Ground Segment
Image credit: Kike Herrero (IEEC)
A critical part of every space mission lies in the ability of the ground segment to contact the satellite to transmit telecommands and to receive the scientific yield and/or telemetry data the system has acquired. The NanoSat Lab currently operates an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) / Very High Frequency (VHF) Ground Station (GS), and an S-Band Ground Station in the Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec (OAdM), owned and operated by IEEC.
The NanoSat Lab Montsec Ground Station is equipped with TX/RX Yagi antennas for Amateur Band VHF/UHF (144-145 MHz / 435-438 MHz frequencies), and S-Band RX at the commercial band (2200-2290 MHz) with a 3-meter dish. All antennas are controlled by an automated software in charge of scheduling and data retrieval through an optical fiber connection to our Barcelona Operation Center. A REST API is used to interface with the Operation Center to request passes or download retrieved data.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| UHF Band (TX/RX) | 435-438 MHz |
| VHF G/T | -16 dB |
| VHF Band (TX/RX) | 144-145 MHz |
| UHF G/T | -14 dB |
| S-Band (RX) | 2200-2290 MHz |
| S-Band G/T | 9 dB |
| Satellite Tracking | UHF / VHF / S-Band |