52 research outputs found
Pre-Flight Evaluation of a Multi-Channel ADS-B Receiver in a Stratospheric Balloon Mission
No full textThis paper presents the concept, preparation and evaluation of a stratospheric high-altitude balloon mission for the evaluation of a multi-channel automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) receiver for small satellite to trace, detect and locate aircrafts from low Earth Orbit. The paper discusses the state-of-the-art for space-borne ADS-B reception, the challenges of interference and garbling and the novel approach of the multi-channel receiver. The requirements for a high-altitude mission as a precursor to an in-orbit demonstration are discussed, as well as the challenges involved. Initial preparatory evaluations show the feasibility of the mission
Design of a highly inte grated and reliable SDR platform for multiple RF applications on spacecrafts
No full textThe utilization of Software-Defined Radios (SDR)
has already become state-of-the-art for terrestrial Radio
Frequency (RF) and wireless applications. The almost
conservative space industry also identified the benefits of
reconfigurable radio systems and uses SDRs on satellites and
space vehicles. The traditional definition of a software-defined
radio thereby is the digital implementation of applications in
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) or Digital Signal
Processors (DSP). The analog parts (e.g. RF components) of the
radio are generally tailored to the application specification and
are not, or only partly, configurable. With the release of
programmable and reconfigurable Radio Frequency Integrated
Circuits (RFIC), a new era of SDRs was declared, which allows
more flexibility and higher performance into smaller dimension.
Thus, making these benefits available for applications on
spacecraft has been identified as a big challenge, since those
technologies are not designed for the harsh environmental
conditions in space. This paper presents an approach for a highly
integrated and reliable Generic Software Defined-Radio (GSDR)
platform design and the results of a pre-evaluation test under
radiation conditions on a prototype, to investigate certain
mitigation techniques and a preconceived selection of system
components. Focus of this platform is the integration into a
satellite system, in order to operate multiple RF and wireless
communication applications, where typically specific units for
each application are used
Development of a highly integrated and radiation-tolerant software-defined radio platform for multi-band radio applications in space systems
No full textThe present thesis deals with the design of a highly integrated and radiation tolerant software-defined radio (SDR) platform for multi-channel radio applications in space systems. The described design addresses the risk-minimized use of non-space qualified electronic components for critical space systems, which is ultimately used for the development and verification of the innovative SDR platform presented in this work
Investigation of Heavy-Ion Induced Single Event Effects for GaAs and GaN-based RF Amplifiers in Space Applications
No full textIn this paper the investigation of single event effects (SEE) of gallium-arsenide (GaAs) and gallium-nitride (GaN) radio frequency (RF) amplifiers under heavy-ion particle acceleration is presented to validate their performance and reliability in space applications. The paper provides technical insight of the GaAs and GaN devices under test (DUT) and the test method and test results are presented. All DUTs and samples showed no destructive SEEs for any test condition
Software-defined radio with flexible RF front end for satellite maritime radio applications
No full textThis paper presents the concept of a software-defined radio with a flexible RF front end. The design and architecture of this system, as well as possible application examples will be explained. One specific scenario is the operation in maritime frequency bands. A well-known service is the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which has been captured by the DLR mission AISat, and will be chosen as a maritime application example. The results of an embedded solution for AIS on the SDR platform are presented in this paper. Since there is an increasing request for more performance on maritime radio bands, services like AIS will be enhanced by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). The new VHF Data Exchange Service (VDES) shall implement a dedicated satellite link. This paper describes that the SDR with a flexible RF front end can be used as a technology demonstration platform for this upcoming data exchange service
The use of irradiation facility for the testing of electronic components for space
No full textRadiation testing nowadays becomes more and more important even with the grown NewSpace market where mostly commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices are used to reduces the mission costs and to improve the spacecraft performances. However, radiation testing is complex, requires years of experiences and becomes more and more challenging due to modern semiconductors that are getting higher integrated such as known for system-on-chips (SoC). New test methodologies needs to bedeveloped and radiation testing needs be seen in a different way to fulfil the requirements for the NewSpace era. In this talk common and traditional approaches for radiation hardness assurance and testing are presented and new potential testing methods will be proposed
RF Systems on Chip and Mixed-Signal Front-End Devices: Game-Changing RF Technologies for Space Applications
No full textGrowing interest in the commercialization of space (NewSpace) is leading to increased acceptance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics and thus enabling use in space of the latest technologies developed for terrestrial applications. This opens new capabilities for applications in space missions. RF communication via satellites has been established for decades; traditionally used for military applications, it is becoming increasingly important for commercial users. Today, global connectivity and access to the Internet has never been so important, and the demand for worldwide connectivity increases significantly each year. Space-based Internet access is especially important for areas with poor terrestrial infrastructure, such as Africa and Antarctica. There are already geostationary-Earth orbit (GEO)-stationary-located satellites available such as Inmarsat or low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations like Iridium, which provide almost-global access to the Internet, but they are either very expensive or have low data rates and long latencies, so they are not very attractive. New solutions with high data rates, low latencies, and affordable fees are currently in development, such as StarLink, with its giga constellation [1] , [2] , and Amazon’s Project Kuiper [3] , [4] , [5] . So it is true: there really has been a change in the market with the NewSpace Era. With NewSpace, or in other words, the commercialization of space, traditional space missions with high-quality assurance requirements, very long design and manufacturing times, and extraordinary costs may become obsolete at a certain point, at least when it comes to commercial services like satellite-based Internet access. To decrease the lead time and costs of such missions, satellite designers and manufacturers need to rely on commercially available electronics, namely, COTS devices, which are usually much cheaper and have better performance and shorter lead times compared to space-qualified parts. In terms of performance, COTS devices have great benefits over space-qualified parts simply because the design, development, and qualification processes for space parts are very complex and take years before they are qualified and available for the market. It is likely that state-of-the-art space-qualified parts are 10 years behind what we currently have available for terrestrial applications, such as for the automotive or industrial markets [6] . One obvious reason is certainly that electronic parts manufacturers develop products for certain markets, and space is yet not one of the biggest or most attractive markets. But this has already started changing and big players such as Texas Instruments and Analog Devices are moving forward with the NewSpace wave and establishing ever-more products for commercial space applications. Truly, using state-of-the art electronics is not only of interest for the space-based Internet, there are also other space-related applications that can clearly benefit from using the latest technologies
Design of a radiation-tolerant multi-band radio system for new space applications
No full textThe utilization of commercial of the shelf (COTS) technologies for space application has been often avoided in the past by the space industry. With the commercialization of space, the so called “NewSpace” era, the use of only high-reliability and radiation-hardened (RadHard) devices becomes impossible, due to their high costs, long-lead times and political restrictions in terms of export control. Nevertheless, the reliability aspect should always be a major key driver for space missions. Thus, system designers for NewSpace applications are confronted with the challenge to develop a system that is on one hand low-cost driven and furthermore fulfil the high requirements for the use in space, specifically for the reliable operation in the predominate radiation environment. In this talk, a suitable approach is presented and demonstrated with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) development of a radiation-tolerant multi-band radio system. Key topics of this talk are how to choose RadHard, flight-heritage or COTS devices for NewSpace systems and whether selective radiation tests, from component to system-level, are required
Quantification of Neutron-Induced Single-Event Upsets in a Static Random-Access Memory by Clinical High-Energy Photon Beam
No full textThe possibility of using calibrated static random-access memory (SRAM) memory for the quantification of neutron fluence in a radiotherapy facility for cancer treatment utilizing a high-energy 15-MV photon beam (Bremsstrahlung) from an electron linear accelerator has been exploited in this work. This has been performed by varying the field size of the photon beam and the positioning of the SRAM memory at three different positions in relation to the isocenter of the beam. The measurements demonstrated that neutrons originating from interactions between the high-energy photons and accelerator parts with high-Z materials are able to induce single-event upsets (SEUs) in the SRAM memory, where the measured SEUs depend on the measurement location. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations have been performed to retrieve the neutron fluence under each investigated measurement condition. Using the simulated neutron fluence differential in energy and the interactions cross sections determined previously, the expected SEUs were computed. The comparison between measured and simulated SEUs normalized to the linear accelerators (linac) output shows acceptable agreement within the experimental uncertainties. As exposure to secondary neutrons poses a risk to all patients, especially the ones with pacemakers or other electronical aids, the feasibility of establishing the neutron fluence through SEU quantification in an SRAM device provides new opportunities to estimate the associated risk in a clinical environment. Further work can be performed to investigate the correlation between the high-Z linac components and the neutron fluence during patient irradiation to better comprehend the variation between different linac types and manufacturers
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