Ground Station setup for Swayam – COEP Satellite Project

The COEP Satellite project is a student led initiative revolving around the design and fabrication of a Pico-satellite having a HAM Communication payload. COEP Ground Station was set up for servicing the Amateur Radio communication satellite “Swayam’, a 1-U cube satellite with the scientific mission of demonstrating passive magnetic stabilization. The Ground segment operates on 144 MHz band as well as the 435 MHz band with the station call sign of VU2COE. The transceivers currently operational are Kenwood TS-2000 for general amateur satellites operating on AX.25 protocol, while a custom CC1120 transponder based system is deployed for Swayam. This system works on the COEP Satellite protocol which is a custom data link and network layer protocol for short messaging. COEP Ground station is equipped with Antenna Rotator system for directional UHF Antenna. The Low noise amplifier and High power amplifier have been developed and installed at ground station.

 The team has established a communication link with more than 30 different satellites, including passively stabilized satellites. The data received includes critical CW beacon data of Amateur satellites and weather images transmitted by NOAA weather satellites. The satellites transmitting BPSK, FM and BFSK are also received using Kenwood TS2000 all band all mode transceiver. A successful APRS communication was established with packet radio Digipeater on International Space Station. The High gain antenna has made it possible to receive even the low power transmitting amateur satellites. The data received from beacons of various amateur satellites is shared with teams of respective satellites helping them to monitor their satellites.