A simple fragmentation protocol for satellite telemetry : Transmission of large telemetry from the MIST satellite

Abstract: MIniature STudent satellite (MIST) is a project at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm where students build a satellite. The satellite will be placed into orbit around the earth carrying six experiments. One of the experiments on-board the MIST satellite will need to send larger units of data than the radio on-board can send at a time. Therefore, the data will need to be fragmented before it is sent and then defragmented when it is received. The fragmentation protocol to be used, and its implementation, will need to meet the MIST satellite’s requirements and limitations. It should add as little overhead and complexity as possible. This thesis proposes a fragmentation protocol and presents an implementation that enables experiments on-board the MIST satellite to send larger units of data than on-board radio allows. The design of the protocol is based on existing network protocols, but tailored for use on the MIST satellite. The proposed protocol may be possible to use in other satellites or embedded systems applications. This may however require some modifications.