CN112425092B

CN112425092B - Managed payload operation

Info

Publication number: CN112425092B
Application number: CN201880094800.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: Y-F·J·陈; H·F·克里科里安; R·J·威尼格; J·菲施; C·本杰明
Original assignee: Boeing Co
Current assignee: Boeing Co
Priority date: 2018-05-04
Filing date: 2018-05-04
Publication date: 2023-04-11
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-04
Also published as: WO2019212571A1; AU2018421732A1; JP2021530883A; EP3788729A1; CA3096362A1; AU2018421732B2; JP7130776B2; CN112425092A

Abstract

A method for managed payload operations includes transmitting, by a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC), encrypted managed commands to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC). Moreover, the method includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to the vehicle. Further, the method includes reconfiguring a host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring a hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command. In addition, the method includes transmitting, by the host payload antenna, the host payload data to the host receive antenna. Further, the method includes transmitting, by the hosted payload antenna, the hosted payload data to the hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Also, the method includes transmitting, by a telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

Description

Managed payload operation

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to payload operations. In particular, it relates to managed payload operations.

Background

Currently, typical payload operations of a vehicle (e.g., a satellite) have the ability to perform a switch of the payload's input to output on the vehicle. All of this switching of payloads is commanded and controlled by a single satellite controller without resource allocation privacy.

There is therefore a need for an improved payload operation design that allows privacy of resource allocation for the payload.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure relates to methods, systems, and apparatuses for managed payload operations. In one or more embodiments, a method for managed payload operation includes transmitting, by a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC), encrypted managed commands to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC). Also, the method includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the encrypted host command is encrypted using a first communication security (COMSEC) category and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted using a second COMSEC category. Further, the method includes decrypting, by a first communications security module on the vehicle, the encrypted host command with the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command. Additionally, the method includes decrypting, by a second communication security module on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command with the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command. Moreover, the method includes reconfiguring a host payload on the vehicle in accordance with the unencrypted host command. Additionally, the method includes reconfiguring a hosted payload on the vehicle in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command. Further, the method includes transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna. Also, the method includes transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, the hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Additionally, the method includes encrypting, by the first communication security module, the unencrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and the unencrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload by utilizing the first COMSEC class to generate an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value. Also, the method includes transmitting, by a telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

In at least one embodiment, reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command includes adjusting: transponder power, transponder spectrum monitoring, transponder connectivity, transponder gain setting, transponder limiter setting, transponder automatic level control setting, transponder phase setting, internal gain generation, bandwidth of at least one beam, at least one frequency band of at least one beam, transponder beamforming setting, effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of at least one beam, transponder channel, and/or beam steering.

In one or more embodiments, reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command includes reconfiguring: at least one antenna, at least one analog-to-digital converter, at least one digital-to-analog converter, at least one beamformer, at least one digital channelizer, at least one demodulator, at least one modulator, at least one digital switching matrix, and/or at least one digital combiner.

In at least one embodiment, the vehicle is an air vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the air vehicle is a satellite, an airplane, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or a space vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the method further comprises encrypting, by the HOC, the non-encrypted hosted command by utilizing the second COMSEC category to produce an encrypted hosted command. Further, the method includes encrypting, by the host SOC, the unencrypted host command by utilizing the first COMSEC category to produce an encrypted host command.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving, by a host command receiver on the vehicle, the encrypted host command. Also, the method includes receiving, by a hosted command receiver on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command. Further, the method includes transmitting, by the host command receiver, the encrypted host command to the first communication security module. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by the hosted command receiver, the encrypted hosted command to the second communication security module.

In one or more embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, by the first communications security module, the unencrypted host command to the host payload. Also, the method includes transmitting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises transmitting, by the host payload, the unencrypted host telemetry value to the first communications security module. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, by the hosted payload, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value to the first communication security module.

In one or more embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, by the first communication security module, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the telemetry value transmitter.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises decrypting, by the host SOC, the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category and using a database without hosted inverse transform information to generate an unencrypted host telemetry value. Also, the method includes decrypting, by the HOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the first COMSEC category and using a database without host inverse transform information to generate an unencrypted hosted telemetry value.

In one or more embodiments, a method for managed payload operation includes transmitting, by the HOC, the encrypted managed command to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC). The method also includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle. Also, the method includes decrypting, by the first communications security module, the encrypted host command with the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command. Further, the method includes decrypting, by the second communication security module, the encrypted hosted command with the second COMSEC category to unencrypted hosted command. Additionally, the method includes reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command. Moreover, the method includes reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command. Also, the method includes transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Further, the method includes encrypting, by the first communications security module, the non-encrypted host telemetry value with the first COMSEC species to generate an encrypted host telemetry value. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by the host telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC. Also, the method includes encrypting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value with the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value. Further, the method includes transmitting, by the hosted telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

In at least one embodiment, a method for managed payload operations includes transmitting, by a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC), encrypted managed commands to a vehicle. The method also includes transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted host command to the vehicle. Also, the method includes decrypting, by a first communications security module on the vehicle, the encrypted host command with a first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command. Further, the method includes decrypting, by a second communication security module on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command with a second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command. Additionally, the method includes reconfiguring a host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command. Further, the method includes reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command. Also, the method includes transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Further, the method includes encrypting, by the first communications security module, the non-encrypted host telemetry value with the first COMSEC species to generate an encrypted host telemetry value. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by a host telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC. Moreover, the method includes encrypting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value with the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value. Additionally, the method includes transmitting, by the hosted telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

In one or more embodiments, a system for managed payload operations includes a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) to transmit encrypted managed commands to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC). The system also includes the host SOC to transmit the encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the encrypted host command is encrypted using a first communication security (COMSEC) category and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted using a second COMSEC category. Also, the system includes a first communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted host command using the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command. Further, the system includes a second communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command. Additionally, the system includes a host payload on the vehicle that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command. Also, the system includes a hosted payload on the vehicle that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted hosted command. Further, the system includes a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna. Additionally, the system includes a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits the hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Also, the system includes the first communication security module to encrypt an unencrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and the unencrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload by utilizing the first COMSEC class to generate an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value. Further, the system includes an on-board telemetry value transmitter for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC. Additionally, the system includes the host SOC to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

In at least one embodiment, a system for managed payload operations includes a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) to transmit encrypted managed commands to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC). The system also includes the host SOC to transmit the encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the encrypted host command is encrypted using a first communication security (COMSEC) category and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted using a second COMSEC category. Further, the system includes a first communication security module to decrypt the encrypted host command using the first COMSEC class to generate an unencrypted host command. Further, the system includes a second communication security module to decrypt the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate the unencrypted hosted command. In addition, the system includes a host payload that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command. Also, the system includes a hosted payload that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted hosted command. Further, the system includes a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna. Also, the system includes a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits the hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Additionally, the system includes the first communication security module to encrypt a non-encrypted host telemetry value with the first COMSEC type to generate an encrypted host telemetry value. Also, the system includes the host telemetry value transmitter for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC. Further, the system includes the second communication security module that encrypts the unencrypted hosted telemetry value with the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value. Also, the system includes a hosted telemetry transmitter to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC. Additionally, the system includes the host SOC to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

In at least one embodiment, a system for managed payload operations includes a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) to transmit encrypted managed commands to a vehicle. The system also includes a host SOC for transmitting the encrypted host commands to the vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the encrypted host command is encrypted using a first communication security (COMSEC) category and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted using a second COMSEC category. Also, the system includes a first communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted host command using the first communication security (COMSEC) class to generate an unencrypted host command. Further, the system includes a second communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command. In addition, the system includes a host payload that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command. Also, the system includes a hosted payload that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted hosted command. Further, the system includes a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna. Additionally, the system includes a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna. Also, the system includes the first communication security module to encrypt a non-encrypted host telemetry value with the first COMSEC type to generate an encrypted host telemetry value. Further, the system includes a host telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC. Also, the system includes the second communication security module that encrypts the unencrypted hosted telemetry value with the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value. Additionally, the system includes the hosted telemetry value transmitter for transmitting the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

The features, functions, and advantages can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure or may be combined in yet other embodiments.

Drawings

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a simplified architecture of the disclosed system for managed payload operations, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an disclosed system for managed payload operation in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein both a host telemetry value and a managed telemetry value are encrypted using the first COMSEC category.

Fig. 3A, 3B, and 3C together illustrate a flow chart of an disclosed method for managed payload operation, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein both a host telemetry value and a managed telemetry value are encrypted using the first COMSEC category, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an disclosed system for managed payload operation in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and a managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category.

Fig. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D together illustrate a flow diagram of an disclosed method for managed payload operation, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and a managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the disclosed system for managed payload operation in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted using a first COMSEC category) to a vehicle and a managed user transmits an encrypted managed command (encrypted using a second COMSEC category) to the vehicle, and wherein a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and the managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category.

Fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C together illustrate a flow chart of an disclosed method for managed payload operation, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, in which a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted using a first COMSEC category) to a vehicle and an encrypted managed command (encrypted using a second COMSEC category) to the vehicle, and in which a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and the managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category.

Detailed Description

The methods and apparatus disclosed herein provide an operating system for managed payload operations. The system of the present disclosure allows vehicle operators to share vehicle resources on a private basis.

As described above, typical payload operations of a vehicle (e.g., a satellite) have the ability to perform a switch of the payload's input to output on the vehicle. All of this switching of payloads is commanded and controlled by a single satellite controller without resource allocation privacy.

The disclosed system allows for private vehicle resource allocation and control that provides vehicle users with the ability to dynamically allocate resources (e.g., host payloads and/or hosted payloads) privately on demand.

It should be noted that the host payload and/or hosted payload of the disclosed system for private vehicle resource allocation and control may employ a variety of different types of transponders. For example, a variety of different types of transponders may be employed, including, but not limited to, a variety of different types of digital transponders, a variety of different types of analog transponders (e.g., conventional repeater-type transponders), and a variety of different types of combined analog/digital transponders.

It should be noted that in-band frequency bands refer to the same frequency bands used to transmit payload data (e.g., host payload data and/or hosted payload data) in the present disclosure; and an out-of-band refers to a band that is different from a band used to transmit payload data (e.g., host payload data and/or managed payload data).

In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the system. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the disclosed system may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known features have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the system.

Embodiments of the disclosure may be described herein in terms of functional and/or logical components and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such components may be realized by any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may employ various integrated circuit components (e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like), which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more processors, microprocessors, or other control devices. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced in conjunction with other components, and that the system described herein is merely one exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques and components related to satellite communication systems and other functional aspects of the systems (and the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating a simplified architecture of the disclosed system for managed payload operations, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this figure, a simplified view of a number of possible managed payload configurations is shown. Specifically, this figure shows a space section 110 and a ground section 120. Space segment 110 represents a vehicle. A variety of different types of vehicles may be employed for the vehicle, including but not limited to air vehicles. Also, a variety of different types of air vehicles may be employed for the vehicle, including, but not limited to, satellites, airplanes, unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and space vehicles.

Where satellites are employed for vehicles, it should be noted that satellites typically include computer controlled systems. The satellite generally includes a bus 130 and a payload (e.g., a host payload and a hosted payload) 140. Bus 130 may include a system (which includes components) that controls the satellites. These systems perform tasks such as power generation and control, thermal control, telemetry, attitude control, orbit control, and other suitable operations.

The payload 140 of the satellite provides functionality to the user of the satellite. Payload 140 may include an antenna, transponder, and other suitable devices. For example, with respect to communications, the payload 140 in the satellite may be used to provide internet access, telephone communications, radio, television, and other types of communications. It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, payload 140 includes multiple individual payloads, which are the host payload and the managed payload(s).

The payload 140 of the satellite may be used by different entities. For example, payload 140 may be used by a host user, by a hosted user(s), by other clients, or some combination thereof.

For example, a host user may lease different portions of the payload (e.g., hosted payload (s)) 140 to different customers (e.g., hosted users). In one example, one set of antenna beams generated by a payload (e.g., a hosted payload) 140 of a satellite may be leased to one customer, while a second set of antenna beams may be leased to a second customer. In another example, one set of antenna beams generated by the payload (e.g., host payload) 140 of the satellite may be utilized by a host user of the satellite, while a second set of antenna beams generated by the payload (e.g., hosted payload) 140 may be leased to a customer (e.g., hosted user). In yet another example, some or all of the antenna beams generated by the satellite's payload (e.g., by the hosted payload (s)) 140 may be shared by one customer and a second customer. When the satellite is shared by different users, the users may have a shared communication link to the satellite (e.g., interface a), or each user may have separate communication links to the satellite (e.g., interfaces a and D).

Leasing a satellite to multiple customers (e.g., hosted users) may increase revenue available to users of the satellite (e.g., host users). In addition, the customer may use a subset of the total resources in the satellite for a cost that is less than the cost of the customer purchasing and operating the satellite, building and operating the satellite, or leasing the entire satellite.

Referring again to fig. 1, the ground segment 120 includes a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC) (e.g., a ground station associated with control of a host payload of a satellite) 150 and a hosted payload(s) (HoP) operations center (HOC) (e.g., ground station (s)) 160.

Fig. 1 shows many different possible communication links (i.e., interfaces a-E). It should be noted that the disclosed system may employ some or all of these illustrated communication links. Interface a, which may include multiple links, is an out-of-band command and telemetry link from host SOC 150 for a command satellite. Interface B, which may include multiple links, is the communication link between bus 130 and payload 140. Interface B may be used to control basic items such as a power supply. Information that may be communicated from bus 130 to payload 140 via interface B may include, but is not limited to, time, ephemeris, and payload commands. Information that may be communicated from payload 140 to bus 130 via interface B may include, but is not limited to, payload telemetry.

Interface C, which may include multiple links, is an in-band command and telemetry link to the bus and/or payload. Interface D, which may include multiple links, is a command and telemetry link from the HOC(s) 160 for commanding the satellite. An interface E, which may include a plurality of links, is between host SOC 150 and HOC 160.

Fig. 2 is a diagram 200 illustrating the disclosed system for managed payload operation in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a host user (i.e., host SOC) 250 transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted using a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted using a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein both the host telemetry value and the managed telemetry value are encrypted using the first COMSEC category. In this figure, a vehicle 210, a host SOC 250, and a HOC260 are shown.

During operation, HOC260 encrypts the non-encrypted hosted command (i.e., non-encrypted HoP CMD) by utilizing the second COMSEC category to produce an encrypted hosted command (i.e., encrypted HoP CMD). The hosted commands are commands for configuring hosted payload 205 utilized by HOC 260. The host SOC 250 encrypts the non-encrypted host command (i.e., non-encrypted host CMD) by utilizing the first COMSEC category to generate an encrypted host command (i.e., encrypted host CMD). The host commands are commands for configuring the host payload 206 utilized by the host SOC 250.

It should be noted that although in fig. 2, the host SOC 250 is described as having its terrestrial antenna located in close proximity to its operating building, in other embodiments, the terrestrial antenna of the host SOC 250 may be located very far from its operating building (e.g., the terrestrial antenna may be located in another country outside of the operating building).

Additionally, it should be noted that the first COMSEC category may include at least one encryption key and/or at least one algorithm (e.g., a type 1 encryption algorithm or a type 2 encryption algorithm). Additionally, it should be noted that the second COMSEC category may include at least one encryption key and/or at least one encryption algorithm (e.g., a type 1 encryption algorithm or a type 2 encryption algorithm).

The HOC260 then transmits 215 the encrypted hosted command to the host SOC 250. After the host SOC 250 receives the encrypted hosted command, the host SOC 250 transmits 220 the encrypted host command and transmits 225 the encrypted hosted command to the vehicle 210. The host SOC 250 utilizes an out-of-band frequency band (i.e., a frequency band different from the frequency band used to transmit the payload data) to transmit 220, 225 the encrypted host commands and the encrypted hosted commands. The host command receiver 235 on the vehicle 210 receives the encrypted host command. In addition, a hosted command receiver 245 on the vehicle 210 receives encrypted hosted commands.

The host command receiver 235 then transmits 252 the encrypted host command to the first communication security module 262. The first communication security module 262 decrypts the encrypted host command using a first COMSEC class (i.e., COMSEC class 1) to generate an unencrypted host command.

It should be noted that the first communication security module 262 may include one or more modules. Further, the first communication security module 262 may include one or more processors.

The managed command receiver 245 then transmits 255 the encrypted managed command to the second communication security module 265. The second communication security module 265 decrypts the encrypted hosted command utilizing a second COMSEC category (i.e., COMSEC category 2) to generate an unencrypted hosted command.

It should be noted that the second communication security module 265 may include one or more modules. Further, the second communication security module 265 may include one or more processors.

The first communication security module 262 then transmits 270 the unencrypted host command to the host payload 206. The second communication security module 265 transmits 275 the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload 205. Host payload 206 is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command and hosted payload 205 is reconfigured according to the unencrypted hosted command. Host payload antenna 207 then transmits (e.g., in one or more antenna beams 208) the host payload data to host receive antenna 285 on the surface. The hosted payload antenna 280 then transmits (e.g., in one or more antenna beams 281 and/or 208) the hosted payload data to hosted receive antenna 290 and/or host receive antenna 285 on the surface.

Additionally, it should be noted that although in fig. 2, antenna beams 208, 281 are shown as comprising a plurality of circular spot beams; in other embodiments, however, antenna beams 208, 281 may include a greater or lesser number of beams than shown in fig. 2 (e.g., antenna beams 208, 281 may include only a single beam) and

antenna beams

208, 281 may include beams having shapes different than the circular spot beam shape shown in fig. 2 (e.g., antenna beams 208, 281 may include elliptical beams and/or shaped beams of various different shapes).

It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, host payload antenna 207 and hosted payload antenna 280 may include one or more reflector dishes, including but not limited to parabolic reflectors and/or shaped reflectors. In some embodiments, host payload antenna 207 and managed payload antenna 280 may comprise one or more multi-feed antenna arrays.

The host payload 206 transmits 209 the unencrypted host telemetry value (i.e., the unencrypted host TLM, which is telemetry data associated with the payload 206 utilized by the host SOC 250) to the first communication security module 262. The hosted payload 205 transmits 291 to the first communication security module 262 an unencrypted hosted telemetry value (i.e., an unencrypted HoP TLM, which is telemetry data related to the payload 205 utilized by the HOC 260). The first communication security module 262 then encrypts the non-encrypted host telemetry value and the non-encrypted hosted telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate an encrypted telemetry value (i.e., an encrypted TLM) (i.e., an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value).

The first communication security module 262 then transmits 293 the encrypted telemetry value to the telemetry value transmitter 294. The telemetry value transmitter 294 then transmits 295 the encrypted telemetry value to the host SOC 250. Telemetry transmitter 294 transmits 295 the encrypted telemetry using an out-of-band frequency band. The host SOC 250 then decrypts the encrypted telemetry value using the first COMSEC class to generate an unencrypted telemetry value. The host SOC 250 then reads the unencrypted telemetry value using a database that includes host payload inverse transform information and does not include hosted payload inverse transform information (i.e., a database of unmanaged payload inverse transform information) to determine telemetry data related to the portion of the payload 205 utilized by the host SOC 250.

The host SOC 250 then transmits 299 the encrypted telemetry value to the HOC 260. The HOC260 then decrypts the encrypted telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted telemetry value. The HOC260 then reads the unencrypted telemetry value using a database that includes the hosted inverse payload transform information and does not include the host inverse payload transform information (i.e., a database without host inverse payload transform information) to determine telemetry data related to the portion of the payload 205 utilized by the HOC 260.

Fig. 3A, 3B, and 3C together illustrate a flow chart of an disclosed method for managed payload operation, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein both a host telemetry value and a managed telemetry value are encrypted using the first COMSEC category, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. At the start 300 of the method, a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) generates an encrypted hosted command 305 by encrypting a non-encrypted hosted command with a second COMSEC category. The HOC then transmits the encrypted hosted command to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC) 310. The host SOC encrypts the unencrypted host command by utilizing the first COMSEC class to generate an encrypted host command 315. The host SOC then transmits the encrypted host commands and the encrypted hosted commands (out-of-band) to the vehicle 320.

The host command receiver on the vehicle then receives the encrypted host command 325. And, the hosted command receiver on the vehicle receives the encrypted hosted command 330. The host command receiver transmits the encrypted host command to the first communication security module 335. The hosted command receiver transmits the encrypted hosted command to the second communication security module 340. The first communications security module then decrypts the encrypted host command using the first COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted host command 345. The second communications security module then decrypts the encrypted hosted command using the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command 350.

The first communication security module then transmits the unencrypted host command to the host payload 355. The second communication security module then transmits the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload 360. The host payload is then reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command and the managed payload is reconfigured according to the unencrypted managed command 365. The host payload antenna on the vehicle then transmits the host payload data to the host receive antenna, and the hosted payload antenna on the vehicle then transmits the hosted payload data to the hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna 370.

The host payload then transmits the unencrypted host telemetry value to the first communication security module, and the hosted payload transmits the unencrypted hosted telemetry value 375 to the first communication security module. The first communication security module then encrypts the non-encrypted host telemetry value and the non-encrypted hosted telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate encrypted host telemetry value and encrypted hosted telemetry value 380. The first communication security module then transmits the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the telemetry value transmitter 385. The telemetry value transmitter then transmits the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC 390. The host SOC then decrypts the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate unencrypted host telemetry value 395.

The host SOC transmits the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC 396. The HOC then decrypts the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted telemetry value 397. The method then ends 398.

Fig. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an disclosed system for managed payload operation in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a host user (i.e., host SOC) 450 transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and the managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category. In this figure, a vehicle 410, a host SOC 450, and a HOC460 are shown.

During operation, the HOC460 encrypts the non-encrypted hosted command (i.e., non-encrypted HoP CMD) by utilizing the second COMSEC category to produce an encrypted hosted command (i.e., encrypted HoP CMD). The hosted command is a command to configure the hosted payload 405 utilized by the HOC460. The host SOC 450 encrypts the unencrypted host command (i.e., unencrypted host CMD) by utilizing the first COMSEC category to generate the encrypted host command (i.e., encrypted host CMD). The host commands are commands for configuring the host payload 406 utilized by the host SOC 450.

It should be noted that although in fig. 4, host SOC 450 is described as having its terrestrial antenna located in close proximity to its operating building, in other embodiments, the terrestrial antenna of host SOC 450 may be located very far from its operating building (e.g., the terrestrial antenna may be located in another country outside of the operating building).

The HOC460 then transmits 415 the encrypted hosted command to the host SOC 450. After the host SOC 450 receives the encrypted hosted command, the host SOC 450 transmits 420 the encrypted host command and transmits 425 the encrypted hosted command to the vehicle 410. The host SOC 450 utilizes an out-of-band frequency band (i.e., a frequency band different from the frequency band used to transmit the payload data) to transmit 420, 425 the encrypted host commands and the encrypted hosted commands. A host command receiver 435 on the vehicle 410 receives the encrypted host command. In addition, the hosted command receiver 445 on the vehicle 410 receives encrypted hosted commands.

The host command receiver 435 then transmits 452 the encrypted host command to a first communication security module 462. The first communication security module 462 decrypts the encrypted host command using a first COMSEC class (i.e., COMSEC class 1) to generate an unencrypted host command.

It should be noted that the first communication security module 462 may include one or more modules. Further, the first communication security module 462 may include one or more processors.

The escrow command receiver 445 then transmits 455 the encrypted escrow command to the second communication security module 465. The second communication security module 465 decrypts the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category (i.e., COMSEC category 2) to generate an unencrypted hosted command.

It should be noted that the second communication security module 465 may include one or more modules. Further, the second communication security module 465 may include one or more processors.

The first communication security module 462 then transmits 470 the unencrypted host command to the host payload 406. The second communication security module 465 transmits 475 the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload 405. Host payload 406 is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command and hosted payload 405 is reconfigured according to the unencrypted hosted command. Host payload antenna 407 then transmits the host payload data (e.g., in one or more antenna beams 408) to a host receive antenna 485 on the ground. The hosted payload antenna 480 then transmits (e.g., in one or more antenna beams 481 and/or 408) the hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna 490 and/or a host receive antenna 485 on the surface.

Additionally, it should be noted that although in fig. 4, the antenna beams 408, 481 are shown as including a plurality of circular spot beams; in other embodiments, however, antenna beams 408, 481 may include a greater or lesser number of beams than shown in fig. 4 (e.g., antenna beams 408, 481 may include only a single beam) and

antenna beams

408, 481 may include beams having a shape different than the shape of the circular spot beam shown in fig. 4 (e.g., antenna beams 408, 481 may include elliptical beams and/or shaped beams of various different shapes).

It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, host payload antenna 407 and hosted payload antenna 480 may include one or more reflector dishes, including but not limited to parabolic reflectors and/or shaped reflectors. In some embodiments, host payload antenna 407 and managed payload antenna 480 may include one or more multi-feed antenna arrays.

The host payload 406 transmits 491 the unencrypted host telemetry value (i.e., the unencrypted host TLM, which is telemetry data related to the host payload 406 utilized by the host SOC 450) to the first communication security module 462. The first communication security module 462 then encrypts the non-encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate an encrypted host telemetry value (i.e., an encrypted host TLM).

The hosted payload 405 transmits 492 to the second communication security module 465 an unencrypted hosted telemetry value (i.e., an unencrypted HoP TLM, which is telemetry data related to the payload 405 utilized by the HOC 460). The second communication security module 465 then encrypts the unencrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value (i.e., an encrypted HoP TLM).

The first communication security module 462 then transmits 493 the encrypted host telemetry value to the host telemetry value transmitter 494. Host telemetry value transmitter 494 then transmits 495 the encrypted host telemetry value to host SOC 450. Telemetry value transmitter 494 utilizes the out-of-band frequency band to transmit 495 the encrypted host telemetry value. The host SOC 450 then decrypts the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted host telemetry value.

The second communication security module 465 then transmits 496 the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted telemetry value transmitter 498. The hosted telemetry transmitter 498 then transmits 497 the encrypted hosted telemetry to the host SOC 450. The telemetry transmitter 498 transmits 497 the encrypted hosted telemetry using an out-of-band frequency band. Host SOC 450 then transmits 499 the encrypted hosted telemetry value to HOC460. HOC460 then decrypts the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted telemetry value.

Fig. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D together illustrate a flow diagram of an disclosed method for managed payload operation, wherein a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted with a first COMSEC category) and an encrypted managed command (encrypted with a second COMSEC category) to a vehicle, and wherein a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and a managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. At the start 500 of the method, a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) generates an encrypted hosted command 505 by encrypting an unencrypted hosted command with a second COMSEC category. The HOC then transmits the encrypted hosted command to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC) 510. The host SOC encrypts the unencrypted host command by utilizing the first COMSEC class to produce encrypted host command 515. The host SOC then transmits the encrypted host commands and the encrypted hosted commands (out-of-band) to the vehicle 520.

The host command receiver on the vehicle then receives the encrypted host command 525. And, the hosted command receiver on the vehicle receives the encrypted hosted command 530. The host command receiver transmits the encrypted host command to the first communication security module 535. The hosted command receiver transmits the encrypted hosted command to the second communication security module 540. The first communication security module then decrypts the encrypted host command using the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command 545. The second communications security module then decrypts the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate unencrypted hosted command 550.

The first communications security module then transmits the unencrypted host command to the host payload 555. The second communication security module then transmits the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload 560. The host payload is then reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command and the managed payload is reconfigured according to the unencrypted managed command 565. The host payload antenna on the vehicle then transmits the host payload data to the host receive antenna, and the hosted payload antenna on the vehicle then transmits the hosted payload data to the hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna 570.

The host payload then transmits the unencrypted host telemetry value 575 to the first communications security module. The first communications security module then encrypts the non-encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC type to generate an encrypted host telemetry value 580. The first communication security module then transmits the encrypted host telemetry value to the host telemetry value transmitter 585. The host telemetry value transmitter then transmits the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC 590. The host SOC then decrypts the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate unencrypted host telemetry value 591.

The managed payload transmits the unencrypted managed telemetry value 592 to the second communications security module. The second communication security module then encrypts the unencrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate encrypted hosted telemetry value 593. The second communication security module then transmits the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted telemetry value transmitter 594. The hosted telemetry value transmitter then transmits the encrypted hosted telemetry value to host SOC 595. The host SOC then transmits the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC 596. The HOC then decrypts the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate unencrypted hosted telemetry value 597. The method then ends 598.

Fig. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating the disclosed system for managed payload operation, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, where a host user (i.e., host SOC) 650 transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted using a first COMSEC category) to a vehicle and a managed user (i.e., HOC) 660 transmits an encrypted managed command (encrypted using a second COMSEC category) to the vehicle, and where a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and a managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category. In this figure, a vehicle 610, a host SOC650, and a HOC 660 are shown.

During operation, the HOC 660 encrypts the non-encrypted hosted command (i.e., non-encrypted HoP CMD) by utilizing the second COMSEC category to produce an encrypted hosted command (i.e., encrypted HoP CMD). The hosted commands are commands for configuring the hosted payload 605 utilized by the HOC 660. The host SOC650 encrypts the unencrypted host command (i.e., unencrypted host CMD) by utilizing the first COMSEC category to generate an encrypted host command (i.e., encrypted host CMD). The host commands are commands for configuring the host payload 606 utilized by the host SOC 650.

It should be noted that although in fig. 6, the host SOC650 is described as having its terrestrial antenna located in close proximity to its operating building, in other embodiments, the terrestrial antenna of the host SOC650 may be located very far from its operating building (e.g., the terrestrial antenna may be located in another country outside of the operating building).

The host SOC650 transmits 620 the encrypted host command to the vehicle 610. The host SOC650 transmits 620 the encrypted host commands using an out-of-band frequency band (i.e., a frequency band different from the frequency band used to transmit the payload data).

The HOC 660 transmits 625 the encrypted escrow command to the vehicle 610. The HOC 660 utilizes the out-of-band frequency band to transmit 625 the encrypted hosted command.

A host command receiver 635 on the vehicle 610 receives the encrypted host commands. In addition, a hosted command receiver 645 on the vehicle 610 receives encrypted hosted commands.

The host command receiver 635 then transmits 652 the encrypted host command to the first communication security module 662. The first communication security module 662 decrypts the encrypted host command using a first COMSEC class (i.e., COMSEC class 1) to generate a non-encrypted host command.

It should be noted that the first communication security module 662 may include one or more modules. Further, the first communication security module 662 may include one or more processors.

The escrow command receiver 645 then transmits 655 the encrypted escrow command to the second communication security module 665. The second communication security module 665 decrypts the encrypted hosted command with a second COMSEC category (i.e., COMSEC category 2) to generate an unencrypted hosted command.

It should be noted that the second communication security module 665 can include one or more modules. Further, the second communication security module 665 can include one or more processors.

The first communication security module 662 then transmits 670 the unencrypted host command to the host payload 606. The second communication security module 665 transmits 675 the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload 605. Host payload 606 is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command and hosted payload 605 is reconfigured according to the unencrypted hosted command. Host payload antenna 607 then transmits the host payload data (e.g., in one or more antenna beams 608) to host receive antenna 685 on the ground. The hosted payload antenna 680 then transmits (e.g., in one or more antenna beams 681 and/or 608) the hosted payload data to a hosted receive antenna 690 and/or a host receive antenna 685 on the ground.

Additionally, it should be noted that although in fig. 6, the antenna beams 608, 681 are shown as including a plurality of circular spot beams; in other embodiments, however, antenna beams 608, 681 may include a greater or lesser number of beams than shown in fig. 6 (e.g., antenna beams 608, 681 may include only a single beam), and

antenna beams

608, 681 may include beams having shapes different from the shape of the circular spot beams shown in fig. 6 (e.g., antenna beams 608, 681 may include elliptical beams and/or various shaped beams of different shapes).

It should be noted that in one or more embodiments, host payload antenna 607 and hosted payload antenna 680 may include one or more reflector dishes, including but not limited to parabolic reflectors and/or shaped reflectors. In some embodiments, host payload antenna 607 and managed payload antenna 680 may include one or more multi-feed antenna arrays.

The host payload 606 transmits 691 the unencrypted host telemetry value (i.e., unencrypted host TLM, which is telemetry data related to the payload 606 utilized by the host SOC 650) to the first communication security module 662. The first communication security module 662 then encrypts the non-encrypted host telemetry value using the first commc category to generate an encrypted host telemetry value (i.e., an encrypted host TLM).

The hosted payload 605 transmits 692 an unencrypted hosted telemetry value (i.e., an unencrypted HoP TLM, which is telemetry data related to the payload 605 utilized by the HOC 660) to the second communication security module 665. The second communication security module 665 then encrypts the unencrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value (i.e., an encrypted HoP TLM).

The first communications security module 662 then transmits 693 the encrypted host telemetry value to the host telemetry value transmitter 694. The host telemetry value transmitter 694 then transmits 695 the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC 650. Telemetry transmitter 694 uses an out-of-band to transmit 695 encrypted telemetry values of the host. The host SOC650 then decrypts the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate a non-encrypted host telemetry value.

The second communication security module 665 then transmits 696 the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted telemetry value transmitter 698. The hosted telemetry value transmitter 698 then transmits 697 the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC 660. Telemetry value transmitter 698 utilizes an out-of-band frequency band to transmit 697 the encrypted hosted telemetry value. HOC 660 then decrypts the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted telemetry value.

Fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C together illustrate a flow chart of an disclosed method for managed payload operation, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, in which a host user transmits an encrypted host command (encrypted using a first COMSEC category) to a vehicle and an encrypted managed command (encrypted using a second COMSEC category) to the vehicle, and in which a host telemetry value is encrypted using the first COMSEC category and the managed telemetry value is encrypted using the second COMSEC category. At the start 700 of the method, a managed payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) generates an encrypted managed command 705 by encrypting a non-encrypted managed command with a second COMSEC category. The HOC then transmits the encrypted hosted command (out-of-band) to the vehicle 710. A host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC) encrypts the unencrypted host commands by utilizing a first COMSEC category to produce encrypted host commands 715. The host SOC then transmits the encrypted host commands (out-of-band) to the vehicle 720.

The host command receiver on the vehicle then receives the encrypted host command 725. And, the hosted command receiver on the vehicle receives the encrypted hosted command 730. The host command receiver transmits the encrypted host command to the first communication security module 735. The hosted command receiver transmits the encrypted hosted command to the second communication security module 740. The first communications security module then decrypts the encrypted host command using the first COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted host command 745. The second communications security module then decrypts the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command 750.

The first communication security module then transmits the unencrypted host command to the host payload 755. The second communication security module then transmits the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload 760. The host payload is then reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command and the managed payload is reconfigured according to the unencrypted managed command 765. The host payload antenna on the vehicle then transmits the host payload data to the host receive antenna, and the hosted payload antenna on the vehicle then transmits the hosted payload data to the hosted receive antenna and/or the host receive antenna 770.

The host payload then transmits the unencrypted host telemetry value 775 to the first communications security module. The first communications security module then encrypts the unencrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate encrypted host telemetry value 780. The first communications security module then transmits the encrypted host telemetry value to the host telemetry value transmitter 785. The host telemetry value transmitter then transmits the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC 790. The host SOC then decrypts the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted host telemetry value 791.

The managed payload transmits the unencrypted managed telemetry value 792 to the second communications security module. The second communication security module then encrypts the unencrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate encrypted hosted telemetry value 793. The second communication security module then transmits the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted telemetry value transmitter 794. The hosted telemetry value transmitter then transmits the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC 795. The HOC then decrypts the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the second COMSEC category to generate unencrypted hosted telemetry value 796. The method then ends 797.

While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described, it should be understood that the above discussion is not intended to limit the scope of these embodiments. Although embodiments and variations of many aspects of the present disclosure have been disclosed and described herein, such disclosure is provided for purposes of illustration and description only. Accordingly, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

Where the above methods indicate certain events occurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will recognize that the order may be modified and that such modifications are in accordance with the variations of the disclosure. Additionally, some methods may be performed concurrently in a parallel process, or may be performed sequentially, if possible. Further, more or less portions of the methods may be performed.

Further, the present disclosure includes embodiments according to the following clauses:

1. a method for managed payload operations, the method comprising: transmitting, by a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC), the encrypted hosted command to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC); transmitting, by the host SOC, an encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle, wherein the encrypted host command is encrypted with a first communication security category, namely a first COMSEC category, and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted with a second COMSEC category; decrypting, by a first communications security module on the vehicle, the encrypted host command with the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command; decrypting, by a second communications security module on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command with the second COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted hosted command; reconfiguring a host payload on the vehicle in accordance with the unencrypted host command; reconfiguring a hosted payload on the vehicle in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command; transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna; transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna; encrypting, by the first communication security module, an unencrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and an unencrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload by utilizing the first COMSEC class to generate an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value; transmitting, by a telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC; and transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

2. The method of clause 1, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises adjusting at least one of: transponder power, transponder spectrum monitoring, transponder connectivity, transponder gain setting, transponder limiter setting, transponder automatic level control setting, transponder phase setting, internal gain generation, bandwidth of at least one beam, at least one frequency band of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder beamforming setting, effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder channel, or beam steering.

3. The method of clause 1, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises reconfiguring at least one of: at least one antenna, at least one analog-to-digital converter, at least one digital-to-analog converter, at least one beamformer, at least one digital channelizer, at least one demodulator, at least one modulator, at least one digital switching matrix, or at least one digital combiner.

4. The method of clause 1, wherein the vehicle is an air vehicle.

5. The method of clause 4, wherein the air vehicle is one of a satellite, an airplane, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or a space vehicle.

6. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises: encrypting, by the HOC, the non-encrypted hosted command by utilizing the second COMSEC category to produce the encrypted hosted command; and encrypting, by the host SOC, the unencrypted host command by utilizing the first COMSEC category to generate the encrypted host command.

7. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by a host command receiver on the vehicle, the encrypted host command; receiving, by a hosted command receiver on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command; transmitting, by the host command receiver, the encrypted host command to the first communication security module; and transmitting, by the hosted command receiver, the encrypted hosted command to the second communications security module.

8. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, by the first communications security module, the unencrypted host command to the host payload; and transmitting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload.

9. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the host payload, the unencrypted host telemetry value to the first communications security module; and transmitting, by the hosted payload, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value to the first communication security module.

10. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the first communication security module, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the telemetry value transmitter.

11. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises: decrypting, by the host SOC, the encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC class and using a database without hosted inverse transform information to generate the unencrypted host telemetry value; and decrypting, by the HOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value using the first COMSEC category and using a database without host inverse transform information to generate the unencrypted hosted telemetry value.

12. A method for managed payload operations, the method comprising: transmitting, by a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC), the encrypted hosted command to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC); transmitting, by the host SOC, an encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle, wherein the encrypted host command is encrypted with a first communication security class, i.e., a first COMSEC class, and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted with a second COMSEC class; decrypting, by a first communications security module, the encrypted host command with the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command; decrypting, by a second communications security module, the encrypted hosted command with the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command; reconfiguring a host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command; reconfiguring a managed payload in accordance with the unencrypted managed command; transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna; transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna; encrypting, by the first communications security module, a non-encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC species to generate an encrypted host telemetry value; transmitting, by a host telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC; encrypting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value with the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value; transmitting, by a hosted telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC; and transmitting, by the host SOC, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

13. The method of clause 12, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises adjusting at least one of: transponder power, transponder spectrum monitoring, transponder connectivity, transponder gain setting, transponder limiter setting, transponder automatic level control setting, transponder phase setting, internal gain generation, bandwidth of at least one beam, at least one frequency band of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder beamforming setting, effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder channel, or beam steering.

14. The method of clause 12, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises reconfiguring at least one of: at least one antenna, at least one analog-to-digital converter, at least one digital-to-analog converter, at least one beamformer, at least one digital channelizer, at least one demodulator, at least one modulator, at least one digital switching matrix, or at least one digital combiner.

15. The method of clause 12, wherein the vehicle is an air vehicle.

16. The method of clause 15, wherein the air vehicle is one of a satellite, an airplane, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or a space vehicle.

17. A method for managed payload operations, the method comprising: transmitting, by a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC), the encrypted hosted command to the vehicle; transmitting, by a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC), an encrypted host command to the vehicle, wherein the encrypted host command is encrypted with a first communication security class, i.e., a first COMSEC class, and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted with a second COMSEC class; decrypting, by a first communication security module on the vehicle, the encrypted host command with the first communication security class to generate an unencrypted host command; decrypting, by a second communications security module on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command with the second COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted hosted command; reconfiguring a host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command; reconfiguring a managed payload in accordance with the unencrypted managed command; transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna; transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna; encrypting, by the first communications security module, a non-encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC species to generate an encrypted host telemetry value; transmitting, by a host telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC; encrypting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value with the second COMSEC category to generate an encrypted hosted telemetry value; and transmitting, by the hosted telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

18. The method of clause 17, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises adjusting at least one of: transponder power, transponder spectrum monitoring, transponder connectivity, transponder gain setting, transponder limiter setting, transponder automatic level control setting, transponder phase setting, internal gain generation, bandwidth of at least one beam, at least one frequency band of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder beamforming setting, effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder channel, or beam steering.

19. The method of clause 17, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises reconfiguring at least one of: at least one antenna, at least one analog-to-digital converter, at least one digital-to-analog converter, at least one beamformer, at least one digital channelizer, at least one demodulator, at least one modulator, at least one digital switching matrix, or at least one digital combiner.

20. The method of clause 17, wherein the vehicle is an air vehicle, and

wherein the air vehicle is one of a satellite, an aircraft, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or a space vehicle.

21. A system for managed payload operations, the system comprising: a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) to transmit encrypted hosted commands to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC); the host SOC to transmit an encrypted host command and an encrypted hosted command to a vehicle, wherein the encrypted host command is encrypted with a first communication security class, i.e., a first COMSEC class, and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted with a second COMSEC class; a first communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted host command with the first COMSEC species to generate an unencrypted host command; a second communications security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command; a host payload on the vehicle, the host payload being reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command; a hosted payload on the vehicle that is reconfigured in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command; a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna; a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna; the first communication security module to encrypt an unencrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and the unencrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload by utilizing the first COMSEC category to generate an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value; a telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC; and the host SOC to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

22. A system for managed payload operations, the system comprising: a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) to transmit encrypted hosted commands to a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC); the host SOC to transmit an encrypted host command and an encrypted hosted command to a vehicle, wherein the encrypted host command is encrypted with a first communication security class, i.e., a first COMSEC class, and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted with a second COMSEC class; a first communication security module to decrypt the encrypted host command with the first COMSEC class to generate an unencrypted host command; a second communication security module to decrypt the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate the unencrypted hosted command; a host payload that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command; a hosted payload that is reconfigured in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command; a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna; a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna; the first communication security module is configured to encrypt a non-encrypted host telemetry value using the first COMSEC type to generate an encrypted host telemetry value; a host telemetry value transmitter for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC; the second communication security module to encrypt non-encrypted hosted telemetry values with the second COMSEC category to generate encrypted hosted telemetry values; a hosted telemetry value transmitter to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host SOC; and the host SOC to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

23. A system for managed payload operations, the system comprising: a hosted payload (HoP) operations center (HOC) to transmit encrypted hosted commands to a vehicle; a host Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC) to transmit encrypted host commands to the vehicle, wherein the encrypted host commands are encrypted with a first communication security category, namely a first COMSEC category, and the encrypted hosted commands are encrypted with a second COMSEC category; a first communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted host command utilizing the first communication security class to generate an unencrypted host command; a second communications security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted hosted command utilizing the second COMSEC category to generate an unencrypted hosted command; a host payload that is reconfigured according to the unencrypted host command; a hosted payload that is reconfigured in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command; a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna; a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna; the first communication security module to encrypt a non-encrypted host telemetry value with the first COMSEC category to generate an encrypted host telemetry value; a host telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value to the host SOC; the second communication security module to encrypt non-encrypted hosted telemetry values with the second COMSEC category to generate encrypted hosted telemetry values; and the hosted telemetry value transmitter to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the HOC.

Accordingly, the embodiments are intended to be illustrative of alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may fall within the scope of the claims.

While certain illustrative embodiments and methods have been disclosed herein, it will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of these embodiments and methods may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the art disclosed. There are many other examples in the field of disclosure, each differing from the others in only detail. Accordingly, it is intended that the disclosed technology be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the rules and principles of applicable law.

Claims

1. A method for managed payload operations, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a hosted payload operations center, the encrypted hosted command to a vehicle, wherein the transmitting occurs by at least one of a) from the hosted payload operations center to the vehicle or, b) from the hosted payload operations center to a host spacecraft operations center and then to the vehicle;

transmitting, by the host spacecraft operations center, the encrypted host commands and the encrypted hosted commands to a vehicle,

wherein the encrypted host command is encrypted using a first communication security category and the encrypted hosted command is encrypted using a second communication security category;

decrypting, by a first communication security module on the vehicle, the encrypted host command with the first communication security class to generate an unencrypted host command;

decrypting, by a second communication security module on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command with the second communication security class to generate an unencrypted hosted command;

reconfiguring a host payload on the vehicle in accordance with the unencrypted host command;

reconfiguring a hosted payload on the vehicle in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command;

transmitting, by a host payload antenna on the vehicle, host payload data to a host receive antenna;

transmitting, by a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle, hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna;

encrypting an unencrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and an unencrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload to generate an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value;

transmitting, by a telemetry transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host spacecraft operations center and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted payload operations center.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein encrypting the unencrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and the unencrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload comprises one of: a) Encrypting the host telemetry value and the hosted telemetry value by utilizing the first communication security class; b) Encrypt the host telemetry value with the first communication security class and encrypt the hosted telemetry value with the second communication security class.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission by a telemetry transmitter comprises one of:

a) Transmitting, by an on-board telemetry transmitter, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host-spacecraft operations center, and then transmitting, by the host-spacecraft operations center, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted payload operations center, or

b) Transmitting, by a host telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host spacecraft operations center, and transmitting, by a hosted telemetry value transmitter, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted payload operations center.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises adjusting at least one of: transponder power, transponder spectrum monitoring, transponder connectivity, transponder gain setting, transponder limiter setting, transponder automatic level control setting, transponder phase setting, internal gain generation, bandwidth of at least one beam, at least one frequency band of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder beamforming setting, effective isotropic radiated power of at least one of the at least one beam, transponder channel, or beam steering.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein reconfiguring the host payload in accordance with the unencrypted host command and reconfiguring the hosted payload in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command comprises reconfiguring at least one of: at least one antenna, at least one analog-to-digital converter, at least one digital-to-analog converter, at least one beamformer, at least one digital channelizer, at least one demodulator, at least one modulator, at least one digital switching matrix, or at least one digital combiner.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an air vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the air vehicle is one of a satellite, an airplane, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a space plane.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

encrypting, by the managed payload operations center, the unencrypted managed command by utilizing the second communication security category to produce the encrypted managed command; and

encrypting, by the host spacecraft operations center, the unencrypted host command by utilizing the first communication security category to produce the encrypted host command.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by a host command receiver on the vehicle, the encrypted host command;

receiving, by a hosted command receiver on the vehicle, the encrypted hosted command;

transmitting, by the host command receiver, the encrypted host command to the first communication security module; and

transmitting, by the hosted command receiver, the encrypted hosted command to the second communication security module.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by the first communications security module, the unencrypted host command to the host payload; and

transmitting, by the second communication security module, the unencrypted hosted command to the hosted payload.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the host payload, the unencrypted host telemetry value to the first communication security module; and

transmitting, by the hosted payload, the unencrypted hosted telemetry value to at least one of: a) The first communication security module or b) the second communication security module.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises one of: a) Transmitting, by the first communication security module, the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the telemetry value transmitter, or b) transmitting, by the first communication security module, the encrypted host telemetry value to the host telemetry value transmitter and transmitting, by the second communication security module, the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted telemetry value transmitter.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the method further comprises:

decrypting, by the host spacecraft operations center, the encrypted host telemetry value using the first communication security class to generate the unencrypted host telemetry value; and

decrypting, by the managed payload operations center, the encrypted managed telemetry value using one of a) the first communication security class or b) the second communication security class to generate the unencrypted managed telemetry value.

14. A system for managed payload operations, the system comprising:

a hosted payload operations center for transmitting encrypted hosted commands to at least one of a) a vehicle or b) a host spacecraft operations center;

the host spacecraft operations center for one of: a) Transmitting an encrypted host command to the vehicle or b) transmitting an encrypted host command and the encrypted hosted command to the vehicle,

a first communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted host command with the first communication security class to generate an unencrypted host command, wherein a host payload on the vehicle is reconfigured in accordance with the unencrypted host command;

a second communication security module on the vehicle to decrypt the encrypted hosted command with the second communication security class to generate an unencrypted hosted command, wherein a hosted payload on the vehicle is reconfigured in accordance with the unencrypted hosted command;

a host payload antenna on the vehicle for transmitting host payload data to a host receive antenna;

a hosted payload antenna on the vehicle that transmits hosted payload data to at least one of a hosted receive antenna or the host receive antenna;

the first communication security module to one of: a) Encrypt a non-encrypted host telemetry value from the host payload and the non-encrypted hosted telemetry value from the hosted payload by utilizing the first communication security class to generate an encrypted host telemetry value and an encrypted hosted telemetry value or b) encrypt a non-encrypted host telemetry value from the host payload by utilizing the first communication security class to generate an encrypted host telemetry value;

a telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle to transmit the encrypted host telemetry value to the host spacecraft operations center and to transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted payload operations center.

15. The system for managed payload operation of claim 14, wherein the telemetry value transmitter comprises one of:

a) A telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle to transmit the encrypted host telemetry value and the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the host-spacecraft operations center, and then transmit the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted payload operations center, or

b) A host telemetry value transmitter on the vehicle for transmitting the encrypted host telemetry value to the host spacecraft operations center, and a hosted telemetry value transmitter for transmitting the encrypted hosted telemetry value to the hosted payload operations center.