Assessment and Qualification of Velox-P Ground Segment and Communication Subsystem

Abstract: Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has envisioned to develop a spacecraft called Velox-P and launch it into the low earth orbit by 2012. The three building blocks of a space mission are the launch segment, ground segment and space segment. This thesis describes the assessment and qualication of the communication subsystem which is part of the space segment and the ground segment of the Velox-P mission.

This report entails the development of exclusive test scenarios with respect to the qualification of the ground segment and communication subsystem in order to quantify the success of Velox-P mission. An exhaustive number of tests were carried out and documented in this report with regards to the assessment of any CubeSat ground segment operating in VHF/UHF frequency and employing a commercial off the shelf communication subsystem in a satellite.

A detailed description on the trade-o criteria that is to be employed in the selection of the various components of the ground segment has been explained. Also, information about the frequency selection criteria for a CubeSat mission is detailed. The various parameters that form the link budget and the necessary values that are to be considered in this calculation are highlighted. Thus, a complete analysis of the communication subsystem and the ground segment has been put forth.