Within the first decade of the 21st century, the aerospace community has seen many more opportunities to launch small spacecraft in the 10 to 100 kg mass class. Coupled with this has been consistent interest from the government in developing small-spacecraft platforms to expand civil and military mission possibilities. Small spacecraft have also given small organizations such as universities an increased access to space. Because small satellites are limited in size, power, and mass, new and often nontraditional capabilities must be explored and developed to make them viable and attractive when compared with larger and more proven spacecraft. Moreover, small organizations that wish to contribute technically are often limited by the small size of their teams and available resources, and need creative solutions for meeting mission requirements. A key need is in space-to-ground communications. Complex missions typically require large amounts of data transfer to the ground and in a timely fashion. Available options trade hardware cost, available ground stations or networks, available operating-frequency range, data-rate performance, and ease of use. A system for small spacecraft will be presented based upon Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) that minimizes development effort and maximizes interface control to meet typical small-spacecraft communications requirements. RFICs are low-cost components that feature pre-built radio hardware on a chip that can be expanded easily by developers with little or no radio experience. These devices are widespread in domestic applications for short-range connectivity. A preliminary design and prototype is presented that meets basic spaceflight requirements, offers data rates in the 55 to 85 kbps range, and has completed basic proof-of-concept testing. While there are higher-data-rate alternatives in existence, the solution presented here strikes a useful balance among data rate, parts cost, and ease of use for non experts, and gives the user operational control necessary to make air-to-ground communications time effective.
