Optical communication payload for an experimental microsatellite in low Earth orbit

Javier Mendieta; Enrique Pacheco; Arturo Arvizu; Ramon Muraoka

doi:10.1117/12.430781

20 June 2001 Optical communication payload for an experimental microsatellite in low Earth orbit

Javier Mendieta, Enrique Pacheco, Arturo Arvizu, Ramon Muraoka

Proceedings Volume 4272, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies XIII; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.430781
Event: Photonics West 2001 - LASE, 2001, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The SATEX I project, is a Mexican effort with the purpose of design, construct and operate an experimental microsatellite in low-earth orbit, in a university and multi-institutional environment. The scientific mission is focused on electronic telecommunications research with a Ka band experiment and the optical payload; also, a CCD camera is included for remote image acquisition. The SATEX Optical Payload (SOP) is an experimental system aimed to perform BER and attenuation measurements. The SOP consists in a laser transmitter in the 830 nm and a quad-photo receiver in the 530 nm. The experiment is divided in two features: the downlink where the measurements will be performed and the uplink that will be used to perform the pointing of the experiment. The SOP has a control system to establish and keep a link by opto-electro-mechanical means, which tracks and acquires the optical beacon. This beacon is a non-modulated light source generated by the earth station. When the satellite receives it, it is then used to acknowledge the location of the earth station; therefore, the modulated laser beam can be transmitted to Earth. The technical looks of design of all the subsystems and the prototype obtained are presented and the link calculation is discussed.

Citation Download Citation

Javier Mendieta, Enrique Pacheco, Arturo Arvizu, and Ramon Muraoka "Optical communication payload for an experimental microsatellite in low Earth orbit", Proc. SPIE 4272, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies XIII, (20 June 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.430781

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available