Robust modem design for satellite communications in emergency scenarios

Aiming at increasing the satellite link performance, advanced modulation techniques have been thoroughly studied. On the other hand, reliable transmission techniques with a low computational overhead are pursued for many applications in critical scenarios such as: control operation of a satellite while it is placed into its orbit, the disposal of a satellite at the end of its life or the deep-space missions. In these specific mission critical scenarios, fast and correct data reception is even more important than high channel capacity. An unknown and fast variable channel state condition, with large Doppler shifts and low available power require incoherent and light computationally modulation techniques. This paper introduces a whole digital implementation of a receiver, based on the Double Differential PSK (DD-PSK) modulation, that is perfectly compliant with these requirements.