A reconfigurable SDR architecture for parallel satellite reception

Small satellites have moved from being a niche sector for research to special missions, such as disaster monitoring, Earth observation, remote sensing, communications, and navigation [1]. This is evident in Spaceworks' projection (Figure 1) based on announced and future plans of developers and programs indicating around 2,000 small satellites to be launched in the next four years [2]. Also, the trend of small satellite constellations is continuously increasing due to [3], [4] their simplicity and low mass, which makes them the ideal candidates for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations [5]. As shown in Figure 2, the categorization of future multisatellite missions is based on the number of satellites and the type of mission. Universities, government, and commercial institutions developing CubeSats and smallsats for the purposes of performing space-based research still rely heavily on amateur communication technology and frequency allocations. The problem is compounded by the shortage of available frequencies in very high frequency (VHF), ultra high frequency (UHF), and S-bands due to rapid increase in the number of CubeSats orbiting the Earth [6]. This has created strain for licensing and coordinating organisations such as the Federal Communication Commission and the International Amateur Radio Union [7], [8].