Challenge: Design and integrate a low-cost satellite antenna and ground station for low-Earth orbit telemetry
Summary: Designing a CubeSat antenna presents several challenges due to size constraints, performance requirements, and integration issues. A deployable dipole antenna for UHF/VHF radio is mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB) and is folded and secured by fishing wire that melts upon deployment. The ground station consists of three Yagi antennas mounted on a custom 3D-printed bracket, enabling comprehensive omnidirectional coverage. The antennas feed into three radios, which are controlled by a single microcontroller. This approach minimizes antenna tracking while the satellite is in the telemetry range.
Course/Client: Isomer Space Program, SpaceX
Completion Date: May 2023
Skills: Low Voltage Electronics, Microcontrollers, Radio Engineering, Ham Radio, Antenna Design, Impedance Matching, Frequency Planning, PCB design, Environmental Testing
Assembled CubeSat with Deployed Antenna
Assembled CubeSat with Folded Antenna
Anodized Panels
