Date of Award
6-12-2014
Document Type
Thesis - SCU Access Only
Publisher
Santa Clara: Santa Clara University, 2014.
Departments
Mechanical Engineering; Computer Engineering; Electrical Engineering
First Advisor
Christopher Kitts
Abstract
The current ground control architecture at Santa Clara University uses static facilities to communicate with nanosatellites, confining the satellite contacts to whenever the satellite is overhead. In order to assist operations, a mobile satellite communication station was developed to increase the amount of contact time with the satellite. The station has S-band communication capabilities as well as amateur band reception capabilities handled by a software-defined radio. To increase mobility, a stowage mechanism was designed to speed up setup and breakdown processes and an antenna auto-calibration system was created to eliminate the dish calibration process. The station is able to send commands to the satellite as well as receive mission data.
Recommended Citation
Aguera, Javier; Borges, Paulo; Clavijo, Andrew; Kunis, Michael; Mulcahy, Alex; and Sanford, Kristopher, "Mobile ground communication station" (2014). Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses. 8.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/idp_senior/8