For this week's hardware blog post, we're introducing you to our ground station antennae! This component has been worked on by NEUDOSE's communications sub-team.
Check out our Q&A with Daniel Tajik, our Communications Team Lead.
Q: How long did the project take to build?
A: The ground station project was conceived in 2017, but its engineering began in earnest in late 2020 with the support of Telstorm Corporation, an expert in the field of antenna mounting for cellular projects. Over the course of the past year, the team completed design work, acquired city permits, and began construction. The final installation of the radio hardware is still underway with hopes of being completed in early March of 2022.
Q: What progress have we made during quarantine?
A: This ground station was designed and built during the quarantine with the help of our engineering partners at Telstorm and the contracting services of JW Contracting. Before this, we had several students design an outline of what we envisioned for the ground station, and what you see in the photos matches quite closely to our original designs!
Q: There look to be two types of antennas here, why are they different?
A: These specific antennas are called Yagi-Uda antennas, which have been heavily used over the past century for both wireless radio and television reception. The two antennas operate at two different wireless frequencies, referred to as Very High Frequency (or VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (or UHF). The specific electromagnetic frequencies for which the satellite will use exists within what is known as the amateur radio spectrum, which any member of the public can freely listen to! More details on the specific frequencies and how to access them will be published on our webpage in the following months
Q: Why do the antennas rotate?
A: These antennas are what is known as "directive" antennas, meaning that they focus the wireless energy (both transmitting and receiving) in a specific direction. Since our satellite is travelling in a non-geostationary orbit, meaning that they travel across our skyline instead of remaining fixed, we need to point the antennas at the satellite and follow it as it passes by in order to capture the signal.
Q: How long can you use the ground station for?
A: While the lifespan of the satellite is expected to be a year, the ground station has been designed to survive for 10 years of operation, which would enable its use for missions beyond NEUDOSE, and possibly assist in other satellite missions communication requirements.
We hope you learned something new about mechanical structure hardware! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this hardware or NEUDOSE.