RF-COMLINK

RF-COMLINK  
The RF-COMLINK application makes it possible to calculate the budget of a telecommunications link between a satellite and a ground station, made up of a transmitter, the atmosphere through which the signal passes and a receiver.

Through a dedicated HMI, the RF-COMLINK application allows you to enter :

• the system parameters of the link (uplink, downlink, frequency, modulation, bit rate, required bit error rate, etc.),
• the transmitter parameters (power, antenna gain or radiation pattern and possibly variable receiver direction, etc.),
• the propagation parameters (transmitter-receiver distance or evolution file of this distance and the visibility of the ground stations, atmospheric conditions, etc.),
• the receiver parameters (figure of merit, antenna gain or radiation pattern and possibly variable transmitter direction, system temperature, etc.).

A simulation mode with input files in CIC format giving the geometric elements of the link as a function of time (transmitter/receiver distance, station visibilities, satellite elevation, antenna reference angle of sight, etc.) and which can be provided by the SIMU-CIC and IDM-CIC applications, makes it possible to simulate this budget as a function of time and to simulate the load of the on-board memory.

All the manipulated parameters and the performed calculations are presented through bubbles associated with each displayed parameter, containing their precise definition.

The application provides a calculation of the received RF power, the signal-to-noise ratio and its comparison with the required signal-to-noise ratio for a link meeting the required bit error rate. When temporal evolution files (distance, elevation, antenna direction, etc.) are provided, a simulation can be performed to generate CIC-standard text files describing the temporal evolution of the results (received power, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.) that can be read by the associated applications (IDM-Plot, etc.).

The application also provides information on the compliance of the link characteristics with the ECSS standards for the spatial engineering of digital radio links.
When the temporal profiles of the mission data rates generated by the satellite are provided, a simulation taking into account the visibility of the ground stations makes it possible to generate the memory occupancy rate profiles.