Cubesat Payload for the Exploratory In-Orbit Verification of a 71-76 GHz Satellite Communication Link

Dedicated to the exploration of the 5 GHz instantaneous bandwidth reserved by the ITU at lower W-band frequencies for fixed satellite services at 71-76 GHz, an approx. 3-unit scientific Cubesat payload realizing a multi-purpose transmitter for scientific purposes is presented. The W-band transmitter delivers up to 3 W of modulated signal power from a GaN-based solid-state power amplifier output stage, with an instantaneous modulation bandwidth of up to 3.1 GHz, optionally selectable from a 4k video camera live stream or recorded data, as well as a wideband arbitrary waveform generator implemented on a high speed rad-hard multi-processor system-on-chip based on state-of-the-art FPGA and μController technology and linked to the W-band transmitter through a high-speed digital-to-analog converter board. The scientific payload is part of a 6U Cubesat platform and is flying since June 2023 in the frame of the EIVE mission.