Design of a Satellite Tracking Station for Remote Operation and Multi-User Observation

With the advent of LEO constellations, the operation of multiple ground stations becomes an important factor in maintaining several satellites. With a single ground station, the need to perform anomaly resolution on a low-orbiting satellite becomes difficult with short view times and long durations between revisit. The staffing of several ground stations or specialized remote-operation equipment can be cost prohibitive. This paper discusses the design of a satellite ground station at Utah State University (USU) that can be remotely operated over the internet. The design of this ground station outlines software drivers for controlling hardware through a computer interface. A server daemon design is given that provides connections for multiple users. This server allows an internet connection to the hardware drivers. The design presented illustrates a daemon process running on the Sun Solaris 2 operating system. A graphical user interface (GUI) design was done in the Java programming language. With an embedded TCP/IP client, compatibility is maintained between the C server and this Java client. The end-result is a ground station that can be operated via telepresence through a Java applet. Such a design will allow the operation of multiple low-orbiting satellites, the utilization of several uplink points, all from any internet node. Without a requirement for special equipment, the operation of an experimental satellite or an entire satellite constellation becomes more cost effective.