Exercise: Polar Orbiting Satellites
Polar-orbiting satellites circle the Earth from pole to pole, providing consistent data for weather monitoring, environmental tracking, and disaster management. Unlike geostationary satellites, they require dynamic tracking by ground stations to maintain a signal due to their continuous movement across the sky.
In this exercise, you’ll use a ground station and dashboard interface to target a polar-orbiting satellite, schedule a pass, and capture a signal. Finally, you’ll analyze the recorded data using signal processing software. This will give you practical experience in satellite communication and signal analysis.
Objective
With the ground station (GS-SBIC-1M2), your task is to capture a signal from a Polar-orbiting satellite of your choosing and identify the signal you have received.
Here are your key tasks:
- Target a Polar Orbiting Satellite: Select a polar-orbiting satellite visible from the ground station.
- Determine Azimuth and Elevation (Azi/Ele): Calculate the satellite’s position in the sky relative to the ground station.
- Schedule the Satellite Pass: Plan the ground station’s dish movement by defining waypoints to track the satellite within its performance limits.
- Capture and Analyze the Signal: Receive and record the satellite’s signal, and use post-processing software to identify and analyze the captured data.
Guidelines
1. Select a target satellite:
- Objective: Target a polar orbit satellite in view of the ground station.
- Hints: See suggested satellites in datasheets section
2. Determine Azimuth/Elevation (Azi/Ele) values:
- Objective: Find the target satellite position in the sky (Azi/Ele) relative to the ground station.
- Tools: Use the Dashboard for accurate estimates.
3. Schedule the satellite pass:
- Objective: Plan the motion of the ground station’s dish by defining waypoints.
- Tools: See the ground station datasheet describing rotor performance and book via Dashboard.
- Considerations: Ensure to stay within ground station performance limitations for rotor speed and maximum recording duration (4 mins) when defining waypoint times.
4. Post-processing:
- Objective: Identify signal reception
- Tools: Install and use SDR# to view baseband recording.
