Speakers
Description
The increasing number of nano- and small-satellite missions has created a growing demand for affordable, low-power navigation solutions suitable for space applications. According to the GSA GNSS Market Report 2024, approximately 5,000 GNSS devices are currently deployed on satellite
missions, primarily addressing the high-performance domain with average device revenues of about €200k. While these systems enable centimeter-level orbit determination and environmental monitoring, their cost and complexity limit their applicability for larger satellite constellations. The key challenge is therefore to assess whether commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) GNSS receivers can meet
the technical and environmental requirements of space missions.
To address this need, the nanoGNSS project was initiated at ETH Zurich in 2019 and joined by TU Wien in 2023. The objective is to evaluate and qualify a highly efficient, small, low-cost, and low-power COTS GNSS receiver for onboard CubeSat applications, enabling decimeter- to centimeter-level orbit determination.
The baseline hardware is the u-blox ZED-F9P dual-frequency GNSS receiver, capable of tracking all four GNSS constellations at up to 20 Hz and computing real-time onboard solutions based on code and carrier-phase measurements. The technical approach combines performance assessment under simulated orbital conditions with environmental qualification testing. The receiver was subjected to thermal vacuum testing at RUAG Space and proton irradiation campaigns at the Paul Scherrer Institute. Dedicated test procedures were developed to evaluate signal tracking performance, clock stability, positioning algorithms, Single Event Effects, and long-term radiation susceptibility.
The results demonstrate that the receiver maintains robust dual-frequency tracking and precise orbit determination capabilities under simulated orbital conditions. However, temperature gradients
significantly affect internal clock stability and, consequently, the signal tracking loop performance.
Radiation testing quantified the occurrence of Single Event Effects under varying solar activity conditions, providing clear requirements for shielding. In addition, we briefly investigated possible
measures to protect the antennas against atomic oxygen.
These findings indicate that selected COTS GNSS hardware can achieve decimeter-level orbit accuracy in space when appropriate mitigation measures are implemented. The presented development therefore represents a key step toward enabling scalable, cost-efficient GNSS-based navigation solutions for nano- and small-satellite missions.