Development of a drone-based miniaturized Flexible Microwave Payload (FMPL) for GNSS-Reflectometry and L-band radiometry

Abstract

This project has been developed in collaboration with the NanosatLab UPC, which develops CubeSats for educational and scientific purposes and in-orbit technology demonstration. More specifically, the laboratory is focused on remote sensing systems. In recent years, the NanosatLab UPC has been developing the Flexible Microwave PayLoad (FMPL), the integration of different microwave remote sensing equipment in a single system: reflectometry Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals (GNSS-R) and microwave radiometry (MWR) in L-band. In 2022, the second version of this system, FMPL-2, is in orbit on board the CubeSat 3Cat5, which has provided precious scientific data on the climate of the earth and the evolution of climate change. The first version, FMPL-1, will be launched in the coming months aboard CubeSat 3Cat4. The third version, FMPL-3, is now ready for launch on board the CubeSat GNSSaS. From space, FMPL has proven to be a very useful tool for studying climate change. This work aims to design, build and test the first FMPL for drones, the FMPL-D. This new platform will be used to evaluate new versions of FMPL. It will also be a valuable tool to study the characteristics of soil, water, ice and vegetation locally and with a spatial resolution much greater than that which can be obtained from a satellite. The results presented in this thesis put the complexity of these systems into perspective. Firstly, in the results of the radiometer, an effect of distortion and destruction of the data obtained due to the radio frequency interference received during the measurement campaigns has been observed, highlighting the need for detection and mitigation systems interference for ground observation missions. For the GNSS reflectometry instrument, multiple flights were conducted in which large amounts of data were collected, the processing of which is still in progress. Preliminary results indicate good characteristics of the radio frequency chain. This Final Degree Project (TFG) is the first version of the FMPL-D, culminating in the system's first version and many lessons learned.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clim