Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites
Software-defined radio (SDR) devices have made a massive contribution to communication systems by reducing the cost and development time for radio frequency (RF) designs. SDRs opened the gate to programmers and enabled them to increase the capabilities of these easily manipulated systems. The next s...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-06-01
|
Series: | Aerospace |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/8/6/159 |
id |
doaj-f5bfabe368244f0a82cb59a31f01985a |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-f5bfabe368244f0a82cb59a31f01985a2021-06-30T23:16:43ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102021-06-01815915910.3390/aerospace8060159Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small SatellitesYasir M. O. ABBAS0Kenichi Asami1Systems Laboratory, Engineering Department, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 1-1 Sensui, Tobata, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 804-8550, JapanSystems Laboratory, Engineering Department, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 1-1 Sensui, Tobata, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 804-8550, JapanSoftware-defined radio (SDR) devices have made a massive contribution to communication systems by reducing the cost and development time for radio frequency (RF) designs. SDRs opened the gate to programmers and enabled them to increase the capabilities of these easily manipulated systems. The next step is to upgrade the reconfigurability into adaptability, which is the focus of this paper. This research contributes to improving SDR-based systems by designing an adaptable packet communication transmitter and receiver that can utilize the communication window of CubeSats and small satellites. According to the feedback from the receiver, the transmitter modifies the characteristics of the signal. Theoretically, the system can adopt many modes, but for simplicity and to prove the concept, here, the changes are limited to three data rates of the Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) modulation scheme, i.e., 2400 bps GMSK, 4800 bps GMSK and 9600 bps GMSK, which are the most popular in amateur small satellites. The system program was developed using GNU Radio Companion (GRC) software and Python scripts. With the help of GRC software, the design was simulated and its behavior in simulated conditions observed. The transmitter packetizes the data into AX.25 packets and transmits them in patches. Between these patches, it sends signaling packets. The patch size is preselected. Alternatively, the receiver extracts the data and saves it in a dedicated file. It directly replies with a feedback message whenever it gets the signaling packets. Based on the content of the feedback message, the characteristics of the transmitted signal are altered. The packet rate and the actual useful data rate are measured and compared with the selected data rate, and the packet success rate of the system operating at a fixed data rate is also measured while simulating channel noise to achieve the desired Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/8/6/159SDRsmall satelliteadaptiveGNU Radiodata ratepacket |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yasir M. O. ABBAS Kenichi Asami |
spellingShingle |
Yasir M. O. ABBAS Kenichi Asami Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites Aerospace SDR small satellite adaptive GNU Radio data rate packet |
author_facet |
Yasir M. O. ABBAS Kenichi Asami |
author_sort |
Yasir M. O. ABBAS |
title |
Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites |
title_short |
Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites |
title_full |
Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites |
title_fullStr |
Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites |
title_full_unstemmed |
Design of Software-Defined Radio-Based Adaptable Packet Communication System for Small Satellites |
title_sort |
design of software-defined radio-based adaptable packet communication system for small satellites |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Aerospace |
issn |
2226-4310 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Software-defined radio (SDR) devices have made a massive contribution to communication systems by reducing the cost and development time for radio frequency (RF) designs. SDRs opened the gate to programmers and enabled them to increase the capabilities of these easily manipulated systems. The next step is to upgrade the reconfigurability into adaptability, which is the focus of this paper. This research contributes to improving SDR-based systems by designing an adaptable packet communication transmitter and receiver that can utilize the communication window of CubeSats and small satellites. According to the feedback from the receiver, the transmitter modifies the characteristics of the signal. Theoretically, the system can adopt many modes, but for simplicity and to prove the concept, here, the changes are limited to three data rates of the Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) modulation scheme, i.e., 2400 bps GMSK, 4800 bps GMSK and 9600 bps GMSK, which are the most popular in amateur small satellites. The system program was developed using GNU Radio Companion (GRC) software and Python scripts. With the help of GRC software, the design was simulated and its behavior in simulated conditions observed. The transmitter packetizes the data into AX.25 packets and transmits them in patches. Between these patches, it sends signaling packets. The patch size is preselected. Alternatively, the receiver extracts the data and saves it in a dedicated file. It directly replies with a feedback message whenever it gets the signaling packets. Based on the content of the feedback message, the characteristics of the transmitted signal are altered. The packet rate and the actual useful data rate are measured and compared with the selected data rate, and the packet success rate of the system operating at a fixed data rate is also measured while simulating channel noise to achieve the desired Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). |
topic |
SDR small satellite adaptive GNU Radio data rate packet |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/8/6/159 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT yasirmoabbas designofsoftwaredefinedradiobasedadaptablepacketcommunicationsystemforsmallsatellites AT kenichiasami designofsoftwaredefinedradiobasedadaptablepacketcommunicationsystemforsmallsatellites |
_version_ |
1721351846853869568 |