Disseny d'un motor de gas fred per a aplicacions en petits satèl·lits

Since the appearance of CubeSat standard in 1999 picosatellites have evolved a lot. Collage investigations are the main reason of that development. This works gives an answer to the propulsion problems of CubeSat satellites. In the next pages you can find a cold gas propulsion system concept based in butane for CubeSat applications. This concept take advantage of the butane qualities as propellant to develop a propulsion system light compact and enough capable to increase the mission duration remarkably

Disseny d'un motor de gas fred per a aplicacions en petits satèl·lits

Since the appearance of CubeSat standard in 1999 picosatellites have evolved a lot. Collage investigations are the main reason of that development. This works gives an answer to the propulsion problems of CubeSat satellites. In the next pages you can find a cold gas propulsion system concept based in butane for CubeSat applications. This concept take advantage of the butane qualities as propellant to develop a propulsion system light compact and enough capable to increase the mission duration remarkably

Disseny d'un motor de gas fred per a aplicacions en petits satèl·lits

Since the appearance of CubeSat standard in 1999 picosatellites have evolved a lot. Collage investigations are the main reason of that development. This works gives an answer to the propulsion problems of CubeSat satellites. In the next pages you can find a cold gas propulsion system concept based in butane for CubeSat applications. This concept take advantage of the butane qualities as propellant to develop a propulsion system light compact and enough capable to increase the mission duration remarkably

A shared CubeSat and LEO constellation for quantum key distribution service and 5G IoT service: QUANGO project overview and design considerations

Secure and reliable exchange of data and information plays a crucial role in our society, for example protecting money transfers, commercial transactions, medical data, remote control of sensible infrastructures, etc. Efforts are striving towards achieving global network coverage even in remote geographical areas. In this context, the QUANGO (cubesat for QUANtum and 5G cOmmunication) project, started in January 2021 under the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, is aimed at designing and prototyping the key elements of a satellite mission that targets the delivery of both IoT services and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) services, implemented using a constellation of CubeSats that operate in LEO. The rationale behind this vision is to address the growing need for the safe, reliable, and ubiquitous exchange of data in our society that is becoming of paramount importance for a plethora of activities. The implementation of this project can provide a new paradigm to share the satellite infrastructure required for secure communication based on quantum technologies and for 5G communication. The spacecraft will carry two interconnected payloads: 1. A 5G IoT radio, called access network payload, based on a flexible software-defined radio (SDR). 2. A secure communication system based on a quantum link to distribute quantum keys to the ground. The combination of these two payloads allows for the implementation of a QKD service where the 5G IoT payload in addition to the delivery of IoT services, is intended to be used as an integral part of the envisioned QKD solution. Moreover, the combination of these two payloads will contribute to reduce the cost of both services by sharing the satellite platform and study how these two technologies can further improve synergically, getting benefits from each other’s ecosystem. The project is being developed by a consortium of European universities, research centres and SME with a strong heritage in areas such as quantum cryptography, optical communication, microsatellites development and 5G networks. The objective of the paper is to present an overview of the QUANGO project along with preliminary design considerations of the mission and platform to be developed.This work was supported by the QUANGO project (see https://quango.dei.unipd.it/), funded by the EU in the frame of Horizon 2020 programme.Peer ReviewedArticle signat per 17 autors/es: D. Sarica (a), A. Balossino (a), S. Simonetti (a), G. Vallone (b), P. Villoresi (b), F. Berra (b), M. Guadalupi (c), J. Ferrer (c), I. Llorens (c), R. Ferrús (c), A. Francesconi (d), F. Sansone (d), E. Birello (d), V. Pruneri (e), I. H. L. Grande (e), E. Diamanti (f), M. Schiavon (f) (a) Argotec Srl, Via Cervino 52, 10155, Torino, Italy, {danilo.sarica, alessandro.balossino, simone.simonetti} @argotecgroup.com / (b) Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy, {vallone, paolo.villoresi,} @dei.unipd.it, [email protected] / (c) Sateliot, Rambla de Catalunya 124, 08008, Barcelona, Spain, {marco, josep.ferrer, isaac.llorens, ramon.ferrus} @sateliot.space / (d) Stellar Project, Via Niccolò Tommaseo, 69/D, 35131, Padova, Italy, {alessandro.francesconi, francesco.sansone, edoardo.birello} @stellarproject.space / (e) ICFO, Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain, {Valerio.Pruneri, Ignacio.Lopez} @icfo.eu / (f) Sorbonne Université, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France, {eleni.diamanti, matteo.schiavon} @lip6.frPostprint (published version

System level performance analysis for 3GPP NB-IoT NTN solutions with small satellites and sparse LEO constellations

Complementing and extending the coverage reach of terrestrial networks with satellite access is one of the new connectivity frontiers being addressed on the path to beyond 5G/6G systems. In particular, the realization of almost ubiquitous connectivity in a seamless and cost-affordable manner for low-complexity, power-constrained devices is key to unleashing the potential of the massive IoT market, where the lack of global coverage and international roaming are currently standing as main limiting factors for market growth. To harness this potential, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the standard development organization in charge of the mobile system specifications, is finalizing a first adaptation of the Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) protocol for non-terrestrial networks (NB-IoT NTN) as part of Release 17 specifications. This paves the way for integrated terrestrial-to-satellite connectivity solutions that could leverage and help further boost the large and growing 3GPP device and IoT application ecosystem. The NB-IoT NTN protocol is being designed to support different types of satellite deployments, including Geostationary Orbit (GEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, single-beam and multi-beam satellite platforms, and Earth-moving and Earth-fixed satellite cells. In this context, this paper presents a system level performance analysis of a NB-IoT NTN deployment solution using nanosatellite in sparse LEO constellations, which is one of the most challenging scenarios in terms of achievable coverage footprint and satellite capacity due to the power and size constraints in the satellite platform. A framework for modelling such scenarios is described in the paper and estimations of system performance indicators such as number of connections that can be handled simultaneously, effective satellite footprint coverage area and supported device density (UEs/km2) are provided for different representative operational configurations (e.g. multi-carrier configurations with anchor and non-anchor carriers) and traffic characteristics (e.g. application payload sizes). Our results demonstrate the technical feasibility of such a system and illustrate some of the relevant trade-offs between the system configurations and communication performance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Designing a 3GPP NB-IoT NTN service for CubeSats in low density constellations

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the standard development organization in charge of the 5G mobile system specifications, is currently developing the adaption of the NB-IoT protocol for non-terrestrial networks (NTN), referred to as NB-IoT NTN. The NB-IoT NTN protocol is expected to operate, among others, in LEO constellations. To that end, the NB-IoT protocol originally conceived for terrestrial access is being enhanced to address the specific characteristics of LEO satellite channels, including e.g. timing relationship enhancements in random access and scheduling processes to deal with the longer propagation delays of satellite channels and new Doppler precompensation mechanisms. Mobility management improvements to cope with moving satellite cells and noncontinuous operation of the service link are also being worked out, leading to e.g. the specification of new system information messages encoding satellite ephemerides data and specific tracking area management approaches for satellite access. The possibility to use the same protocol NB-IoT for both terrestrial and satellite access offers an unprecedented opportunity for massive IoT services, which will benefit from the global coverage provided by satellites. In this context, this paper describes the key design considerations and main system components of a NB-IoT NTN solution that is being developed for operation with CubeSat platforms in low-density LEO constellations. Results and discussion of technical challenges are provided in the areas of link budget, beam layout configurations, capacity and achievable service performance indicators.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version