Towards a CubeSat Mission for a Wideband Data Transmission in E-Band

This paper presents ongoing activities towards an in-orbit verification of an E-band high bandwidth communication system to exploit a new spectrum for broadband satellite communication by demonstrating a data-downlink, using solid state technologies for the RF analog transmit front end, in the frequency range of 71-76 GHz with a data rate of 5 Gbit/s from a three-axis stabilized 6U nano-satellite in low earth orbit to a ground station. A recent plane-to-ground data transmission has successfully validated the technology platform, and dynamic link budgets suggest the feasibility of LEO to ground links exploiting E-band frequencies.