TESTING OF RADIO COMMUNICATION SUBSYSTEMS FOR THE NUTS CUBESAT ON A METEOROLOGICAL BALLOON FLIGHT FROM ANDOYA IN 2014

摘要

In April 2014, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Test Satellite (NUTS) team carried out a balloon campaign at And0ya, Norway. The purpose was to test the on-board UHF and VHF radio prototypes. In accordance with the project mission goals, this campaign marked the test of the engineering model's communication subsystems. One of the mission requirements was that these systems should be as close to the final flight-model as possible. Parts of the system were built and assembled in advance at NTNU, and the final system integration was carried out at And0ya. A standard PTU probe with a GPS module transmitting the balloon's location in the UHF band was used to track the flight. The probe was mounted below the NUTS payload box. The payload radios was tracked using Yagi antennas based on the received GPS coordinates from the PTU probe. A two-way communication link was established and maintained between the balloon and the ground station. This paper will present the results from the mission as well as lessons learned related to the preparation and execution of balloon campaigns.