Open AccessThe Micro‐Broadband Receiver (μBBR) on the Very‐Low‐Frequency Propagation Mapper CubeSat
Author(s) -
Marshall Robert A.,
Sousa Austin,
Reid Riley,
Wilson Gordon,
Starks Michael,
Ramos Daniel,
Ballenthin John,
Quigley Steven,
Kay Ron,
Patton James,
Coombs Joseph,
Fennelly Judy,
Linscott Ivan,
Inan Umran S.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
earth and space science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.843
H-Index - 23
ISSN - 2333-5084
DOI - 10.1029/2021ea001951
Subject(s) - cubesat , spacecraft , payload (computing) , broadband , very low frequency , nasa deep space network , remote sensing , electrical engineering , computer science , satellite , physics , telecommunications , aerospace engineering , geology , engineering , computer network , network packet
The very low frequency (VLF) propagation mapper (VPM) is a 6U CubeSat designed to measure VLF radio waves in Low‐Earth Orbit. The science goals of the VPM mission are to measure VLF signals broadcast by the DSX mission, and to study natural and anthropogenic signals (from lightning and VLF transmitters) in the near‐Earth space environment. The primary payload consists of an electric field dipole antenna deployed to 2 meters in length, and a magnetic search coil deployed 50 cm from the spacecraft. Signals from these two sensors are conditioned by analog electronics, sampled, and then processed digitally into downloadable data products. The VPM mission was launched in January 2020; science operations began in March 2020 and continued through September, when contact with the spacecraft was lost. This paper describes the mission goals and instrument designs in detail, as well as some examples of the VPM data set.