SatNOGS explained

SatNOGS
Developer:	Libre Space Foundation
Genre:	Satellite Ground Station Network
License:	GNU GPL v3+, AGPL, CERN Open Hardware License

SatNOGS (Satellite Networked Open Ground Station) project is a free software and open source hardware platform aimed to create a satellite ground station network. The scope of the project is to create a full stack of open technologies based on open standards, and the construction of a full ground station as a showcase of the stack.^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

The SatNOGS project was initiated during NASA SpaceApps Challenge in 2014 at Athens Hackerspace.^[4] The project then took part in and won the first place of the Hackaday Prize 2014 competition.^[5] SatNOGS is currently a project of the Libre Space Foundation.^[6]

Overview

SatNOGS aims to provide a stack of technologies needed for a distributed network of low Earth orbit satellite ground stations. In order to implement such a stack the four following different sub-projects are developed

Network

SatNOGS Network is a web application for scheduling observations across the network of ground stations.^{[7] [8]}

Database

SatNOGS Database is a crowd-sourced application allowing its users to suggest satellite transmitter information for currently active satellites. Its data is available via an API.^[9]

Client

SatNOGS Client is the software to run on ground stations, usually on embedded systems, that receives the scheduled observations from the Network, receives the satellite transmission and sends it back to the Network web app.^{[10] [11]}

Ground Station

SatNOGS Ground Station is an open source hardware ground station instrumentation with a rotator,^[12] antennas,^[13] electronics^[14] and connected to the Client. It is based on 3D printed components, readily available materials.

Operation

A November 2019 SatNOGS blog post summarizes total statistics since establishment:^[15]

• 300+ operational ground-stations
• 12,000,000+ observations
• 380+ satellites with 810+ transmitters monitored
• 51,000,000+ data frames

Tracking

The global array of ground stations contribute to an effective network for monitoring orbital satellites.^[16]

The European Space Agency utilized the SatNOGS network to gain initial status observations from the OPS-SAT CubeSat after launch in December 2019.^[17]

See also

• UPSat

External links

• SatNOGS Website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hackaday: SatNOGS .
2. Poblet. Marta . Fünfgeld. Hartmut . McShane. Ian . 2014-11-30 . Telecommunications and disaster management . Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy . en. 2 . 4 . 10.7790/ajtde.v2n4.73.
3. Web site: Overview of the Satellite Networked Open Ground Stations (SatNOGS) Project . Dan. White . 2018 . 32nd Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites . 19 December 2018.
4. Web site: SatNOGS at NASA Space Apps Challenge.
5. Web site: SatNOGS Wins the 2014 Hackaday Prize. November 2014.
6. Web site: SatNOGS. Libre Space Foundation. en-US. 2018-12-20.
7. Web site: SatNOGS Network source code.
8. Web site: You probably have never heard about SatNOGS and this is why you should. 2018-06-12. TEONITE. 2018-12-20. 2018-12-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041316/https://teonite.com/blog/you-probably-have-never-heard-about-satnogs-and-this-is-why-you-should/. dead.
9. Web site: API — SatNOGS 1 documentation. satnogs.readthedocs.io. 2018-12-20.
10. Web site: SatNOGS Client source code.
11. Web site: GNU Radio Conference 2018 Keynotes.
12. Web site: SatNOGS Rotator source code.
13. Web site: SatNOGS Antennas source code.
14. Web site: SatNOGS Rotator Controller source code.
15. Web site: 5 years after winning the Hackaday prize. 2019-11-14. SatNOGS. 2019-12-19.
16. Web site: About • SatNOGS. SatNOGS. 6 January 2015. 2019-12-19.
17. esaoperations. European Space Agency. 1207315749859209216. 18 December 2019. And grateful thanks to @Coastal8049 and his fellow @SatNOGS team members for giving us our first indication the newborn #OPSSAT satellite was alive and well!.