Concept of Sporadic E Monitoring Using Space-Based Low Power Multiple Beacon-Systems
J. Vanhamel (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, TU Delft - Space Systems Egineering)
Marc Berwaerts (Union of Belgian Radio Amateurs)
S. Speretta (TU Delft - Space Systems Egineering)
M.S. Uludag (TU Delft - Space Systems Egineering)
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Abstract
Current monitoring systems to detect sporadic E use ground-based setups, ionosondes, and the network of GNSS satellites in order to assess the phenomenon of sporadic E. This paper aims to monitor sporadic E using a miniature space-based platform in an atypical way. The setup consists of multiple radio-amateur beacon systems aboard satellites, each having a specific modulation and transmission scheme. This Radio Amateur Beacon System for the Investigation of the Ionosphere (RABSII) is coupled to a GNSS receiver, revealing the location of the platform. Multiple beacon data streams are sequentially sent from a satellite platform towards the Earth. By receiving and comparing the Signal-to-Noise ratios of these streams using a dedicated ground-based radio-amateur network of receiving stations, the presence of sporadic E can be determined, and a location-based model can be built. The advantage of this miniaturized, low-power, low-cost instrument is its ability to be put on any satellite platform in the future in order to map sporadic E.
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