Session
Technical Session V: Advanced Technologies Section II
Abstract
Advances in smart antennas, coding theory, power amplifiers, low-power electronics, and softwaredefined radios have dramatically impacted terrestrial communications. The improvements achieved in frequency reuse, interference mitigation, handset battery life, error performance, and hardware reconfigurability can be transitioned to small satellite communications systems. The stringent power budgets, limited antenna apertures, and rapid development times associated with small satellites make these technologies particularly important. Also, the shorter lifetimes and higher levels of acceptable risk typical of small satellite missions make the utilization of advanced commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components feasible. This paper describes an effort underway to study flexible radio architectures that can rapidly leverage emerging wireless technologies for small satellite communications. Employing a software-defined radio architecture and a modular hardware design results in a radio that can be rapidly reconfigured to meet a wide range of mission requirements. Smart antennas, high-efficiency power amplifiers, and advanced error-correction coding all facilitate significant reductions in the power dissipated per bit transmitted in downlinks and crosslinks. Advances in lowpower, high-rate signal conversion and signal processing circuits are also being exploited to boost capabilities while minimizing the associated dissipated power.
Presentation Slides
Advanced Wireless Communications Technologies for Low Power, Reconfigurable Small Satellite Radios
Advances in smart antennas, coding theory, power amplifiers, low-power electronics, and softwaredefined radios have dramatically impacted terrestrial communications. The improvements achieved in frequency reuse, interference mitigation, handset battery life, error performance, and hardware reconfigurability can be transitioned to small satellite communications systems. The stringent power budgets, limited antenna apertures, and rapid development times associated with small satellites make these technologies particularly important. Also, the shorter lifetimes and higher levels of acceptable risk typical of small satellite missions make the utilization of advanced commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components feasible. This paper describes an effort underway to study flexible radio architectures that can rapidly leverage emerging wireless technologies for small satellite communications. Employing a software-defined radio architecture and a modular hardware design results in a radio that can be rapidly reconfigured to meet a wide range of mission requirements. Smart antennas, high-efficiency power amplifiers, and advanced error-correction coding all facilitate significant reductions in the power dissipated per bit transmitted in downlinks and crosslinks. Advances in lowpower, high-rate signal conversion and signal processing circuits are also being exploited to boost capabilities while minimizing the associated dissipated power.
