Space hardware to test new ways for space communication has been invented by a team of scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, says a recent report. It has been found that SCaN Testbed built by the team would be helpful for advancing Software Defined Radio Technology.

According to the findings of the report, it took more than three years for the team to build the SCaN or Space Communications and Navigation Testbed. It is being said the Testbed would be an orbiting laboratory for development of the SDR technology, advancing its three different aspects, including communications, networking and navigation.

It has been found that the SCaN Testbed has been designed with three radio devices with different capabilities and functions, which would help to improve three techniques of the SDR. The first two radio devices have been manufactured under agreement of General Dynamics, West Falls Church, Va., and Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., whilst the third device has been developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena.

"Public researchers such as students and professors or industry will have the opportunity to write software to test on the devices, which makes this testbed unique", avowed a JPL scientist and SCaN Testbed co-principal investigator, Jim Lux.

The team has told that the testbed has also been provided with a five-antenna system on its exterior, which would be helpful in communicating with NASA's orbiting communications relay satellites and ground stations. Also, these would be further helping in a series of experiments over the next five years.

It is being said that the SCaN testbed would be launched this year in its later months and would be then delivered to the International Space Station where new communication ways for space travelers would be examined.