Search

Summary: This paper presents the feasibility of performing multiple spacecraft per aperture (MSPA) ground operations by using a low‐cost software‐defined baseband (SDB). The SDB is a Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS)‐compliant baseband that employs a personal computer for signal processing and a low‐cost commercial‐off‐the‐shelf RF front end for RF signal sampling. The SDB is customized to offer traditional telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) services for near‐Earth missions operating in S band. The study starts by reviewing MSPA methods already studied by space agencies such as NASA and ESA before going to MSPA methods proposed in the latest CCSDS blue book on RF and modulation systems. The feasibility of operating the CCSDS‐proposed multiple uplink carrier MSPA method using the SDB is assessed after evaluating in‐band interference and out‐of‐band emissions from the uplink signals radiated by the low‐cost RF front end employed by the SDB. Furthermore, we present a case study where the SDB is used in MSPA operations on a typical solid‐state amplifier (SSPA) amplifier typically used in near‐Earth missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents the validation of a software‐defined baseband (SDB) system for satellite telemetry and telecommand (TM/TC). The baseband system was developed using the open‐source GNU Radio development kit. It runs on a personal computer connected to a commercial‐off‐the‐shelf (CoTS) RF frontend. The validation process was performed by the use of a mission‐qualified satellite emulator, a state‐of‐the‐art baseband unit, and orbiting satellites. The baseband is designed to offer multimission support. Hence, it includes a suite of modulation schemes, line codes, matched filters, and Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) forward error correction codes (convolutional, Reed–Solomon, concatenated, and low‐density parity‐check [LDPC]) typically employed in TM/TC missions. The figures of merit used for the validation of the TM receiver are bit error rate (BER) and frame error rate (FER). For the TC transmitter, the validated features are modulation index, power spectrum, and the physical layer operations procedures (PLOP). Graphical Abstract We present the validation of a software‐defined baseband system for satellite ground operations. Based on low‐cost software‐defined radios, the baseband show minimal performance degradation in a laboratory environement. Infield tests shows that the baseband is capable of supporting ground operations for orbiting satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Communication systems are adopting all‐software architectures, because of their scalability, extensibility, flexibility, and cost‐effectiveness. This paper introduces a concurrent approach to the development and verification of baseband systems for satellite ground operations based on the behaviour‐driven development methodology. The open‐source GNU Radio development kit is used for developing the software‐defined radio baseband signal processing, as well as simulating the satellite and realistic channel impairments. The system performance at the end shows deviations of less than 1 dB with respect to the ideal performance and the Green Book standards specified by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]