Development of a high speed PCI data capture card for the SUNSAT I ground station

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The primary payload of the University of Stellenbosch's micro-satellite, SUNSAT I,was a high quality imager, capable of taking stereoscopic images of the surface ofthe earth. Although the orbit of SUNSAT I will have the satellite pass over the wholeearth, contact via the SUNSAT I ground station at the University will only be made for3% of each day. To be able to photograph any part of the earth onboard memorywas provided on the satellite to store the image until it can be downloaded to theground station. A high speed downlink was also added to the satellite to be able todownload a complete image from the onboard memory in one pass and also to takerealtime pictures as the satellite passes over the ground station. At that stage therewas no way to capture the data at the ground station. A high speed digital datacapture mechanism was needed. The thesis discusses the development of a highspeed capture card.Due to the high speeds needed it provided an excellent opportunity to develop thecard using the PCI bus, the first design to do so at the University, as an interface witha computer. A prototype card was developed first to do proof of concept. It is shownthat the prototype card fulfilled the functional requirements and it was also used tocapture the first image from the complete satellite during the final tests before launch.Finally a production card for use in the ground station was designed and assembled.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University