DEVELOPMENT OF A BASELINE TELEMETRY SYSTEM FOR THE CUBESAT PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Abstract

A telemetry system has been developed at the University of Arizona to serve as a baseline for future CubeSat designs. Two satellites are scheduled for launch in November of 2002. One features a beacon that operates autonomously of all but the power system and can independently deploy the antennas. The other will test the performance of new semiconductor devices in low earth orbit. Sensors will monitor voltages, currents (from which attitude and tumble rate can be derived), received signal strength and a distribution of temperatures. The CubeSat’s architecture, operating system, sensors, telemetry format and link budget are discussed.