FAUNA Narrative

0281-EX-ST-2018 Pre Coordination Document

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems INC

2018-02-17ELS_205092

Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20554

In the Matter of )
)
Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. )
)
Application for Authority for Ground )
Testing, Launch, and Operation of ) File No. ____-EX-PL-2018
Experimental Non-Geostationary )
Low Earth Orbit Satellites )

NARRATIVE EXHIBIT

Table of Contents

I. NARRATIVE INFORMATION REQUIRED BY FCC FORM 442 ................. 2
Question 6A. Description of the nature of the research project
being conducted ............................................................... 1
Question 6B. Showing that the communications facilities
requested are necessary for the research project .............. 3
Question 6C. Showing that existing communications facilities are
inadequate ........................................................................ 4
Question 8. Justification of the need for a five-year
experimental license term ................................................ 4
Question 10. Transmitting equipment to be installed, including
manufacturer, model number and whether the
equipment is experimental in nature ................................ 5
Question 11A. Is the equipment listed in Item 10 capable of station
identification pursuant to Section 5.115 .......................... 8
Question 4. Antenna Registration Form. Operation of
Directional Antenna ......................................................... 8
II. RELEVANT INFORMATION ADDRESSED IN SECTION 25.114 OF
THE COMMISSION’S RULES .......................................................................... 9
Section 25.114(c)(4)(1) Radio Frequency Plan ....................................... 9
Section 25.114(c)(5)(1) Orbital Locations ............................................ 17
Section 25.114(c)(10) Physical Characteristics of Satellites ................. 18
Section 25.114(c)(12) Schedule............................................................. 20
Section 25.114(d)(1) General Description of Overall System
Facilities, Operations and Services ................................ 20
Section 25.114(d)(3) Predicted Spacecraft Antenna Gain Contours ..... 21
Section 25.114(d)(14) Orbital Debris Mitigation .................................. 23
Section 25.114(d)(14)(i) Limiting the amount of debris released
during normal operations and the probability of the
satellite becoming a source of debris by collisions
with small debris or meteoroids that could cause
loss of control and prevent post-mission disposal ......... 23
Section 25.114(d)(14)(ii) Limiting the probability of accidental
explosions during and after completion of the
mission operations ......................................................... 24

Section 25.114(d)(14)(iii) Limiting the probability of the satellite
becoming a source of debris by collisions with large
debris or other operational space stations ...................... 25
Section 25.114(d)(14)(iv) Post-mission disposal plans for the space
station at end of life ....................................................... 25
III. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................. 26

ii

Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20554

In the Matter of )
)
Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. )
) File No. ____-EX-PL-2015
Application for Authority for Ground )
Testing, Launch, and Operation of )
Experimental Non-Geostationary )
Low Earth Orbit Satellites )

NARRATIVE EXHIBIT

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. (“Tyvak”) provides nano-satellite and CubeSat space

vehicle products and services that target advanced state-of-the-art capabilities to support

operationally and scientifically relevant missions. With this Application, Tyvak requests two-year

authority for ground testing, launch, and operation of an experimental non-geostationary (“NGSO”)

low earth orbit (“LEO”) CubeSat satellite, designated as PROPCUBE 2 – FAUNA, referred to as

FAUNA from here on. FAUNA will consist of a single technology demonstration satellite. The

FAUNA mission is owned by NRO Mission Integration Division (MID) and operated by the Naval

Post-Graduate School (NPS). The RF communications links for the satellite will be two-way

telemetry monitoring, and command (“T&C”) transmissions in the 915 MHz UHF and 450 MHz

UHF 1 for space-to-Earth downlink and Earth-to-space uplink transmissions respectively, and

payload data space-to-Earth downlink at a center frequency of 2340 MHz S-Band and 400 MHz.

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Authority for the UHF transmission has been granted from the NTIA per the colonyii-m450-
rfas. This application will transmit to stations listed in that NTIA authorization in addition to
stations listed in this application

The primary purpose of the FAUNA program is to test and validate new satellite

capabilities or subsystems. On-orbit operation is the only effective way of collecting functional

and performance data in the relevant operational environment, and cannot be adequately

substituted by ground testing or computer simulation. Since this application is only requesting

approval for payload data downlink within the S-Band frequency range, no associated ground

station application is necessary due to no uplink via S-Band required.

Question 6C. Showing that Existing Communications Facilities are Inadequate

Not applicable for this submission.

Question 10. Transmitting Equipment to be Installed, Including Manufacturer, Model
Number and Whether the Equipment is Experimental in Nature

FAUNA only has capabilities for UHF T&C and payload downlink data downlink via S-

Band and UHF. T&C on FAUNA is carried out in the UHF band with uplink on 440 MHz - 450

MHz and downlink on 902 MHz – 928 MHz range. Payload data downlink is carried out on S-

Band in the 2320 MHz – 2345 MHz range and 399.9 MHz – 400.05 MHz range. The following

graphic provides an overview of the transmitting and receiving components of each element. The

specific model numbers are subject to change based on product availability and system upgrades.

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GMSK. The UHF system will use a custom designed half-wave dipole antenna. The S-Band

transmitter is a commercially designed S-Band Transmitter (NanoTX) from Quasonix. The UHF

component of the payload transmitter is a Tyvak designed downconverter for the signal. The radio

operates at 1 Mbps baud using BPSK. The S-Band system will utilize a custom patch antenna from

Haigh-Farr.

The T&C ground segment can address FAUNA individually through the use of different

message destination addresses, authentication counts and/or encryption keys using the same

frequency allocation. The transmitting component located at the NPS & University of

Birmingham Earth stations are controlled by dedicated Microsoft Windows workstations. The

workstations are used for antenna pointing control, Doppler frequency shift corrections, and data

processing for transmission. The antennas used (UHF manufacturer/model: TRIVEC / AV 2040-

1 YAGI, S-Band manufacturer/model: M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. / 2.4-18R Yagi) and radio

(manufacturer/model: AOS/AR5000A) are commercially available, off-the-shelf units, which will

be modified with additional hardware to function at the requested frequencies. The University of

Birmingham does not utilize the S-Band antenna, only UHF. The Arecibo Earth Station utilizes

the same back end setup as the NPS, but has a custom 300 m dish for both UHF and S-Band.

Question 11A. Is the Equipment Listed in Item 10 Capable of Station Identification
Pursuant to Section 5.115

Each transmitting component of the system is capable of station identification at the end of

each complete transmission. The station identification process is incorporated into the mission

operations procedure. The space component will transmit the call sign in every packet transmitted

as part of its frame header. The frame header is not encoded or encrypted.

Question 4: Antenna Registration Form; Operation of Directional Antenna

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FAUNA is a low earth orbit (“LEO”) satellites in a sun-synchronous orbital with an orbit

period of approximately 1.6 hours. The satellite will pass over the Earth station roughly one to

twelve times per day depending on its location with an average access time of five to twelve

minutes for each Earth station location. The UHF / S-Band Earth stations will use a computer-

controlled tracking antenna to point the Earth station’s antenna in the direction of the moving

satellites. The UHF Trivec antenna has a maximum gain of 9 dBi along the bore-sight of the

antenna and a half-power beam-width (i.e., -3dB) of approximately 30 degrees. The S-Band M2

antenna has a maximum gain of 18 dBi along the bore-sight of the antenna and a half-power beam-

width (i.e., -3dB) of approximately 15 degrees. The Arecibo antenna is custom and has

approximately 72 dB of gain and a half-power beam-width of less than 1 degree.

FAUNA is a NGSO satellite, thus the range of antenna azimuth and elevation will vary

based on the relative motion of the satellites with respect to the ground station. It will also differ

for each satellite pass. The Earth station will only transmit above a 10 degree elevation angle.

Consequently, the range of antenna elevation angles for all satellite passes will be between 10 and

170 degrees. The azimuth can vary between 0 degrees and 360 degrees. Earth station software

will be used to control the antenna azimuth and elevation rotors for antenna pointing and limit the

range of permissible elevation angles. In addition, the software will be used to predict satellite

contact times and antenna pointing angles to support Earth station planning and operations.

II. RELEVANT INFORMATION ADDRESSED IN SECTION 25.114 OF THE
COMMISSION’S RULES

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Section 25.114(c)(4)(i) Radio Frequency Plan

UHF Communications System

The FAUNA UHF communications system will operate using half-duplex communications

with uplink within 420 MHz - 450 MHz range designated for Amateur band and downlink within

the 902 MHz – 928 MHz range designated for ISM Equipment. FAUNA has already received

allocation for 12.5 kHz at 450 MHz center frequency and 115 kHz bandwidth at 915 MHz center

frequency through the NTIA (Reference: colonyii-m450-rfas). The payload UHF system down

converts the S-Band transmitter signal to 400 MHz for beacons.

Space-to-Earth and Earth-to-Space UHF Communications

FAUNA has been designed to include several precautions to prevent harmful interference

to other services from space-to-Earth transmissions. First, as noted above, space-to-Earth satellite

transmissions will be controlled from the Earth station and the spacecraft will not transmit until it

receives a request from the Earth station or has on-board GPS confirmation that it is above the

designated ground station.

The spacecraft transceiver uses a packet-based (non-continuous) communications, which

allows command reception between transmissions of packets to provide the ability to command

the satellite to cease space-to-Earth transmission operations in a timely manner, if required.

The UHF satellite transmitter can be adjusted to provide up to two watts of power output

when communicating with the Earth station. UHF Transmission power on the Earth station

transmitter can be adjusted to provide up to 75 watts of power output. The UHF Payload

transmissions are down converted from the NanoTX transmitter and can provide up to two watts

of power output when beaconing to the Earth Station. The communications parameters for the

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UHF communications system for the space-to-Earth and Earth-to-space links are show in the

following tables:

CubeSat Communications Value
Parameters
Emission Designator 115KG1D
Service Digital Data
Center Frequency 915 MHz
Requested Bandwidth 115 kHz
(includes Doppler)
Modulation GMSK
Data Rate 9,600 bps
Polarization Linear
Antenna Type Dipole
Antenna Gain +2 dBi (Max)
RF Power Output 2W
Line/Misc Losses -2dB
EIRP 3 dBW
Table 1: FAUNA UHF Telemetry Communication Space-to-Ground (Downlink) Parameters

CubeSat Communications Value
Parameters
Emission Designator 115KG1D
Service Digital Data
Center Frequency 400 MHz
Requested Bandwidth 1.7 MHz
(includes Doppler)
Modulation BPSK
Data Rate 1 Mbps
Polarization Linear
Antenna Type Dipole
Antenna Gain +2 dBi (Max)
RF Power Output 2W
Line/Misc Losses -2dB
EIRP 3 dBW
Table 2: FAUNA UHF Payload Data Communication Space-to-Ground (Downlink)
Parameters

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Earth Station Value
Communications Parameters
Emission Designator 12K5G1D
Service Digital Data
Center Frequency 450 MHz
Requested Bandwidth 12.5 kHz
(includes Doppler)
Modulation GMSK
Data Rate 9,600 bps
Polarization Linear (H, V) or Circular
Antenna Type Yagi array
Antenna Gain +9 dBi (Max)
RF Power Output 75 W
Line Losses -3dB
EIRP 24.75 dBW
Table 3: NPS & University of Bermingham Station UHF Communications Earth-to-Space

(Uplink) Parameters

Earth Station Value
Communications Parameters
Emission Designator 12K5G1D
Service Digital Data
Center Frequency 450 MHz
Requested Bandwidth 12.5 kHz
(includes Doppler)
Modulation GMSK
Data Rate 9,600 bps
Polarization Linear (H, V) or Circular
Antenna Type Yagi array
Antenna Gain +72 dBi (Max)
RF Power Output 75 W
Line Losses -3dB
EIRP 87.75 dBW
Table 3: Arecibo UHF Communications Earth-to-Space (Uplink) Parameters

S-Band Communications System

The FAUNA S-Band communications system will operate only downlink operations

within the 2320 – 2345 MHz range designated for Satellite Communications. FAUNA will utilize

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Approximately 1.7 MHz of bandwidth with a 2340 MHz center frequency. The S-Band system is

capable of transmissions up to 1 Mbps digital but will not transmit the full data rate during

operations.

Space-to-Earth S-Band Communications

FAUNA has been designed to include the same precautions used for UHF on S-Band as

well, in order to prevent harmful interference to other services from space-to-Earth transmissions.

First, as noted above, space-to-Earth satellite transmissions will be controlled from the Earth

station and the spacecraft will not transmit until it receives a request from the Earth station or has

on-board GPS confirmation that it is above the designated ground station.

The spacecraft transceiver uses a packet-based (non-continuous) communications, which

allows command reception between transmissions of packets to provide the ability to command

via UHF the satellite to cease space-to-Earth transmission operations in a timely manner, if

required.

The S-Band satellite transmitter can be adjusted to provide up to two watts of power output

when communicating with the Earth station. S-Band is only for downlink operations and thus

there are no transmissions from the Earth station. The communications parameters for the S-Band

downlink system for the space-to-Earth link are shown in the following tables:

CubeSat Communications Value
Parameters
Emission Designator 1M70G1D
Service Digital Data
Center Frequency 2340 MHz
Requested Bandwidth 1.7 MHz
(includes Doppler)
Modulation BPSK
Data Rate 1 Mbps
Polarization RHCP
Antenna Type Patch

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CubeSat Communications Value
Parameters
Antenna Gain +5 dBi (Max)
RF Power Output 2W
Line/Misc Losses -2dB
EIRP 6.0 dBW
Table 4: FAUNA S-Band Communications
Space-to-Ground Parameters

Section 25.114(c)(5)(i) Orbital Locations

FAUNA is intended to operate in LEO with the orbit parameters shown in Table 6. Each

satellite will have an orbit period of roughly 1.6 hours with typical ground access times of five to

seven minutes per pass. The orbit parameters are presented in the following table:

Parameter Units Value
Orbit Period hrs 1.6 hrs
Orbit Altitude km 400 km (circular)
Inclination deg 51.6 degrees
Table 5: CubeSat Orbit Parameters

Section 25.114(c)(10) Physical Characteristics of Satellites

FAUNA is a nano-class satellites (< 10 kg), in which each element conforms to the CubeSat

Standard. CubeSats can be designed in different sizes as long as they are multiples of the basic

CubeSat standard unit, which is 10×10×10 centimeters, generally referred to as a 1U CubeSat,

meaning one unit in size. FAUNA is a 1U in size, which means each CubeSat will have the

dimensions of approximately 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters. The CubeSat dispenser limits the total

vehicle mass of a 1U CubeSat to less than 1.17kg respectively. The mass budget is identical for

each satellite and is provided in the following table:

Component / Subsystem Mass [g] 6U
Payload 250

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Component / Subsystem Mass [g] 6U
Spacecraft (Subtotal) 916
Structure 200
Electrical Power System 200
ADCS 100
C&DH 100
Communication 216
TOTAL 1166
Table 6: CubeSat Mass Budget per Element

For power generation, FAUNA is equipped with body-mounted GaAs solar cells that

generate approximately 4 watts of power during a typical orbit. Because of the short operational

lifetime of the satellite (i.e., less than a year), the difference between the beginning-of-life (“BOL”)

and end-of-life (“EOL”) power generation is negligible. To permit operations during eclipse,

energy is stored on-board using Li-ion batteries, with power being distributed to subsystems and

components through the electrical power subsystem circuitry. For operations, the Payload is only

powered for a portion of the total orbit. The EOL power budget is provided in the following table:

Component / Subsystem EOL Power [mW]
Orbit Averaged (1U)
Payload 1000
Spacecraft (Subtotal) 3000
ADCS 400
C&DH 600
Communication 2000
TOTAL 4000
Table 7: Power Budget for FAUNA

Section 25.114(c)(12) Schedule

The project timeline and major milestones for the launch and operation of the FAUNA are

provided in the following table. FAUNA has already been launched and is currently in operation

only for T&C, due to the NTIA authorization and lack of spectrum allocation for payload. The

dates are approximate and contingent upon unforeseen events during on-orbit operations.

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Standard and compliance is required for launch using the Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (“P-

POD”) system.

The basic geometry of each FAUNA is a monolithic cubic structure (i.e., 10cm x 10cm x

10cm). Based on an orbital debris model (ref. NASA DAS v2.1), the probability of a single particle

impact with a size of 1 millimeter or larger over the mission lifetime is very low (i.e., roughly 1.3

x 10-3). This low probability of impact for the mission is a result of the small effective area of the

space vehicle (i.e., effective area ~ 0.001 m2) and the relatively short mission duration (i.e., mission

life less than one year).

Catastrophic system failure due to orbital debris or micrometeoroid impact will not affect

the vehicle’s ability to de-orbit within the guidelines for vehicles operating in LEO (i.e., less than

25 years). Based on the mission orbit of 400 km, the space vehicle is anticipated to re-enter the

atmosphere within 2.75 year based on lifetime prediction simulations for the current mission epoch

(i.e., launch in Q12018).

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will meet the Commission’s orbital debris mitigation requirements. Therefore, Tyvak’s

application should be granted at the soonest practicable time.

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Document Created: 2018-02-17 13:50:41
Document Modified: 2018-02-17 13:50:41

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