Activity

Libre Space Foundation (LSF) has demonstrated, with the SatNOGS ground station, that lowering the entry barriers for third parties to participate with their own ground station increases the scale-effect and proliferation of technologies in a field, allowing network type of system architectures with distributed diverse ground segments to emerge. This sub-activity evaluates the feasibility of developing an electronics motor controller for amateur/prosumer astronomy mounts in order to be used for satellite tracking in optical communications. The end goal is to lower the access barriers to this community in a similar way to what SatNOGS has achieved in the radio communications one. This way, the innovation of this sub-activity will be to enable low-cost mount transformation into optical communication and optical tracking capable mounts. All the deliverables will have Open Source and Copyleft licenses. The end goal is to lower the access barriers to this community in a similar way to what SatNOGS has achieved in the radio communications one. This way, the innovation of this sub-activity will be to enable low-cost mount transformation into optical communication and optical tracking capable mounts. The sub-activity identified the Skywatcher EQ6-R PRO mount as a candidate, citing its specifications and compatibility with INDI, an open-source software that facilitates control over various astronomical observation equipment. This compatibility is crucial as it allows for potential modifications and enhancements to the mount's tracking capabilities. Additionally, the sub-activity identified challenges due to a lack of a feedback loop and limitations in variable slew rates. To further enable testing, the team created an open-source python tool based on documentation provided by Skywatcher. Due to a use of microsteps in motors, a rotary encoder (the LPD3806-400BM-G5-24C) was used. The setup was tested successfully tracking the International Space Station. Full report

The Helmos Observatory belongs to the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and hosts the Aristarchos optical telescope, which was designed and manufactured by the German company Carl Zeiss GmbH. It has a 2.3 m diameter aperture and a focal length of 17.8 m. The large aperture combined with excellent atmospheric seeing conditions of the site, makes Aristarchos a valuable asset for optical communications and quantum key distribution (QKD) and especially suited for lunar, Lagrange orbit and deep space communications. Synopsis: Within the framework of this subactivity NOA assisted ESA in the installation and operation of optical communication equipment at the Aristarchos telescope. The set of equipment delivered by ESA has now been assembled at Helmos and the different components attached to the telescope. Preliminary tests have also been performed. Final Report [PDF]

The main goal of this sub-activity is to assess the fitness of a Consumer/Off-The-Shelf (COTS) light detector for the application in high-speed digital optical communication, especially LEO-to-ground and ground-to-LEO. Synopsis: Onsemi silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) sensors, also known as multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) devices, can indeed lend themselves very well as suitable choice for a low-cost consumer/off-the-shelf laser downlink receiver. They provide both the photo-sensitivity in the few-nanowatt range and the tem- poral response in the few-nanosecond range, necessary to receive currently deployed laser downlinks in the visible and near-IR spectral range from LEO at speeds of up to a 100 Mbps and possibly beyond. Final Report [PDF]

This sub-activity has as its main objective to create a proof of concept network of optical SSA ground stations with a reference setup to evaluate the open source technology behind them based on existing and to-be developed open source projects.

The manufacturing of a Dark Sky Quality Sensor unit  from a blueprint design, to a working prototype and to the final production device. This covers all detailed work that has to be done from mechanical, electronic design, firmware development, testing of the device in real weather conditions for about a month and finally sourcing of required components (electronics and mechanical) to assemble the final unit(s). Last but not least, this covers the quality check (QC) of all components and the sensor calibration of each unit prior to delivery /shipping. Full Report [PDF]