NEXTRACK - Next Generation ESTRACK Uplink Services

The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems has recently updated its recommendation for uplink communication systems, to cope with new requirements for telecommand and modern profiles and applications. Two short Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes have been added to the Coding and Synchronization sublayer options, to improve the link performance. In this paper we focus on the real-time implementation of the transmitter for the Ground Station segment. We analyze the critical modules, in particular LDPC encoding, for which two efficient solutions based on a Shift Register Adder Accumulator and on Winograd convolution are considered. We then discuss the selection of a proper hardware or software platform, and we show that a Central Processing Unit-based solution is able to achieve the high data-rates required by the new uplink applications.