Autonomous SkyCube Testbench using UAV-Assisted Ka-Band OFDM Transceiver

Abstract

In the CubeSATs ecosystem, flight-launching and resilient communication are two major challenges for Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Near Earth Orbit (NEO), and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. Dynamic beamforming, satellite Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) operations, and channel-tolerant communication are core and common problems faced by all satellite mission designs. In this work, a UAV-assisted SkyCube Testbench is proposed that can be used to demonstrate a) Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) in GNURadioOR over 6 GHz Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP); b) GNC operations over 923 MHz-2 W Long Range (LoRA) wireless node; c) beam-forming using 2x2 phased-array antenna; d) energy-harvesting via 25 W mono-crystalline PV modules and two 3.7 V/6000mAh batteries driven by 50 W Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) converter; and e) energy-optimized thrust control nozzle for 30+ min airborne flight-time with 881 g payload. This design is expected to serve 35 km altitude with 73.298 km orbital curvature.