myGroundStations.com

August 2012 update: We’re now going live and rolling out ground stations to dozens of locations across the globe! We’re looking for more sites to improve our coverage and to assist with projects such as automated two line element (TLE) derivation. Please visit our ‘new sites’ page here if you would like to get involved.

myGroundStations.com is a project to build an open source, open access Redundant Array of Inexpensive Ground Stations (RAIGS) to support CubeSat, PocketQub and other nanosatellite missions. This site is for everyone interested in designing, building and operating one or more such ground stations.

If you could spare a small patch of roof top to host a new ground station, please look here.

myGroundStations.com project summary

We will provide hardware and software designs so you can build your own ground station from off the shelf components. Alternatively, you will be able to purchase kits or ready built systems from us, so you can get started straight away and support the project.

We have several types of ground stations to fit your interests and budget:

• LEO Class 1 – low-speed downlink only ground station
• LEO Class 2 – medium speed uplink and downlink ground station
• NEL Class 2 – high-speed uplink and downlink ground station

We encourage all myGroundStations.com participants to join the myGroundStations.com network of ground stations and make their ground stations available to the community. Your ground stations will always have priority communicating with your favourite missions.

However, if they are idle, they can download and forward data for other peoples missions. If they too operate myGroundStations.com compatible ground stations, they can return the favour. Our software takes care of the coordination of this for you. If you allow it, all data downloaded by your ground station can be forwarded to the central myGroundStations.com data repository from which anyone can download any data submitted.

The myGroundStations.com client software will also be GENSO compatible. If you allow it, your ground station can become a node in one or more GENSO networks.

The goal is to have sufficient ground stations around the world to provide near continuous coverage for as many nanosatellite missions as possible simultaneously. Ideally all the data transmitted on amateur radio frequencies by nano-satellite missions will be collected and stored centrally for anyone to use. We hope to allow innovative applications such as virtual satellite radar applications to be made possible by such a collection of data.

If you could spare a small patch of roof top to host a new ground station, please look here.

The information contained here has been provided by a number of authors and suppliers. This site is created entirely by contributions from volunteers and further contributions are very welcome. It is hosted on the WordPress.com platform which allows multiple registered contributors to add and update information and for unregistered contributors to make comments.

myGroundStations.com is a JA initiative.

Contribute

Do you have a story, information, brochure, manual, link or other relevant content that should be on this page? If so, we would be very grateful if you would leave it as a comment or email support@myGroundStations.com so we can post it here – thanks!