Programa del congreso

³Cat-8 es una misión científica basada en un CubeSat de 6 unidades (6U) desarrollada por el UPC NanoSat Lab, con el monitoreo del centelleo ionosférico como objetivo principal. La misión incorpora varios sistemas innovadores, incluyendo una Antena desplegable de Zonas de Fresnel (FZPA), un Dispensador Integrado de PocketQubes (CuPID), un subsistema receptor GNSS de doble banda para experimentos de radio ocultación y reflectometría, y una cámara multiespectral polarimétrica para la observación de las emisiones de las auroras. Este artículo describe en detalle el diseño de la misión, el conjunto de cargas útiles, y el concepto de operaciones. Los datos recopilados por ³Cat-8 contribuirán a una mejor comprensión de los efectos ionosféricos en la propagación de ondas de radio y demostrarán la viabilidad de instrumentos compactos en plataformas tipo CubeSat.

The 23.6-24 GHz band is essential for measuring atmospheric water vapor, enabling weather forecasting, radar altimeter corrections, and other applications. However, the licensing of adjacent bands for the 26 GHz 5G communications band, specifically from 24.25 GHz to 25.25 GHz, has raised concerns about potential interference. Such interference could degrade the capability of passive Earth Observation measurements and impact scientific observations.

As part of the PocketQube proposed in the “IEEE Open PocketQube Kit”, the payload is integrated into a 1P PocketQube. The PocketQube has dimensions of 50x50x50 mm³, an average power consumption below 250 mW, and employs LoRa for communications. One advantage of the increase in RF frequency is the overall reduction in the size of RF components.

The growing significance of small satellites in space missions motivates the definition of streamlined CubeSat platforms that emphasizes cost-effective and flexible communication solutions. Central to this effort is the use of FPGAs, chosen for their capacity to integrate commercial off-the-shelf components while meeting stringent performance and reliability demands. By capitalizing on FPGA-based architectures, both rapid prototyping and reconfiguration capabilities can be achieved for on-the-fly updates. Due to its importance in communication satellites, a study of new useful techniques implemented in FPGAs is needed, including advances in signal processing, radiation-tolerant systems and reconfigurability. Through this work, we aim to advance the knowledge base for next-generation CubeSat communication systems, ultimately fostering more resilient, versatile, and scalable satellite networks.

This article presents the modular design of an antenna system for the I2Cat 6GStarlab satellite. The system covers seven communication bands: UHF, LoRa, S-Band NB-IoT (uplink and downlink), amateur X-band, and Ku/Ka bands for F2S services. Loaded monopoles are combined with circular patch antennas and arrays to achieve the required gains in each band. The system will be implemented in a 6-unit CubeSat structure provided by OpenCosmos, intended to orbit in SSO. The satellite will be part of novel non-terrestrial networks and will offer a 6G network experimentation service. Its launch is scheduled for autumn 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.

This work describes the design and development of the front-end module for GNSS receivers of the 3Cat-8 satellite mission. The front-end operates in the L1 (1575.42 MHz) and L2 (1227.60 MHz) frequency bands and is intended for implementation in the latest satellite mission of UPC NanoSat Lab, an initiative of the Department of Signal Theory and Communications and the School of Telecommunications Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). This project builds upon the work initiated by previous students. The design is based on a switching matrix concept to manage multiple GNSS signals coming from four different antennas (front, back, uplooking, and downlooking) and achieve the ultimate goal of this project: to create a design capable of providing PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) information from the satellite and generate useful data to perform radio-occultation (GNSS-RO) and reflectometry (GNSS-R) experiments. In addition, a microcontroller-based system will manage the subsystem’s storage, communications, and control, interfacing with the onboard computer (OBC).

CubeSat missions increasingly rely on advanced communication subsystems to sustain vital links between the satellite and Earth. Despite rapid innovation in protocols, hardware, and ground systems, the existing literature remains fragmented, offering limited guidance for mission designers. This paper presents a comprehensive and structured review of contemporary CubeSat communications, based on the analysis of various missions within the sector. TT&C protocols, antenna design strategies, and software-defined radio (SDR) integration are examined and evaluated. Ground segment considerations are also explored, alongside notable real-world implementation examples. The findings aim to support future CubeSat deployments by highlighting scalable and resilient communication architectures suited to increasingly congested low Earth orbit environments.