From what I have read that is published, the DOD Colony II 3u cubesats are 3 axis controlled and pointable to within a degree or something close to that. As Bob pointed out this isn't a big help for antenna pointing for multiuser LEO sats, but when you read the power production the Colony II sats have, you'll see the application in a HEO orbit. I believe a 3u in HEO with this ability would be an affordable, usuable satellite for AMSAT to launch if we could duplicate the Colony sats abilities.
73, Drew KO4MA/p at the corner of No and Where, Oklahoma
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 18, 2011, at 7:47 AM, "Bob Bruninga" bruninga@usna.edu wrote:
[Using attitude control]...
We could mount microwave antennas on a nadir-facing surface and provide consistent, predictable, strong, wideband signals to ground stations during a pass.
The problem with LEO satellites is that a nadir facing antenna does give great gain directly overhead ground stations, but only for about the center 2 minutes of only the one direct overhead pass a day. The problem with facing antennas "down" on a LEO satellite is that 90% of the users are not "under it", but to the side of it.
For example, lets say that we put relatively high gain antennas facing down giving about a 45 degree antenna pattern (say around 10 dB). Now looking at the total time that ARISSat is above 45 degrees, turns out to be about 3 minutes a day or less than 10% of all the time it is in view to any one ground station.
But as you say, it is a great advantage if the objective is to provide a 2 minute comm. window to anyone on the planet once a day, then such a design does give as much as 16 dB or so advantage over an omni antenna on a satellite.
Anyway, just a thought. Bob, WB4APR
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