Miniaturized Radio Tranceiver for PocketQubes, Exceeding Performance of CubeSat Solutions

In this paper, a detailed design is presented of a communications module that is designed to fit tight PocketQube design budgets but still offer performance at least comparable to commercial off-the-shelf CubeSat solutions. The communications module features extremely efficient power usage, less than 2 Watt DC for 1 Watt RF output while fitting in an extremely small volume, (42 x 42 x 8mm, approximately a quarter of the volume of CubeSat solutions). Our system also features a new communication scheme based on Short Block LPDC codes that provides a very high code gain (approximately 6dB for hard-decision and 9dB for soft-decision) using a high code rate. A ground modem implementation based on GNURadio is also presented, taking advantage of a new implementation for low-latency asynchronous data transmission

A Pico-Satellite Design to Demonstrate Trajectory and Science Applications

This paper presents the design, integration and testing of a pico satellite, Delfi-PQ, a 3P PocketQube developed by Delft University of Technology, expected to be launched at the end of 2020. The main goal of this project is creating a miniaturized platform for future space missions with performances comparable to CubeSats, taking advantage of the miniaturization of electronic components and their integration. Education of aerospace engineering students is a second key goal of the project, where students involved in the project as part of their curricular activities

Development and in orbit testing of an x ray detector within a 2U cubesat

A CdZnTe based semiconductor X-ray detector (XRD) and its associated readout electronics is developed by the Space Systems Design Laboratory of Istanbul Technical University and High Energy Astrophysics Detector Laboratory of Sabanci University along with an SME partner. The detector will utilize 30 orthogonal cross strip electrodes (and 3 steering electrodes in between anodes) whose geometry is optimized by an extensive set of simulations and energy resolution measurements. The signals will be read by RENA 3b ASIC controlled by MSP 430 microcontroller. The system will have its own battery and will be turned on intermittently due to power constraints. CdZnTe based X-ray detectors have been utilized in space, but they are either pixellated (NuStar), or they consist of many individual crystal pieces (BAT in Swift satellite). The aim of the XRD is to show that large volume crystals with orthogonal strips are viable alternatives, especially for small satellite systems with medium energy resolution requirement. XRD will also characterize the hard X-ray background in 20-200 keV at low Earth orbit conditions as a function of altitude. Due to power and telemetry constraints, the individual events will be corrected for hole trapping on-board, histogrammed, and only the X-ray spectra will be transmitted to the ground station along with a small set of raw data for diagnostic purposes. The XRD is planned to travel into space, as a secondary science mission, on board BeEaglesat which is a 2U CubeSat developed as one of the possible double (2U) CubeSats for the QB50 project. QB50 is a European Framework 7 (FP7) project carried out by a number of international organizations led by the von Karman Institute of Belgium. Its main scientific objective is to study in situ the temporal and spatial variations of a number of key constituents and parameters in the lower thermosphere with a network of about 50 double and triple CubeSats, separated by few hundred kilometers and carrying a determined set of sensors