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<p>Most satellites rely on a ground control station to command their payloads and through which they download data from their payloads. The Naval Postgraduate School?s satellite (NPSAT1) is no exception. The spacecraft?s payloads, which include the Coherent Electromagnetic Radio Tomography (CERTO), Langmuir probe, Configurable Fault Tolerant Processor (CFTP), as well as the Visible Wavelength Imager (VISIM), all generate data that require collection on the ground through a radio frequency downlink. Telemetry from NPSAT1?s unique attitude control system, which uses only MEMS angular rate sensors, magnetic coils, a magnetometer and a GPS could aid in the development of improved or more economical attitude control systems. The goal of this thesis is to ready the ground control segment for operation for collection of data from and command of NPSAT1 immediately after launch. Included is a description of the spacecraft to ground calculation, bidirectional, link budget and the operation and testing of the ground antenna pointing control system. Future space systems students and faculty will use the ground control segment to harvest the data and reap the knowledge of the experiments that will orbit inside NPSAT1. What better way to test the pointing of the antenna than to use it to track the Midshipman Space Technology Applications Research Program?s first satellite (MidSTAR1).
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<br>Subjects: Radio frequency</div>
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Koerschner, Luke E.</div>
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