulation of the next generation of advanced space and ground networks, communication system concepts, and architectures using the latest networking technologies and tools, and the development of new resilient space networking concepts, algorithms, and protocols in the areas of space mesh networks, proliferated LEO architectures, 5G, Internet of Space Things, network virtualization, and software defined networks.
AI & Machine Learning

Machine Learning

Machine Learning (ML) includes developing cutting-edge ML techniques for RF signal analysis and electronic warfare, using the latest unsupervised learning methods for clustering and data exploration of high-dimensional data, superseding best closed-form RF building-blocks with streaming ML methods with the GNU Radio signal processing toolkit, creating new modulations designed to evade detection and interception, developing novel deep learning architectures for signal processing.

All Aerospace employees working in organizations with technical responsibilities are required to apply for and maintain at least a Secret clearance.  U.S. citizenship is required for those positions.

 

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We believe that a diverse workforce creates an environment in which unique ideas are developed and differing perspectives are valued, producing superior customer solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at ieo.mailbox@aero.org. You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement