| Proposed topics for sub-activities | Description | Expected outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gnuradio module for optical modulation and coding | The goal of this sub-activity is to provide a GNURadio Out-of-tree module (OOT) containing a set of processing blocks suitable for space-related optical communications. The module can be used to simulate, develop, test and deploy optical communication systems, allowing rapid prototyping and reduced development cycles without the need for dedicated expensive hardware. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 2 | Photon counting detector array optical communication with SiPM detectors | Optical communication presents various advantages over radio communication, such as enhanced bitrates, reduced interference and better security due to the possibility to aim the light source towards a specific target. Additionally, flight systems can be made lighter, smaller, and more power-efficient. Currently deployed optical communication systems,,, (flight systems as well as ground stations) are too expensive for hobby astronomers or even smaller research projects. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) (also known as multi-pixel photon counters) pose an interesting opportunity to significantly lower the cost while offering the required photon sensitivity and the spectral and temporal responsivity to receive optical data streams in the VIS/NIR spectral range up to giga-baud rates. Within this sub-activity, we plan to develop and test a breadboard prototype system as a proof-of-concept demonstrator, which will be able to receive a bitstream generated by, for example, a fast LED, a VCSEL or a pulsed laser. We will evaluate the system regarding the achievable communication speeds, targeting a bit rate from 1 MHz up to a few 100MHz. The carrier wavelength of the signal will be in the visible to near-IR spectrum to be compatible with existing SiPM sensors. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 3 | Low cost optical orbit determination based on stvid | The concept of the proposed sub-activity is to demonstrate a networked low-cost optical sensor system for orbit determination workflow using open source tools. In this activity, the feasibility of a low-cost COTS-hardware-based fixed-mount passive optical satellite tracking ground station sensor network shall be shown. A reference hardware setup for a low-cost passive optical satellite tracking station based on stvid would be defined and a minimum of 5 stations would be built & deployed. Then using this network of stations a characterization of the orbit determination capabilities of this sensor network is performed in a measurement campaign | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 4 | Aristarchos Telescope upgrade activities | Recently, in 2020, “Aristarchos” telescope was selected by ESA to be the first ground station of the European program for the next generation of telecommunications services “fibre in the sky” and the dedicated element for optical communications, photonics and quantum communication, called ScyLight (SeCure and Laser communication Technology). A set of instruments, designed specifically for “Aristarchos” by ESA, have already been commissioned and tested in July and November 2021. In parallel with the hardware implementation and upgrade, dedicated software for autonomous satellite tracking and related operations of the telescope is being developed. In November 2021 the first successful optical communication link between “Aristarchos” and AlphaSat took place. The proposed sub-activity aims at supporting future activities concerning regular optical downlink activities as well as deep space and quantum communication services. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 5 | Low data rate signaling from cubesats for unique identification and telemetry | The use of LEDs on small spacecraft for early identification and basic telemetry reporting has gained popularity in recent years, due to the simplicity of the method and the low cost ground station equipment that is required. There are already a few Cubesat missions trying to demonstrate the concept, some of them with success. The goal of this proposed sub-activity is to evaluate the capabilities of such systems, propose methods that can enhance their performance and provide a proof of concept system (breadboard level) demonstrating the performance gains. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 6 | Dark sky quality sensors and network | A sub-activity to develop and deploy a proof-of-concept network of open hardware low-cost night sky sensors that measure light levels of full, visual and IR spectrum. The developed instruments can provide measurements in time intervals or during triggered events of the night sky luminocity in MPSAS, NELM and Lux scales. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 7 | Low-cost optical ground terminal | The concept of this proposed sub-activity is to verify as an initial proof-of-concept the operation of the breadboard produced by Mandatory sub-activity 2 with its software stack as produced by Mandatory sub-activity 1. The hardware breadboard and software developed would be fitted on existing low-cost telescope systems and a test campaign with a mission already in space will be performed to provide baseline measurements and verification of a low-cost optical ground terminal concept. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 8 | Optical Link Simulator | A proposed sub-activity to develop an open source optical link software simulator for satellite communications, in a modular, pluggable and re-usable way. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 9 | Mount controller for satellite tracking | The concept of the proposed sub-activity is to demonstrate an electronics motor controller for amateur/prosumer astronomy mounts in order to be used for satellite tracking in optical communications. To achieve this, enhancements in existing open source software should be done, additionally to open hardware development of the mount controller electronics. The deliverable of this activity would be a reference hardware setup that tracks satellites with specific pointing accuracy and continuous tracking by achieving an appropriate angular velocity. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
| 10 | FPGA offloading of modulation | The goal of this sub-activity is to offload a number of computationally intensive processing blocks from the CPU to the FPGA fabric allowing this way the support of all possible pulse durations as they are described in the CCSDS 141.0-B-1 standard. These processing blocks will be implemented as open source Intellectual Property (IP) cores, able to be reused in different designs. The necessary hardware components needed to realize this sub-activity will also be presented. | Technical note on findings. Demonstration of new Optical space technologies and toolchains. Resulting developement on GitLab or equivalent Webcast on findings for ARTES Industry. |
