CASSIOPE (CASCADE, SmallSat and Ionospheric Polar Explorer) is a Canadian SmallSat mission that supports two distinct payloads, a suite of eight space science instruments which are referred to as e-POP (Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe) and an experimental technology demonstration payload, entitled CASCADE CX, which is the focus of this paper. The experimental payload will be used to demonstrate key aspects of implementing a space-based high volume data transfer. The design has been specifically optimized to enable very large and timely data file transfers. The CASCADE CX payload has been commissioned and several demonstration experiments have occurred which have validated key enabling technologies and demonstrated the end-to-end transfers of very large data files. The results of these experiments have shown that a scaled up version of the CASCADE CX experimental payload could be built to support a composite 2.4 Gbps data transmission rate enabling the pickup/delivery of data at a rate in excess of 15 Gigabytes per minute of satellite access at a BER no worse than 1x10-17
