Srs-4 Satlab -
Satlab SRS-4 isn't just a piece of hardware; in the world of satellite communications, it's the "brain" that keeps a mission talking to Earth. Imagine you are part of a team launching a
—a small satellite about the size of a shoebox—into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Your biggest fear isn't the launch; it’s "silence." Once that satellite is in space, if you can't hear it or tell it what to do, it's just a very expensive piece of space junk. This is where the Satlab SRS-4 enters the story. The Mission: Finding a Voice in the Void The SRS-4 is a Software Defined Radio (SDR)
. In older days, radios were fixed—if you wanted to change how they communicated, you’d have to physically swap parts. But the SRS-4 is flexible. Because it is "software-defined," the engineers on the ground can update its "personality" while it's zooming through space at 17,000 miles per hour. Why it Matters for the Mission The S-Band Connection : The SRS-4 operates in the srs-4 satlab
(around 2.0 to 2.3 GHz). This is the "high-speed highway" for satellite data. While smaller radios might only send back "pings," the SRS-4 can move data at up to
. This means it can send back high-resolution photos of Earth or complex climate data in seconds rather than hours. The Power Balance Satlab SRS-4 isn't just a piece of hardware;
: Space is a harsh environment with a limited "power budget." The SRS-4 is designed to be incredibly efficient, providing up to
of output power—enough to scream loud enough for Earth to hear—while sipping minimal energy from the satellite’s tiny solar panels. Reliability Deliverables
: Satlab built this radio to be "flight-proven." In our story, when the satellite emerges from the dark side of the Earth and hits the first bit of sunlight, the SRS-4 boots up instantly. It catches the signal from a ground station with a sensitivity of —essentially hearing a whisper from across a continent. The Success
Because the team chose the SRS-4, their mission is a success. When a solar flare briefly scrambles some of the satellite's settings, the engineers don't panic. They send a software patch up to the SDR, the SRS-4 recalibrates itself, and the data starts flowing again.
Objectives
- Primary: Demonstrate a reliable, low-cost attitude determination and control system (ADCS) using reaction wheels, magnetorquers, and sun sensors for sub-degree pointing accuracy.
- Secondary: Validate a software-defined radio (SDR) communications stack for flexible downlink/uplink modulation schemes and test a small radiation-hardened microcontroller under low Earth orbit (LEO) conditions.
- Educational: Provide undergraduate teams remote access to mission telemetry and a simplified experiment interface for hands-on learning.
Deliverables
- Flight hardware (spacecraft bus, payloads)
- Ground station software and telemetry dashboard
- Mission operations plan and test reports
- Educational documentation and simplified APIs for remote experiments
3.3 Data Management and Output
- FR-07: The system shall output data in standard NMEA-0183 format (GGA, RMC, GST strings).
- FR-08: The user shall be able to record raw data in RINEX format for post-processing kinematic (PPK) surveys.
- FR-09: The system must support coordinate system conversions (e.g., WGS84 to local grid systems like UTM or country-specific projections).
1.2 Scope
The scope covers the Satlab S4 hardware unit, the embedded firmware controlling satellite signal processing, and the accompanying control software (typically Android/iOS applications or PC suites). The system is designed for high-precision surveying, mapping, and construction applications.
Ground Segment
- Primary ground station with SDR, 3 m dish or high-gain patch for S-band, and UHF whip
- Distributed ground network: Volunteer amateur ground stations with authenticated uplink disabled, telemetry-only support
- Mission operations center: Automated scheduling, telemetry archiving, and web-based telemetry dashboard for students
1. Introduction
Orbit & Launch
- Suggested orbit: Sun-synchronous LEO at 500–600 km altitude for steady solar illumination and predictable passes
- Launch: Piggyback/ride-share deployment via standard deployer (e.g., P-POD)
3.4 User Interface (Software Controller)
- FR-10: The controller app shall provide a visual sky-plot showing satellite positions and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
- FR-11: The interface shall allow the user to stakeout points (navigate to a target coordinate) with visual and auditory guidance.
- FR-12: The system must support "Survey Styles," allowing users to save presets for topographic points, control points, and stakeout.