spacecruft

Heavy duty continuous use satellite ground station for the SatNOGS network. Rotator with one VHF and one UHF antenna. Using all COTS (commodity off the shelf) parts, requiring no special tools or skills to build. Libre licensing. https://spacecruft.org/spacecruft/Mighty-Satellite-Ground-Station

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README.md

Mighty Satellite Ground Station

DRAFT

The Mighty Satellite Ground Station (MSGS) is a libre, heavy duty, extra features design for tracking satellites.

MSGS is intended for use with the Libre Space Foundation's SatNOGS network, and is based on their freely available files.

MSGS is a more robust version of the earlier Satellite Ground Station, documents available here:

https://spacecruft.org/spacecruft/satellite-ground-station

Spacecruft SatNOGS Ground Station

Occassionally it is on a webcam stream:

https://spacecruft.tv

Overview

Designed for artificial satellite tracking.

Libre.
Heavy duty.
Completely documented design listing all parts and sources from Antennas to Zipties.
All commodity-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts generally available in North American markets.
Requires no special tools or skills to assemble. Just needs two adjustable wrenches, a screwdriver, and wire cutters.
VHF and UHF antennas on crossboom.
Software defined radio (SDR).
Az/El rotator optimized for satellite tracking.
24/7/365 outdoor operation.
Relatively low cost, but parts selected for quick deployment not price (e.g. no Arduino hacking, no soldering, no drilling, etc. which could lower price).
Indoor computer and controllers.
110V AC power (e.g. not a solar system).
Quick and easy mast deployment.
Non-permanent mount, which can be easily moved.
All parts shipping via courier (UPS, FedEx), no freight required.
Easily serviced, upgraded, modified.

Bill of Materials

The core document is the Mighty Satellite Ground Station Bill of Materials (BoM). It is a spreadsheet in Libre Office format.

Mighty Satellite Ground Station Bill of Materials

Cable Harnesses Version Two

See docs/harness for wire harness diagram source.

Diagram of the azimuth controller harness.

Diagram of the azimuth main harness.

Diagram of the azimuth rotator harness.

Diagram of the elevation controller harness.

Diagram of the elevation main harness.

Diagram of the elevation rotator harness.

SatNOGS

A global network of satellite ground stations, designed as an open source participatory project.

SatNOGS Website --- https://satnogs.org/
SatNOGS Network --- https://network.satnogs.org/

The base design comes from the Libre Space Foundation. The present design adds review of other designs in the SatNOGS network and feedback from the #SatNOGS Matrix channel.

Upstream docs:

SatNOGS Introduction --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Introduction
SatNOGS Ground Station Build Overview --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Build
Ground Stations --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Ground_Stations
Raspberry Pi --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Raspberry_Pi
Antennas --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Antennas
Software Defined Radio (SDR) --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Software_Defined_Radio
Papers --- https://wiki.satnogs.org/Academic_Papers

TODO

Update to Green Heron RT-21.
Update to Alfa Spid RAS.

Copyright

Unofficial project, not part of official Libre Space Foundation software or website. Upstream sources under their respective copyrights.

License: CC By SA 4.0 International and/or GPLv3+ at your discretion.