Special Temporary Authority application - Applicant Name
Name of Applicant:
Aerospace Corporation, THE
Special Temporary Authority application - Best Contact
First Name:
David
Last Name:
Hinkley
Phone Number:
310-336-5211
Title:
PICOSAT project manager
Special Temporary Authority application - Certification
Applicant certification
Neither the applicant nor any other party to the application is subject to a denial of Federal benefits that includes FCC benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862, because of a conviction for possession or distribution of a controlled substance. The applicant hereby waives any claim to the use of any particular frequency or electromagnetic spectrum as against the regulatory power of the United States because of the prvious use of the same, whether by license or otherwise, and requests authorization in accordance with this application. (See Section 304 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.) The applicant acknowledges that all statements made in this application and attached exhibits are considered material representations, and that all the exhibits part hereof and are incorporated herein as if set out in full in this application; undersigned certifies that all statements in this application are true, complete and correct to the best of his/her knowledge and belief and are made in good faith. Applicant certifies that construction of the station would NOT be an action which is likely to have a significant environmental effect. See the Commission's Rules, 47 CFR1.1301-1.1319.
Date:
2011-04-08 00:00:00.0
Signature of Applicant (Authorized person filing form):
David Hinkley
Title of Applicant (if any):
PICOSAT Project Manager
Special Temporary Authority application - Explanation
Please explain in the area below why an STA is necessary:
A STA is required due to the non-commercial, unique research-oriented and short-term nature of the operation. The experiment will be conducted over the maximum STA award period for the PSSC2 satellite because it has a rechargeable power system.
Special Temporary Authority application - Information
Callsign:
WE9XXX
Class of Station:
FX MO
Nature of Service:
Experimental
Special Temporary Authority application - Initial values - Purpose of Operation
Please explain the purpose of operation:
THE RF TECHNICAL DETAILS IN THIS GRANT REQUEST ARE IDENTICAL TO THOSE IN THE GRANT 0018-EX-ST-2008 EXCEPT FOR THE ADDITION OF A BACK-UP TRANSCEIVER AND THE ADDITION OF GROUND SITES. PSSC2 Test. The purpose of the operation is to conduct research regarding the space application of MEMS components and related microelectronics technologies. The operation includes a demonstration of principles of the physics of the low-earth-orbit space environment and its effects on MEMS microelectronics. The PSSC2 is a PICOSAT class satellite, weighs less than 5 KG and is 5x5x10 inches in dimension (see ?satellite design? Exhibit). It is being launched on STS-135, the last space shuttle with liftoff slated for a June 28, 2011- but it may slip. The orbit is 350 km circular at 51 degrees inclination. Orbital debris analysis predicts a lifetime between 4 and 8 months (see green and red curves on ?orbit lifetime? Exhibit). The PSSC2 satellite has two radios for redundancy. The first is the tried-and-true Freewave Technologies, Inc. FGRM radio inside which outputs 2 Watts. It has a fixed frequency (i.e. not hopping or spread spectrum) at 914.7 MHz (see ?Freewave bandwidth? Exhibit) so that the ground station can quickly link up with the satellite rather than waiting for the hopping sequence to sync up. The second radio is called the AdvRadio that is built by The Aerospace Corporation around a Texas Instruments CC1101 transceiver chip. It also operates at a fixed 914.7 MHz frequency (see ?AdvRadio bandwidth? Exhibit) and outputs 1.5W. The satellite chooses which radio to use ? both are not used at the same time. Both radios attach to an omni-directional patch antenna on the PSSC2. We have the pattern calculated and tested but use -10dB as the gain for 90% of the sphere area (see ?satellite antenna pattern? Exhibit). When the PSSC2 satellite is ejected, it will power-on. However the radio will be in receive-mode only. As the satellite flies over a ground station, the station will be continuously beaconing upwards towards the satellite. When the satellite radio hears the beacon, along with the proper serial number code, it will respond and a link will be established. At that point, the ground station will ask the satellite for whatever information it wants ? typically state of health log files, images from the cameras or other onboard telemetry. The satellite will respond by down-loading the requested information. When the link is lost due to the satellite passing out of view while the satellite was transmitting, the satellite will try 256 times to complete the last packet transmitted. If each packet is 72 bytes long and the radio data rate is 38.4 Kbaud, then it will try for only a couple of seconds before the 256 attempts are exceeded. At that point the satellite will go back into a passive receive mode again and again wait for the next beacon from a ground station with the correct serial number. We would like to use two types of ground stations to communicate with the PSSC2 satellite. The first is a fixed 16? dish antenna at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA, near LAX airport. It has 30 dB gains, 5 deg beam width and also would use a 2W Freewave FGRM radio or an AdvRadio on the feed horn. The second ground station is a portable 2-meter diameter dish. This has 22 dB gain, a 10 deg beam width and would use a Freewave FGRM radio or an AdvRadio with the output passed through a 9 W amplifier. This portable station we would like to use somewhere that is RF quiet and also advantageously located for maximum satellite coverage. A typical satellite pass is 5 minutes long, twice per day - so the system spends a lot of time not in use. We requesting approval for the same remote locations approved in STA 0018-EX-ST-2008: 1) a location on Seward Highway 1 in Anchorage Alaska, 2) a location at the AEOS facility on Mount Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, 3) a location at North Oscura Peak at the White Sands Missile Range, NM and 4) a gravel pit in Irwindale, California. We are further requesting two more locations: 5) a residence in St. Croix, USVI and 6) a residence in Kilauea, Kauai, HI. See ?FAA? Exhibit.
Special Temporary Authority application - Manufacturer
Equipment 1 Experimental
No
Equipment 1 Manufacturer
Freewave Technologies
Equipment 1 Model Number
FGRM
Equipment 1 No. Of Units
1
Equipment 2 Experimental
No
Equipment 2 Manufacturer
The Aerospace Corporation
Equipment 2 Model Number
AdvRadio
Equipment 2 No. Of Units
1
Special Temporary Authority application - Purpose of Operation
Please explain the purpose of operation:
Picosat THE RF TECHNICAL DETAILS IN THIS GRANT REQUEST ARE IDENTICAL TO THOSE IN THE GRANT 0018-EX-ST-2008 EXCEPT FOR THE ADDITION OF A BACK-UP TRANSCEIVER AND THE ADDITION OF GROUND SITES. PSSC2 Test. The purpose of the operation is to conduct research regarding the space application of MEMS components and related microelectronics technologies. The operation includes a demonstration of principles of the physics of the low-earth-orbit space environment and its effects on MEMS microelectronics. The PSSC2 is a PICOSAT class satellite, weighs less than 5 KG and is 5x5x10 inches in dimension (see ?satellite design? Exhibit). It is being launched on STS-135, the last space shuttle with liftoff slated for a June 28, 2011- but it may slip. The orbit is 350 km circular at 51 degrees inclination. Orbital debris analysis predicts a lifetime between 4 and 8 months (see green and red curves on ?orbit lifetime? Exhibit). The PSSC2 satellite has two radios for redundancy. The first is the tried-and-true Freewave Technologies, Inc. FGRM radio inside which outputs 2 Watts. It has a fixed frequency (i.e. not hopping or spread spectrum) at 914.7 MHz (see ?Freewave bandwidth? Exhibit) so that the ground station can quickly link up with the satellite rather than waiting for the hopping sequence to sync up. The second radio is called the AdvRadio that is built by The Aerospace Corporation around a Texas Instruments CC1101 transceiver chip. It also operates at a fixed 914.7 MHz frequency (see ?AdvRadio bandwidth? Exhibit) and outputs 1.5W. The satellite chooses which radio to use ? both are not used at the same time. Both radios attach to an omni-directional patch antenna on the PSSC2. We have the pattern calculated and tested but use -10dB as the gain for 90% of the sphere area (see ?satellite antenna pattern? Exhibit). When the PSSC2 satellite is ejected, it will power-on. However the radio will be in receive-mode only. As the satellite flies over a ground station, the station will be continuously beaconing upwards towards the satellite. When the satellite radio hears the beacon, along with the proper serial number code, it will respond and a link will be established. At that point, the ground station will ask the satellite for whatever information it wants ? typically state of health log files, images from the cameras or other onboard telemetry. The satellite will respond by down-loading the requested information. When the link is lost due to the satellite passing out of view while the satellite was transmitting, the satellite will try 256 times to complete the last packet transmitted. If each packet is 72 bytes long and the radio data rate is 38.4 Kbaud, then it will try for only a couple of seconds before the 256 attempts are exceeded. At that point the satellite will go back into a passive receive mode again and again wait for the next beacon from a ground station with the correct serial number. We would like to use two types of ground stations to communicate with the PSSC2 satellite. The first is a fixed 16? dish antenna at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA, near LAX airport. It has 30 dB gains, 5 deg beam width and also would use a 2W Freewave FGRM radio or an AdvRadio on the feed horn. The second ground station is a portable 2-meter diameter dish. This has 22 dB gain, a 10 deg beam width and would use a Freewave FGRM radio or an AdvRadio with the output passed through a 9 W amplifier. This portable station we would like to use somewhere that is RF quiet and also advantageously located for maximum satellite coverage. A typical satellite pass is 5 minutes long, twice per day - so the system spends a lot of time not in use. We requesting approval for the same remote locations approved in STA 0018-EX-ST-2008: 1) a location on Seward Highway 1 in Anchorage Alaska, 2) a location at the AEOS facility on Mount Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, 3) a location at North Oscura Peak at the White Sands Missile Range, NM and 4) a gravel pit in Irwindale, California. We are further requesting two more locations: 5) a residence in St. Croix, USVI and 6) a residence in Kilauea, Kauai, HI. See ?FAA? Exhibit.
Special Temporary Authority application - Requested Period of Operation