A technology with roots in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is benefiting from an ongoing technology transfer relationship with NASA's Glenn Research Center—and leading to faster on-the-ground communications support for disaster relief efforts and military operations. From Hurricane Katrina to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the inflatable antenna from GATR Technologies can provide emergency internet access, cell coverage, and phone lines over satellite networks via a compact package that can be deployed in less than an hour. From a technology concept rooted in a 1998 SBIR contract, the deployable antenna was the result of a license agreement between GATR and the SBIR contract holder, and refinements, characterization, and testing of the technology were made possible by a 2006 Space Act Agreement (SAA), enabling GATR to take advantage of Glenn's expertise and facilities. This resulted in the first-ever Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-certified inflatable antenna—enabling the company to deploy its "beach ball" technology to provide critical support to first responders from Mississippi to Afghanistan.
In 1998 Glenn awarded an SBIR contract to SRS Technologies to address large aperture deployable reflectors for space power and communications applications. However, NASA's Communication Infrastructure and Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Programs had a need for inflatable antenna technology—and researchers quickly realized that the base technology under the SBIR contracts could serve as groundwork that would transition to inflatable antenna development. NASA sought to address the large mass and volume penalty that conventional large aperture antennas place on launch missions while meeting space communications requirements. Thus, a new direction and more than $1 million in additional SBIR Phase 3 funding enabled these plans to move forward to develop rigidized thin film and inflatable antennas, and increase their technology readiness level (TRL). The result was the Large Inflatable Thin Film Antenna with Rigidized Support Structure, which combines thin film antenna technology, large lightweight rigidized space structures, and RF technology. This work also verified that the technology could address NASA requirements for large aperture antennas for potential inclusion in future missions.
Innovators working on inflatable antenna technology realized the groundwork they had achieved could also be applied to first-response communications applications. In 2004, startup GATR Technologies was formed, and joined forces with SRS Technologies to investigate further development for ground-based applications. Their efforts resulted in the "Ground-Based Inflatable Antenna," which was exclusively licensed to GATR in 2006. The company worked to refine the technology development and find suitable markets for it, with its sights on FCC certification—which would make the antenna (dubbed the "Beach Ball" by GATR due to the antenna's appearance) the first-ever FCC-certified product of its kind. With this goal in mind, GATR partnered with Glenn in 2006 with the first of two SAAs, enabling the company to further leverage NASA's SCaN project and conduct in-depth testing of the antenna using Glenn's facilities and expertise. The SAA enabled characterization of GATR's 2.4-meter inflatable antenna and fine-tuning of the antenna surface through surface metrology. This testing resulted in GATR's goal of FCC certification and also enabled a technology maturity level that makes the Beach Ball ready for application to many communication projects with the military and other government organizations.
Prototypes of the ground-based antenna were used by GATR to assist with communications needs in Biloxi, Mississippi, following Hurricane Katrina. The Beach Ball also helped support FEMA's efforts during Hurricane Ike. GATR's antenna also has been used to help law enforcement with missing person rescue missions, and has provided communications support to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force. Outside the U.S., the antenna has been deployed in Afghanistan, South Africa, South America, Haiti, and Korea. And back at NASA, GATR's antenna is among other large aperture antennas being considered by the next-generation NASA communication architecture. Other future NASA missions that may utilize the antenna include a possible lunar ground station.
Most recently, the company has deployed a system at a UN search and rescue site in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in response to the earthquake there, and a second unit at a special operations unit at the Port-au-Prince airfield. Two additional units have been deployed at a makeshift hospital in the Dominican Republic. The antennas are providing internet access to first responders and doctors through a coordinated effort with Cisco Systems and satellite provider Intelsat General. The technology also is supporting search and rescue efforts by enabling personnel to use text, chat, and Google Maps to pinpoint homes and other locations where missing people were known to live or work. GATR was able to provide very swift communications assistance to Haiti because the inflatable antenna could be flown in two boxes on a private jet and quickly set up in about an hour, as opposed to other antennas that require longer setup time and significantly more cargo space.
