Design restrictions and licensing for Petite Amateur Navy Satellite (PANSAT)

Abstract

The small, inexpensive Petite Amateur Navy SATellite (PANSAT) is the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Space Systems Academic Group's first experience with real-time space operations. Propelled by the success of PANSAT, NPS will follow this project with more complex space systems such as ORION. This thesis discusses the general and specific design considerations and constraints encountered during the design of PANSAT, along with providing descriptions of the satellite's various subsystems. The study also addresses the problems and procedures associated with obtaining a license frequency assignment for PANSAT. Three viable licensing options, an amateur, a military and an experimental option are presented. The thesis also includes a detailed description of the national and international frequency regulatory agencies, for better understanding of the licensing procedures.