Project Manager: Maxwell Catmur
Chief Engineer: Oliwier Rawa

MISSION:

The WUSAT-4 ground station project aims to design, simulate, and implement a functional ground station for establishing reliable communication with the WUSAT-4 CubeSat in low Earth orbit. It aims to achieve seamless RF linkage, precise antenna control, robust data processing, and efficient software/hardware integration.

BACKGROUND:

CubeSat missions rely on efficient ground stations for telemetry, tracking, and data retrieval. A rotator-based ground station offers an affordable and versatile solution for tracking satellites in motion. This project will integrate theoretical simulations and practical implementation to develop a proof-of-concept system, before building and concurrently testing the necessary hardware to create the final product.

PROJECT TIMELINE:

—Phase 1: Understanding the project and planning—

• Clearly define objectives, requirements, purpose and budget – scope of the project
• Team Delegation
• Seeking aid from University, WMG, industry, etc

—Phase 2: System design & Simulation—

• Antenna design based on communication requirements
• RF Linkage Analysis
• MATLAB/Simulink model development

—Phase 3: Assembly & Testing—

• Prototype building and integration
• System calibration and testing

—Phase 4: Reporting—

• Final report and presentation

PARTNERS:

—Warwick Satellite Engineering Team (WUSAT)—

The Warwick Satellite Engineering Team (WUSAT) is our primary customer, as we are developing the ground station for their use. As a result, they have and will continue to provide mentorship and equipment for us.

—AMSAT-UK—

Barry Sankey, who is our mentor from AMSAT-UK also has equipment he may be willing to provide. Moreover, the AMSAT link budget tool will be used to aid with our link budget analysis.