Mobile Cubesat Command and Control (Mc3) 3-Meter Dish Calibration and Capabilities

Abstract

The Mobile CubeSat Command and Control (MC3) architecture is a growing network of ground stations that spans the United States of America. It was designed to support the National Reconnaissance Office s Experimental CubeSat Program. Each node was originally designed to communicate via UHF and S-band frequencies using Yagi antenna only. The MC3 ground station at the Naval Postgraduate School has recently incorporated a 3-meter S-band dish. This thesis documents the calibration and capabilities of the new S-band dish. It also investigates the possibility of using the antenna outside of its normal operating range. In particular, the idea of using an S-band, 3-meter dish to receive UHF band signals was tested by designing a UHF signal feed optimized for 915 MHz and used to listen to a UHF source deployed on a high altitude balloon at near orbital distances. In addition, this document discusses the integration of a dish system into current and future MC3 ground stations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA607479

Entities

People

  • Sarah M. Alcaide

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Antennas
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Command And Control
  • Frequency
  • Ground Stations
  • High Altitude
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Measurement
  • Multiple Access
  • Radio Equipment
  • Small Satellites
  • Software Defined Radio
  • Space Communications
  • Space Systems
  • Three Dimensional
  • Yagi Antennas

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Phased Array Antenna Design.
  • Technical Research and Report Writing.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Space
  • Space - Satellites