Search algorithm for the ground station antenna of the EIVE satellite

Abstract

Satellite technologies have rapidly become integral to modern life, used for broadcasting, navigation, communication, and Earth observation. As technology advances, satellites generate increasingly large volumes of data, presenting hardware challenges in terms of data storage and transmission due to limited power sources. To meet the escalating demand for high-capacity channels with high data rates, the EIVE project was initiated to explore the feasibility of using E-band frequencies (71-76 GHz) for satellite communication. EIVE, led by the University of Stuttgart in collaboration with various partners, aims to test data transfer capabilities in this uncharted frequency range. A key challenge is the establishment of a communication link between a ground station antenna and the LEO satellite in the EIVE project. This task is compounded by the ground station’s Cassegrain antenna with a narrow HPBW of 0.23° and a low achieved scanning area because of the LEO. To address these challenges, this research thesis introduces a CONSCAN based search algorithm, which expands the antenna’s scanning area by executing conical patterns around the satellite’s estimated trajectory. By using quaternion rotations and the Orekit library for trajectory estimation, this algorithm significantly enhances the search capabilities, increasing the scanning area in the sky. Furthermore, the research highlights the importance of continuous signal acquisition from the satellite for the planned data transfers. To tackle this issue, the groundwork for a tracking algorithm based on theMMTmethod is introduced to provide precise measurements of the satellite’s position, combining the MMT method with Kalman filters and GPS based methods. This novel method promises the improvement of the accuracy and stability of the system.