Software defined radio (SDR) for ground station design

在过去的几年里，我们进行了研究，以开发新的技术，为商业和科学目的扩展纳米卫星平台的能力。最近，我们一直在与行业合作伙伴合作，建设纳米卫星通信系统设计方面的能力。研究的重点是可重新配置的软件定义无线电(SDR)设计，以支持高数据速率收发和多频段无线电概念。2015年，我们与Aflare Systems(在OCEVIP计划下)合作，研究了Aflare最新开发的收发器BluesShift(TM)在纳米卫星上的可行性，并进一步开发了S频段的SDR概念。通过拟议的协作研发计划，我们建议与Aflare合作，进一步开发适用于纳米卫星应用的可重构SDR。特别是，我们将为(1)具有多频段通信的灵活地面站；(2)在协调任务中同时控制多个智能体；(3)地面站网络设计，设计和实现S频段地面站。地面站是专门为立方体卫星应用而设计的，但我们的目标是使用配备S波段收发器的多架无人机(UAV)来演示这一概念。立方体卫星是一个典型的纳米卫星平台(也被认为是纳米卫星的一个子类)，由多个10×10×10立方厘米的立方体单元组成。立方体卫星每单位质量不超过1.33公斤，通常使用商用现成(COTS)组件进行电子和结构设计。我们预计，拟议的研究结果将使CubeSat和无人机开发商以及整个加拿大航天业能够为广泛的工业和研究应用设计先进的下一代航天器并将其商业化。

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.