Communications

The communications system is in charge of handling all communications to and from the satellite.

Failure of the communications system can cause mission failure for nearly any satellite regardless of the state of any other systems, as almost every satellite mission requires the transmission of data back to Earth and receiving vital instructions during the mission.

The DEXSTR mission will build upon the ground station communications system originally developed for Mr. and Mrs. by incorporating key upgrades to support future missions. The ground station will include both UHF and S-band receivers and transceivers, allowing operators to toggle between frequencies to downlink DEXSTR’s location data. These receivers and transceivers will also enable comprehensive testing of DEXSTR’s communication capabilities, as well as those of upcoming missions. Additionally, the ground station now features an uninterruptible power supply to ensure continuous operation and prevent communication loss during building power outages.

The communications system for MR SAT is a half-duplex, cross-band system capable of uplink and downlinking to our campus ground station in the Space Systems Engineering lab. This system can be shut off in case of transmitter lock. This is very crucial to successful FCC licensing and the mission’s success.

Pictured above is the system on the ground which communicates and transfers data to and from the satellites.