Overview of this presentation:

• Introduction to the BLUEsat Project

• What are the objectives of this thesis project

• Overview of testing and integration of the Radio Systems on this Microsatelltite

• Scope and Progress Report to date

Followed by questions from the audience…

BLUEsat Project

Basic Low Earth Orbit UNSW Experimental Satellite

• Based on the AMSAT-NA microsatellite design• Mass: Less than 15 Kg

• Size: 240 x 240 x 240mm (min)

BLUEsat Structure

• Body mounted solar panels

• Modular stack tray design

• Spring loaded deployment mechanism

• Passive magnetic stabilization

BLUEsat Subsystems

Flight Computer

Communications Systems

Imaging system

Lexan Experiment

Power Management

GPS

Problems with Student Engineering Projects

• Volunteer based Organisation

• Limited Resources

• Lack of interfacing between sub-projects

• Lack of Experience

Particular Engineering Challenges with BLUEsat – our customer

• Complex Space Systems Engineering

• Lack of Knowledge and Experience

• Limited Resources

• Expensive operation

• Lack of Experience

• Thesis Objectives:– Review of Requirements and

Specifications of the Radio System– To test the functionality of the radio

system and its components.– To integrate the system onto the microsatellite.– To gain deeper knowledge of the

satellite development and operation in

space.

Systems Engineering Approach

Requirements• To:

– Communicate to Groundstations– Transmit and Receive at 9600 bits per second– Transmit and Receive on Amateur Radio

Bands– Comply with ITU and ACA Regulations– Fully operate under space conditions

Specification• Receiver receives at the frequency of

435Hz

• Transmitter transmits at the frequency of 145Hz

• The input DC voltage is between 9.1 to 13.6 volts.

• The impedance of the antenna is 50 ohms.

Testing Plan• Functionality

– Basic On/Off Test

• Boundary Conditions– Physical limit of each component

• Environmental– Temperature– EMI– Radiation

RX145 MHz

TX435 MHz

TX145 MHz

RX435 MHz

Thesis Scope

Earth Equipment and Testing units

BLUEsat Interfaces

BLUEsat Power System

Antenna System

Antenna System

Antenna System

Antenna System

RF 435 MHz OutRF 145 MHz In

Audio Out

2V P-P

Audio In 2V P-P

Unregulated battery voltage 13.6V -> flat battery ~ 10V

Variable Controllable Voltage 13.6V – 9.1V

FM 145MHz

any polarisation

FM 435 MHz

RHCP polarisation

Functionality

• Testing basic operation of

each component.

• Testing the basic functionality to see if it meets the spec values

• Pass or Fail criteria

• ESD free environment

Boundary condition

• Power– DC input power– RF performance

• Frequency– Frequency drift

effected by the

temperature– Doppler shift

Environmental tests

• Temperature• EMI• Radiation

Electrical systems:

• Radios from Hamtronics

• Modem chip onboard FC

• EDAC chip onboard FC

• SRAM (32MB)

• Batteries selected

• Solar Modules well into development

•Hybrid design based around SA1100 CPU (Digital)

• Telemetry collected via I2C

• Pacsat server software running under a Linux based OS

We would like to thank all our generous sponsorsand supporters for helping make this possible.