Proposal and Review of a Ground Sensor Terminal (GST) Design for Environmental Data Collection and LoRa-Based CubeSat Missions

Abstract

With the surge of CubeSats in the academic and scientific world, establishing a purpose for its mission is very important. Due to its versatility, various technologies can be embedded into these satellites to compose missions, such as cameras, sensors, or just communications modules. This paper focuses on the design of a Ground Sensor Terminal (GST) for the CubeSat store & forward mission CIMATÉLITE-1. Its main objective is to collect environmental data from crop fields and send these to the satellite. By reviewing previous projects' literature and identifying solutions, opportunities, and challenges, an insightful analysis was conducted to guide the conceptual development of the system architecture. The key components, such as sensor integration, power management, and data handling, were thoroughly evaluated to enhance the performance and reliability of the system. The framework obtained by this study will emphasize the necessary trade-offs and considerations required for a successful application in a CubeSat mission, leading to the implementation of said GST in the near future.