DESIGN, BUILD AND TEST OF A LOW-COST, HIGH-BANDWIDTH X-BAND SOFTWARE-DEFINED RADIO FOR CUBESATS
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Authors
West, Logan T.
Subjects
software-defined radio
SDR
X-band
CubeSat
Cube Satellite
commercial off-the-shelf
COTS
SDR
X-band
CubeSat
Cube Satellite
commercial off-the-shelf
COTS
Advisors
Newman, James H.
Lan, Wenschel D.
Date of Issue
2020-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The objective of this research was to design, build, and test the next iteration of a low-cost, high-bandwidth X-band software-defined radio (SDR). The flight version of this iteration of the payload will be integrated into a commercially provided 6U bus to transmit and receive data, commands, and telemetry between the satellite and the MC3 network. The spacecraft reference design included two other payloads and used the Astro Digital Corvus-6 bus as the baseline for defining payload-bus-ground interfaces. This project utilized MATLAB Simulink to program the SDR. The SDR will primarily operate in the store-and-forward mode for transmissions when in line-of-sight of a ground station. The up/down convert board was designed, and manufacturing options were explored. Additionally, this project finalized the mechanical enclosure and bus interfaces. The payload aimed to maintain a 0.5U CubeSat form-factor and achieve a data rate of up to 10 Mbps with 1e-5 bit error rate. Following design and construction, the hardware and software components were subjected to functional end-to-end testing to evaluate performance. Further flight qualification will subject the payload to environmental testing to ensure survivability through launch and the expected low-Earth orbit environment.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. distribution is unlimited
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.