Parametric System Engineering Analysis of Capability-based Small Satellite Missions

Ekpo, SC ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9219-3759 (2019) Parametric System Engineering Analysis of Capability-based Small Satellite Missions. IEEE Systems Journal, 13 (3). pp. 3546-3555. ISSN 1932-8184

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Abstract

To achieve appropriate link budget and system engineering analyses of capability-based small satellites (CSSs) missions, an objective assessment and computation of the component-, subsystem-, and system-levels parameters requirements must be carried out. This paper presents the parametric models for the system engineering analysis of communication, meteorology, planetary, and other small satellite programmes with recourse to the initial mission, conceptual design, and post-mission objectives. Mass and power margins are the critical resources under investigation for achieving an economical and sustainable capability-based small satellite mission. Case study systems engineering analyses for meteorology, communication and planetary missions indicate a transmit power for communication uplink and downlink of at least 33 dBm. The parametric model also reveals a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 16 dB per radio communication link for worst-case noise floor and path loss. This holds a great promise for the development of adaptive subsystems for reconfigurable multiband, and multistandard transceivers for multipurpose missions and post-mission applications.