Multi-band and multi-protocol communication with an agile small satellite radio platform
- Paper ID
96495
- DOI
- author
- company
IQ Technologies for Earth and Space GmbH
- country
Germany
- year
2025
- abstract
The rapid evolution of communication technologies and the growing demand for global connectivity of satellites have created unprecedented challenges for satellite communication platforms. Modern satellite systems must support multi-band and multi-protocol operations to address the growing need for versatile, high-performance communication solutions. These demands are compounded by the proliferation of IoT, 5G-networks, and data-intensive applications, which require seamless integration across frequency bands and protocols. Agile radio platforms emerge as a transformative solution, enabling dynamic resource allocation, enhanced frequency reuse, and protocol adaptability. This publication explores the key technological enablers and challenges associated with multi-band, multi-protocol communication platforms. It highlights the critical role of agile architectures in ensuring global coverage, interoperability, and resilience. Emphasis is placed on the importance of standardization, energy efficiency, and cybersecurity in sustaining the operational efficiency and reliability of these next-generation platforms. As the demand for ubiquitous connectivity grows, agile systems stand at the forefront of addressing the complexities of multi-dimensional communication landscapes. The paper presents two demonstration missions that illustrate the need for an agile radio platform and show the results that can be achieved. The demonstration missions leverage both S-band and L-band frequencies to achieve versatile communication capabilities. The S-band primarily facilitates telemetry and telecommand (TM/TC) operations, ensuring robust control and monitoring of the satellite platform in the traditional sense. Meanwhile, the L-band supports Go.BIC functionality, enabling advanced data transmission and reception capabilities via a GEO relay satellite tailored to specific mission objectives. The first mission using the L-band radio platform with the Go.BIC service is OOV-Cube from Rapid Cubes and the Technical University of Berlin. The flexible and reliable communication via a GEO relay satellite was successfully demonstrated. On-demand, short-notice and satellite-position-independent communication links were established. The results show a reliable and flexible transparent link for TM/TC tasking as well as small payload data transmission in the order of a few megabytes. The combination of multiple bands for satellite accessibility in a single transceiver will be demonstrated in a second mission. In addition, the satellite transceiver can initiate a full-duplex communication link via a GEO relay satellite and is not dependent on a schedule provided by the ground segment. This supports agile satellite platforms and enables progressive mission concepts. The concept has been tested and the results underline the feasibility. This dual-band approach provides enhanced flexibility, reliability, and operational efficiency to meet the demands of modern satellite applications while maintaining seamless interoperability between systems.