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Aerospace Engineering Commons

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Systems and Communications

Spacecraft Communications

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Aerospace Engineering

A Software Defined Radio Communications System For A Small Spacecraft, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh Apr 2015

A Software Defined Radio Communications System For A Small Spacecraft, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software defined radios (SDRs) are poised to significantly enhance the future of small spacecraft communications. They allow signal processing to be performed on a computer by software rather than requiring dedicated hardware. The OpenOrbiter SDR (discussed in [1] and refined in [2]) takes data from the flight computer and converts it into an analog signal that is transmitted via the spacecraft antenna. Because the signal processing is done in software, the radio can be easily reconfigured. This process is done in reverse for incoming transmissions, which are received by the SDR and decoded by software. Figures 1 and 2 provide …


Small Satellite Communication System Creation At The University Of North Dakota, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh Apr 2015

Small Satellite Communication System Creation At The University Of North Dakota, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software defined radios (SDRs) are poised to significantly enhance the future of small spacecraft communications. They allow signal processing to be performed on a computer by software rather than requiring dedicated hardware. The OpenOrbiter SDR (discussed in [1] and refined in [2]) takes data from the flight computer and converts it into an analog signal that is transmitted via the spacecraft antenna. Because the signal processing is done in software, the radio can be easily reconfigured. This process is done in reverse for incoming transmissions, which are received by the SDR and decoded by software. Figures 1 and 2 provide …


A Low-Cost Radio For An Open Cubesat, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh Mar 2015

A Low-Cost Radio For An Open Cubesat, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

The OpenOrbiter small spacecraft development program aims to develop a template that can be used by colleges and universities world-wide to ‘jumpstart’ their own CubeSat development program. It is doing this through the development of designs (and implementations to test the designs functionality) of all basic CubeSat subsystems. A CubeSat can prospectively perform elements of a mission that would otherwise have required the development and deployment of a multi-million dollar satellite, thus, interest in CubeSats in industry and government is strong as well. The Open Prototype for Educational Nanosats (OPEN) design being produced by the OpenOrbiter program may, thus, be …


Advancement Of The Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For The Open Orbiter Project, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian, Ronald Marsh Apr 2014

Advancement Of The Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For The Open Orbiter Project, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are an exciting development in radio technology. The SDR uses software to perform many of the tasks that only hardware could previously complete on a traditional analog radio. Such tasks include encoding/decoding or applying filters to reduce noise on the signal. This powerful fusion of software and hardware have allowed SDR to be smaller in size and have a greater functionality than traditional radio setups; a perfect solution for our Open Orbiter satellite. Currently, the implementation we use consists of a simple $20 USB TV decoder for receiving, a Raspberry Pi micro-computer for transmission, and the …


Openorbiter Ground Station Software, Alexander Lewis, Jacob Huhn, Jeremy Straub, Travis Desell, Scott Kerlin Mar 2014

Openorbiter Ground Station Software, Alexander Lewis, Jacob Huhn, Jeremy Straub, Travis Desell, Scott Kerlin

Jeremy Straub

The OpenOrbiter Small Spacecraft Development Initiative[1] at the University of North Dakota is working to design and build a low cost[2] and open-hardware / opensource software CubeSat[3]. The Ground Station is the user interface for operators of the satellite. The ground station software must manage spacecraft communications, track its orbital location , manage task assignment, provide security and retrieve the data from the spacecraft. This will be presented via a graphical user interface that allows a user to easily perform these tasks.


Evolution Of The Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For The Open Orbiter Project, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian Mar 2014

Evolution Of The Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For The Open Orbiter Project, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian

Jeremy Straub

Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are an exciting development in radio technology. The SDR uses software to perform many of the tasks that only hardware could previously complete on a traditional analog radio. Such tasks include encoding/decoding or applying filters to reduce noise on the signal. This powerful fusion of software and hardware have allowed SDR to be smaller in size and have a greater functionality than traditional radio setups; a perfect solution for our Open Orbiter satellite. Currently, the implementation we use consists of a simple $20 USB TV decoder for receiving, a Raspberry Pi micro-computer for transmission, and the …


Openorbiter Ground Station Software, Alexander Lewis, Jacob Huhn, Jeremy Straub, Travis Desell, Scott Kerlin Dec 2013

Openorbiter Ground Station Software, Alexander Lewis, Jacob Huhn, Jeremy Straub, Travis Desell, Scott Kerlin

Jeremy Straub

OpenOrbiter is a student project at the University of North Dakota to design and build a low cost1 and open-hardware / open-source software CubeSat2. The Ground Station is the user interface for operators of the satellite. The ground station software must manage spacecraft communications, track its orbital location , manage task assignment, provide security and retrieve the data from the spacecraft. This will be presented via a graphical user interface that allows a user to easily perform these tasks.


Work On A Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For A Cubesat-Class Spacecraft, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian Dec 2013

Work On A Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For A Cubesat-Class Spacecraft, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian

Jeremy Straub

A Software Defined Radio (SDR) will be used for OpenOrbit-er satellite to ground communications. The use of SDR al-lows for a smaller, more versatile radio then what a stand-ard hardware radio can provide; perfect for the unpredicta-ble environment Open Orbiter will be exposed to. Current implementation uses a simple $20 USB TV decoder for the receiver and the open-source program GNU Radio for soft-ware decoding. Broadband FM transmissions have been re-ceived and decoded successfully and on-going experimen-tation for receiving satellite communications are yielding promising results.