MIPT: Three-band on-board communication equipment for nanosatellites

Main article: Space satellites of countries of the world

2025: Creation of a radio link for Russian nanosatellites

Scientists of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology are developing triband on-board communications equipment for nanoclass spacecraft (the mass of which does not exceed 10 kg). These devices are designed for basic scientific research of near-Earth space, remote sensing of the Earth and communications. The university announced this on February 17, 2025. The work is carried out as part of a project to develop command-telemetry and high-speed radio links of the National Technology Initiative "Promising Technologies for Space Systems and Services."

Competition in the space sphere and the struggle for economic efficiency require a reduction in the size, mass and cost of spacecraft. In this case, the functionality must be preserved in full. Requirements for the systems that make up spacecraft are also increasing. This also applies to the communication equipment necessary to control the device, receive telemetry from on-board systems (information about what is happening with the device), as well as to send large amounts of data to Earth (for example, images of the Earth's surface).

To have time to transmit information while the spacecraft flies over the Earth's communication station, different data transfer rates are needed for different tasks. Existing available domestic solutions are either overly energy consuming, or not fast enough to operate, or too large. 

We are creating special equipment for communication with spacecraft, which operates in three bands. The first is VHF. It is intended for emergency situations and allows us to contact the device, no matter what position he is in. This consumes very little energy. The second mode is the S-band, which is used for normal communication. Here we can transmit and receive data at a rate of several megabits per second. In this case, the device must be directed by one side to the Earth, which is the normal mode of operation for many spacecraft. In this mode the software of aircraft systems is updated and extended telemetric information is received. Finally, the third mode - the X-band - is designed to transmit large amounts of data at a speed of 200-300 megabits per second, this range is optional. The technology is modular, depending on the purpose of the spacecraft, it is possible to install equipment in various configurations, "said Sergey Lavrentiev, one of the authors of the project, leading engineer of the laboratory of applied nanotechnology at MIPT.

In the VHF range, many developers have reached the limit of miniaturization. In the X-band, the existing transmitter has a high speed, but is too massive for cubsats. According to the developers, the equipment created at MIPT is not inferior in most characteristics to the best world counterparts, and surpasses them in some respects.

In the domestic segment, there are no transmitters at all at speeds of 200-300 megabits per second, namely, such speeds are needed to group promising devices. In this range, in terms of characteristics, we plan to reach the forefront of the world, where the equipment of companies such as Cubecom and EnduroSat is presented. In the S-range, domestic developers, for example, "Satellites," were guided by microsatellites, their equipment is not suitable for nanoclass devices. Here, in terms of power and speed, we managed to equal the world leaders (Skylabs, SatLab), while in the standardized building we have not 1, but 2 sets of equipment at once on the S and VHF ranges (in fact, 4 modems in one), which gives full redundancy of the communication system and increases the survivability of the device as a whole, - added Sergey Lavrentiev.

At the current stage, the scientific group has developed and manufactured experimental samples of products. In 2025, it is planned to conduct their ground tests so that in the future, during flight tests, the institute can obtain flight qualifications and offer to use the equipment for spacecraft developers.

The latter are showing interest in development already at the current stage and are waiting for the results of ground testing in order to move on to active cooperation. The introduction of the system developed at MIPT into the space industry will allow building promising spacecraft of a new generation, while reducing the cost of on-board communications equipment by several times.