VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019

Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Shavige Malleshwara Hills, Kumaraswamy Layout, Bangalore – 560 078.
(An Autonomous Institute affiliated to VTU, Approved by AICTE & ISO 9001:2008 Certified )
Accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with ‘A’ grade

AAT

Program: B.E. Branch: ECE

Course code:EC651 Semester : VI ‘A’ Section

SUBJECT: SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

A CASE STUDY
REPORT ON
VIRTUAL SATELLITE

Submitted by

Sl.No. USN NAME MARKS

1. 1DS16EC067 KINNARI PRAKASH K

Faculty In-charge

Prof. Shashi Raj K

Signature of Faculty In-charge

Dept. of ECE Page 0

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019

Dept. of ECE Page 1

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019

INDEX

1. VIRTUAL SATELLITE (SOFTWARE)

1.1 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 3 IN THE CEF 2-3
1.2 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 4 3-4
1.3 THE REASEARCH PLATFORM 4-5

2. VIRTUAL SATELLITE (HARDWARE)

2.1 MAIN PARTS OF OVERVIEW1 6-7
2.2 INTRODUCTION 7-8
2.3 WHY DO WE NEED THIS SATELLITE? 8-9

3. CONCLUSION 9
4. REFERENCES 9

Dept. of ECE Page 2

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019

1. VIRTUAL SATELLITE
(SOFTWARE)

The future of model based systems engineering for space missions

1.1 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 3 IN THE CEF

Virtual Satellite is an internal DLR project that started in 2007. As its name suggests, the initial focus was on
supporting spacecraft assembly, integration and test (AIT) activities with a digital mockup and simulation. Quite
soon the project focus shifted from AIT to the early phases in the life of a spacecraft, to the Concurrent
Engineering Facility (CEF) in. Here spacecraft and their missions are born and therefore a smart tool was needed
that lets the engineers collaboratively work on a shared digital representation of the spacecraft. Enabling
collaboration is one of the key features of Virtual Satellite.

Dept. of ECE Page 3

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019
Continues evolution and integration of the Virtual Satellite software family builds the backbone of DLR’s
MBSE activities. Here the latest research results are evaluated, implemented and shipped to the projects. The
Virtual Satellite Family contains the Versions 3 and 4, some of the best and most advanced tools to support the
design, development and production of tomorrow’s spacecraft. Most tools are based on the Eclipse Rich Client
Platform (RCP) and are written in Java within a state of the art software engineering environment.

Virtual Satellite 3 mainly supports the work at CEF. It was developed to improve collaboration during the
design studies and to allow the engineers to create a common digital mock-up of their spacecraft. It introduces a
simple data model that is tailored to the needs of the engineers and that perfectly fits the way CEF studies are
conducted. Even quite simple, it follows the paradigm of letting the engineers be creative. Virtual Satellite is
easy to use and does not distract the engineers from their original task of designing a spacecraft. Besides the day
by day business in the CEF, Virtual Satellite 3 has also levered some pioneering new directions such as
continuous verification or visual spacecraft configuration approaches.

A flexible and extensible data model

1.2 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 4

Virtual Satellite 4 is the new evolution and rebuilt platform. With a customizable data model it can be tailored to
the various needs of individual engineering tasks and project requirements. Rather than the historic approach of
trying to create the data model and system engineering language that can handle all possible tasks, the new
approach focuses on necessities leading to simple and easy to use applications. The data model of a Virtual
Satellite 4 application can be extended by a concept. It can be downloaded from a concept store and activated

Dept. of ECE Page 4

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019
when needed. Such a concept is a set of data model extensions plus functionality to provide corresponding user
interfaces and further functionality. All this together with this concept-based extension mechanism offers Virtual
Satellite 4 in three product lines:

1. “Virtual Satellite 4 Core” as the baseline product. It provides all you need to start designing your system.
Further functionality needed can either be downloaded from the concept store or implemented by your
experts using the Virtual Satellite Development Tools. They offer a domain specific language (DSL) to
easily describe your data model extension. Code generators will use that description to offer you an
initial up and running implementation to start working with your extension.
2. “Virtual Satellite 4 Research”, based on Virtual Satellite Core. PhD students build their own individual
applications with their proof of concepts. It is the playground and the sandbox for experiments, which is
detached from the productive applications and systems. Here failures and crashes don’t harm the
productive systems and open up the space for experiments and scientific output.
3. The projects “Powered by Virtual Satellite 4”. These are the custom made applications such as the one
for our internal project S2tep. Here functionality is tailored closely to the demands of the project. More
details on how we use Virtual Satellite 4 to support S2tep project are in this publication.

1.3 THE RESEARCH PLATFORM

Modeling in the VR lab

Dept. of ECE Page 5

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019
The project Virtual Satellite is the foundation for our research activities in the whole frame of system
engineering activities along the whole lifecycle of a spacecraft. Results of this research are directly fed back
into the software implementations. The platform approach allowed questioning new ways of working in the area
of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). Some of these research activities are:

 Modeling Methods – Even though the classical modeling languages like UML and SysML are great
approaches for system engineering, we discovered that they have certain limitations. Still, we use them
as a baseline and we raise questions where we can’t apply them as desired. This brought us, for example,
to questions of Multilevel Modeling. And even with the commonly agreed syntax of languages such as
UML and SysML we have to question the semantical and ontological meaning when designing
spacecraft. We don’t yet have all the needed answers here, but it points to the direction of our future
research.
 Formal Verification – Having a digital mockup is commonly agreed to be a good thing. In the past these
models were often created for the sake of having a digital representation. Today they are used more and
more to understand and verify the system in an early stage before things get actually built. Quite often
this is achieved by system simulation, but there are other ways as well. Trying to formalize the system in
a mathematical way opens the door to rigorous proving of certain system properties. Accordingly, this
gives confidence that the system will behave as expected in any case, not just in a limited set of
simulated scenarios.
 Model Interaction – By today most system engineering tools use classical UML-style diagrams to create
and define the models. In the frame of Virtual Satellite we try to include new technologies into modeling
activities. For example, interactive 3D visualization has already highlighted some new ways of creating
and discussing spacecraft design. On top of that, thinking about smart devices, mobile applications,
speech recognition and new virtual reality (VR) gear, they promise additional value for future mission
planning.

By today Virtual Satellite already supports the digitalization of the whole lifecycle of a spacecraft mission. Our
goal is to evolve Virtual Satellite into the best and most advanced MBSE application to support space missions.
Virtual Satellite is one of the key assets turning the digitalization of Industry 4.0 into reality.

Dept. of ECE Page 6

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019

2. VIRTUAL SATELLITE
(HARDWARE)

SpaceVR's Overview 1 virtual reality satellites are 3U CubeSat to enabling users to experience space firsthand
using any mobile, desktop, or virtual reality device.

2.1 MAIN PARTS OF OVERVIEW1:

1. CubeSat x-band patch antenna
• Operating frequency: 8025-8400 MHz;
• RF output power: up to 4 W;
• Circularly Polarized (Right-Hand);
• Half Power Beam Width (HPBW) 74 deg;
• The gain in the operating bandwidth is above 6 dBi;

2. CubeSat s-band antenna ism

 Frequency range: 2400-2450 MHz;
 RF output power: up to 4 W;
 Gain for center frequency: 8.3 dBi;
 Half Power Beam Width (HPBW): 71 deg;
 Left Hand Circular Polarization;
 CubeSat Z side compatible;
 RF connector: right angle MCX;

Dept. of ECE Page 7

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019
3. Red Color Calibration Target
The Red, Blue, Green, and Black targets allow us to capture true color images.

4. 4K Camera
NADIR facing camera.

5. 4K Camera
Zenith facing camera.

2.2 INTRODUCTION

A CubeSat architecture will allow us to capture VR content constantly in a fully immersive space environment,
and scales engineering wise to Moon and Mars exploration easily. It also allows you to see the beauty of space
as if you were floating in low earth orbit (200 to 400 km).
CRS-12 Mission to the International Space Station.

“SpaceVR aims to give everyone the opportunity to experience the truly infinite, boundless Universe through
virtual reality,” explains the company. “Its debut satellite, Overview 1, will use 4K sensors to capture extremely
high resolution, fully immersive, 360-degree video of every breathtaking moment that occurs on our home
planet.”

Plans have changed a lot since SpaceVR founder and CEO Ryan Holmes first came up with the idea to send a
virtual reality satellite into space at a hackathon a year and a half ago, but it seems Holmes dream is finally set
to come true. In 2017, the world’s first virtual reality camera satellite is scheduled to blast off into space… get
your VR headsets ready.

The plan was to send a 12-camera rig to the ISS that would be capable of shooting. "We have a radio, we have
an attitude control system, we have reaction wheels and gyroscopes that maintain stability, and we have flight
controller software that tells the satellite what to do and when," SpaceVR CEO Ryan Holmes told The Verge in
April. SpaceVR will have full control over Overview 1 once it is ejected from the CubeSat Deployer on the ISS.
The company will take the footage from the cameras and stitch it all into a 360-degree sphere, with live-
streaming being the ultimate goal for the company.

Dept. of ECE Page 8

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019
SpaceVR wants to sell subscriptions to that footage, which will "immerse someone in space as if they were
floating outside," according to Holmes. With the launch agreement in place, the company appears to finally be
ready to deliver on that promise.

2.3 WHY DO WE NEED THIS SATELLITE?

NASA has a bold plan to send astronauts to Mars by 2030 (or thereabouts). In preparation for this monumental
Martian mission, the space agency needs to make sure everything's in order years beforehand.
From engineering the rockets and making sure there are enough supplies for a round trip, to developing 3D
printing tools and ensuring a long-distance communications system is up to the challenge, there’s a lot to think
about, develop and test.

But it’s easy to focus on the tech and logistics and overlook arguably the most important bit of the mission: the
astronauts themselves.

NASA is working hard to ensure that astronauts are well fed, comfortable(ish) and physically fit in space so
they’re at tip-top condition. But their mental health is just as important.

Virtual reality tech is already being used by both private space companies and space agencies to train astronauts
on the ground and up in space. But the use of virtual reality as a medical tool has yet to be fully realized.
Salamon produced a research paper that explored the ways VR could positively impact the mental health of
astronauts on long missions.
The first is that it can enable people to see virtual, natural environments. There have been countless
studies about the efficacy of having people view nature scenes to decrease stress, which could be even more
powerful up in space.
Not only can nature scenes ease stress, they could also provide a calming and confidential environment that
feels private in the confined and intense conditions of a spacecraft.

NASA has been using VR to train astronauts for years..

VR has been used as a form of stress management and even pain management in a number of scenarios,
from diagnosing and treating anxiety to dealing with PTSD, so it makes sense that Salamon and his team would
point to VR’s ability to provide the same benefits to astronauts.

Dept. of ECE Page 9

 VIRTUAL SATELLITE 2019
A 2006 study found that pairing indoor exercise with a VR headset produced calming effects, which were even
more calming than exercising outdoors among nature. Therefore, one way to deliver VR experiences might be
to combine the technology with exercise.
“Astronauts already have to exercise for two hours every day to combat the muscle deterioration experienced in
microgravity,” Salamon told us. “Instead of staring at the wall of their spacecraft, they could go on a jog
through a forest, a park, their hometown, or anywhere really.”

But he believes these challenges shouldn’t put us off further exploring how VR could be used in space. “It
shouldn't be written off as a gimmick. It has huge potential as a tool to keep astronauts, and others, mentally and
emotionally grounded by providing virtual environments and scenarios that they would not have access to
otherwise.”

3. CONCLUSION

From this study, we know the need of virtual satellites, both software and hardware. Though there’s a trade-
off between software and hardware, it’s when both are hand-in-hand that a satellite can be designed and also
helps the astronauts to face uneven consequences which they would not have access else while. Either software
or hardware, both have their own advantages which we need to utilize.

4. REFERENCES

 https://www.dlr.de/sc/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-5135/8645_read-8374/
 https://www.spacevr.co/#spacevr
 https://www.endurosat.com/products/cubesat-s-band-patch-antenna/#scroll-to
 https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/overview-1-vr-camera-cubesat-
1d5b8c62b708456e9b5f44006cb7303a#download

Dept. of ECE Page 10