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Channel Degradation Simulation in GNU Radio for S-Band and UHF Links

Institut
Lehrstuhl für Spacecraft Systems (TUM-ED)
Typ
Bachelorarbeit /
Inhalt
theoretisch /  
Beschreibung

Bachelor’s Aerospace Engineering Project (EP) or Thesis (BT)

Channel Degradation Simulation in GNU Radio for S-Band and UHF Links

Start date: Summer Semester 2026

Duration: max. 6 months, adaptable

Topic

This project is embedded within the EventSat satellite mission at the Chair of Spacecraft Systems (TUM SPS): https://www.asg.ed.tum.de/en/sps/eventsat-mission/

 

The GNU Radio channel simulation environment developed in this project constitutes a reusable tool for evaluating communication link robustness for any LEO small satellite mission operating in UHF or S-Band. The channel models, degradation profiles, and the methodology for analyzing byte-level error propagation through compressed data are applicable beyond EventSat. The simulation framework and channel model documentation should be structured for independent release.

 

Goals

The goals of this project are the following:

  • Identify and characterize the relevant RF channel disturbance sources for LEO CubeSat communication on S-Band and UHF, including thermal noise, atmospheric attenuation, Doppler shift, multipath fading, and potential interference

  • Develop a GNU Radio-based channel simulation environment that models these disturbances and allows injection of configurable degradation into a simulated communication link

  • Analyze the effect of channel degradation on byte-level data integrity, quantifying bit error rates and their distribution across the protocol stack and within transferred data packets

  • Test the impact of channel degradation on EventSat science data, considering the planned packetization and compression scheme for event camera data, and evaluate how bit errors in compressed data affect the usability of the reconstructed output

Tasks

The tasks of the project are the following. Time to completion is given in full-time dedication:

  1. Literature and Channel Characterization: - Survey relevant channel disturbance sources for LEO satellite links in UHF (~437 MHz) and S-Band (~2.2 GHz). Identify applicable channel models from literature (e.g. Rician fading for LEO, ITU-R propagation models) (~2 weeks) - Define a set of representative degradation scenarios (e.g. nominal pass, low-elevation pass, interference event) with quantified parameters for each channel effect (~2 weeks)

  2. GNU Radio Simulation Development: - Implement a GNU Radio flowgraph that models a configurable channel between a transmitter and receiver, including additive noise, Doppler shift, and fading blocks (~3 weeks) - Validate the simulation against theoretical BER curves for known modulation schemes to confirm correct implementation (~2 weeks)

  3. Byte-Level Error Analysis: - Feed artificial test data (known bit patterns) through the simulated channel and analyze the resulting bit error patterns: distribution, burst characteristics, and correlation with channel parameters (~2 weeks) - Feed packetized data through the simulation and analyze how bit errors manifest at the packet level (packet loss rate, corrupted packet rate, error distribution within packets) (~2 weeks)

  4. Science Data Impact Assessment: - Using available event camera data (raw and compressed) with the provided packetization scheme, transmit through the degraded channel simulation, and evaluate the impact on reconstructed data quality (~2 weeks) - Characterize the sensitivity of compressed event camera data to bit errors: identify whether the compression scheme amplifies or contains error propagation (~2 weeks)

  5. Documentation: - Document the channel models, simulation setup, and results. Provide the GNU Radio flowgraphs and analysis scripts in a version-controlled repository (~2 weeks)

 

Expected results

  • A documented survey of relevant channel disturbances for EventSat's UHF and S-Band links

  • A GNU Radio channel simulation environment with configurable degradation parameters

  • Bit error rate analysis and byte-level error characterization for representative degradation scenarios

  • An assessment of the impact of channel degradation on packetized and compressed EventSat science data

  • All simulation files and analysis scripts in a Git repository with documentation

 

Prerequisites / Required Background

  • Fundamentals of digital communications (modulation, BER, channel models)

  • Basic experience with GNU Radio or willingness to learn (Python/C++ environment)

  • Programming skills in Python for data analysis

  • For the science data assessment: basic understanding of data compression concepts

Möglicher Beginn
sofort
Kontakt
Ramon Garcia Alarcia
Tel.: +49 89 289 55752
ramon.garcia-alarciatum.de
Ausschreibung