Software defined radio for small satellites

Cubesats offer relatively lost-cost access to space. They are actively used for a wide range of scientific studies and technology development efforts. Small size, relatively low available power, and highly constrained cost have typically limited the radios on these satellites to low data rates. In this paper we present our first AeroCube 915 MHz software defined radio based on a Zynq processor and using Lime Micro transceiver developed to address the low-cost constraint while at the same time offering a state-of-the-art communications link. The radio supports a wide range of modulations and powerful error correction code capable of 10 Mbps. The coding and modulation can be adapted in real-time as the range from the ground station to the satellite changes to maximize downlink throughput.