Communication System Architecture and Firmware Design for Nano Satellites

In earlier days, very few countries were a part of the space race and only a couple of space agencies worked towards space exploration. But today, with the privatization of the space industry many new public-private players have emerged and collaborate to develop various missions for deep space exploration activities. The new space industry is a cooperative effort by private companies, startups, public and private research institutes, and governmental reforms to enable these collaborations for realizing the global vision of space exploration. The upcoming space exploration missions are focused to establish a permanent human presence on Moon and Mars. Many studies have been conducted to analyze the different challenges and risks for such courageous missions. One of the main challenges is to stay connected all the time with the least possible delay. This paper will explain the firmware architecture design developed for a student project demonstration for the IGLUNA 2020 campaign in the context of lunar infrastructure development. The paper documents the mission scenario and the firmware that was developed using open-source software and related libraries. The designed firmware can be used for CubeSat missions that provide an opportunity for students and educational institutions to effortlessly develop a working system for technology demonstration in space. The paper will also explain the different software blocks used for the development which can be further utilized for creating complex and more robust communication software for nanosatellites missions. Copyright © 2021 by Tushar Tandon. Published by IAF