PROPOSAL
Cubesat LoRa module
LoRa is a long range, low bandwith networking protocol widely used in Internet of Things projects, sensor networks, low power, low cost and embedded systems. LoRa’s encoding schema allows for extremely long distance communications with small power usage and small simple antennas. This combination of features has made it attractive to small satellite operators flying cubesats and LoRa is now routinely used to connect small ground based nodes to satellites, typically for remote sensor network deployments, and for satellite telemetry, e.g. by the Starlink constellation and in the TinyGS project
In this project we would like to develop a LoRa module for inclusion in a future small satellite mission, and investigate and experiment with different on satellite LoRa approaches that we have in the lab. The LoRa approach is currently used in the PyCubed opensource educational satellite system and fortcoming mini-Py-cubed pocketqube form factor satellites.
ITU is a partner of the Danish Student Cubesat Program, DISCOSAT. ITU launched their first satellite DISCO-1 into Low Earth Orbit in April 2023 and will launch a DISCO-2 in 2024. In this project you will evaluate the LoRa technology for inclusion in a future DISCOSAT satellite, and may be able to test the module in a high altitude balloon