An Aircraft Based Emulation Platform for LEO Satellite Antenna Beam Steering

A joint project between the KU Leuven- and Stellenbosch Universities are currently underway to develop a space borne electronically beam steerable antenna and the associated ground-space segments. This paper covers the development of an Aircraft based Satellite Emulator to facilitate convenient aircraft based testing of an antenna array, intended for Low Earth Orbit satellite deployment. A flight strategy is developed to emulate such a satellite pass as best possible, with the strategy implemented in software on in-flight PC hardware. A full interface between the aircraft avionics and satellite bus system has been developed to enable generation of the required antenna steering commands and to create a satellite bus image to the payload. Successful test results are presented, as obtained from the actual aircraft flight simulator. The paper describes the successful development and initial testing of a low altitude flight test strategy for certain satellite borne systems, as a cost-effective and realistic interim step to actual and very expensive space flight testing.