Iris (transponder)


The Iris transponder is a small, low power deep-space transponder designed by JPL for use in cubesats. It unifies a number of communication functions - receiver, command detector, telemetry modulator, exciters, and control functions - into one 1.2-kg package that occupies about 0.5 U. IRIS is designed to handle X band uplink, UHF receive, and both X band and optional Ka band downlink. It is only one third the mass, and lower power, compared to the smallest previous solution, the small deep space transponder.

Functions

The capabilities of Iris include: