Analysis of a dual CubeSat communication system for a formation-flying experiment

Antonio C. R. do Nascimento Jr.; Gabriel Teodoro; Jefferson Mika; Mateus M. B. Costa; Gary B. Hughes

doi:10.1117/12.2320716

18 September 2018 Analysis of a dual CubeSat communication system for a formation-flying experiment

Antonio C. R. do Nascimento Jr., Gabriel Teodoro, Jefferson Mika, Mateus M. B. Costa, Gary B. Hughes

Proceedings Volume 10769, CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing II; 107690V (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2320716
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2018, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

In a dual CubeSat system, to send data from the main satellite to the secondary one, and from the main satellite to earth or contrariwise, the transceivers must be chosen in order to achieve high transmission speeds and an optimal balance between efficiency and cost. A proposed experiment goes as follows: the primary satellite uses a spectrometer to gather data from the thermal infrared signal emitted by the target while hit by a laser beam originated from the main satellite; the data is then kept on hold in the main satellite until the next transmission window to the ground station opens and is later stored in-site and prepared for study and research. The proposed spacecraft to ground communication is based on the use of a low-cost UHF/VHF transceiver in the main satellite, used widely in CubeSat communication systems, and a hybrid antenna in the ground station facility and in the CubeSat as well, that is compatible with both frequencies and thus able to receive information sent from the main satellite. The main satellite must also have a receiver to be capable of commands to, and receiving telemetry data from the secondary satellite, which will send this information through the ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4 RF) standard. This paper compares different transceivers for both satellites and ground station in order to guarantee the fastest and cheapest data transmission for the mission, and also calculates the data volume that will be sent during the entire mission in order to determine which communication equipment will maximize this mission's efficiency.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Antonio C. R. do Nascimento Jr., Gabriel Teodoro, Jefferson Mika, Mateus M. B. Costa, and Gary B. Hughes "Analysis of a dual CubeSat communication system for a formation-flying experiment", Proc. SPIE 10769, CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing II, 107690V (18 September 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2320716

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