IGF::OT::IGF THE COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY, DEVELOP, AND INFUSE COGNITIVE RADIO, NETWORKING, AND SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES WITH THE SPACE AND GROUND NETWORKS OF THE NASA SPACE COMMUNICATION AND NAVIGATION (SCAN) PROGRAM. THE PROJECT IS SEEKING INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND AN ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT STATE OF PRACTICE TO IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE COGNITIVE COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY CAN BENEFIT NASA BY ENHANCING SCAN NETWORK PERFORMANCE AND/OR UTILIZATION, OR REDUCING COST. THE COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT HAS ADOPTED THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS UNION (ITU) DEFINITION OF A COGNITIVE RADIO SYSTEM (CRS) FROM ITS ITU-R SM.2152 REPORT RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER 2009. IN THIS CASE, THE KEY ASPECT DISTINGUISHING A CRS FROM AN ADAPTIVE RADIO SYSTEM IS THE ABILITY TO LEARN. THIS MAY TAKE MANY FORMS; LEARNING MAY OCCUR ENTIRELY IN SOFTWARE, OR THERE MAY BE ASPECTS OF EVOLVABLE HARDWARE INVOLVED SUCH AS ADAPTIVE RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) FRONT ENDS OR PARTIAL RECONFIGURATION OF FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAYS (FPGAS). IN SOME LITERATURE, A CRS MAY BE CONSIDERED AN INTELLIGENT SYSTEM. THIS REQUIREMENT REQUESTS A STUDY FROM THE PROPOSER REGARDING THE WAYS THAT COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNIQUES CURRENTLY ARE BEING USED FOR GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AND UP-AND-COMING TECHNIQUES THAT WILL DEFINE COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIONS IN THE FUTURE. HOW CAN NASA BENEFIT FROM THESE ADVANCES, AND HOW HAVE OTHERS ALREADY BENEFITTED? WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THESE COGNITIVE APPLICATIONS? THE STUDY CAN INCLUDE WELL-KNOWN APPLICATIONS SUCH AS DYNAMIC SPECTRUM ACCESS (DSA), HOWEVER IT IS PREFERRED TO ALSO COVER NOVEL APPROACHES.