Software defined radio (SDR) for ground station design

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For the past few years we have conducted research to develop new technologies that extend the capabilities of the nanosatellite platform for both commercial and scientific purposes. More recently, we have been working with industry partners to build capacity in nanosatellite communication system design. The focus of the research has been on the re-configurable software defined radio (SDR) design to enable high data-rate transceiver as well as multi-band radio concept. In 2015, we worked with Aflare Systems (under the OCE VIP program) to examine Aflare's newly developed transceiver, BlueShift(TM) for its feasibility on nanosatellite, and further developed SDR concept in S-band frequency.Through the proposed Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) program, we propose to extend this research, in partnership with Aflare, to further develop reconfigurable SDR for nanosatellite applications. In particular, we will design and prototype S-band ground station using SDR for (1) flexible ground station with multi-band communication; (2) simultaneous control of multiple agents in a coordinated mission; and (3) ground station network design. The ground station is specifically designed for CubeSat applications, but we aim to demonstrate the concept using multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with S-band transceivers. A CubeSat is a typical nanosatellite platform (also considered a sub-class of nanosatellites) that consists of multiples 10×10×10 cm3 cubic units. CubeSats have a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. We anticipate that the results of the proposed research will enable CubeSat and UAV developers and Canadian space industry at large, to design and commercialize advanced, next generation spacecraft for wide range of industry and research applications.