Overview

The GNSS payload board was developed in the framework of the CubETH nano satellite project in our group. With the CubSat standard, the satelites are getting smaller and smaller. This implies, however, that the on-board sensors also must follow this trend. The GNSS payload board is a first step in this direction fulfilling the following requirements:

• Low-cost commercial off the shelf components: the components used for the board are inexpensive and easy to get; however they are not space qualified
• Low power consumption: power on-board nano satellites is always a scarce resource; the payload board used only about 100 mW
• Low weight and small form factor: the payload board follows the CubSat form factor standard (10x10 cm) and weighs less than 100 gr

With the GNSS payload, a variety of scientific fields arise: Precise orbit determination (POD) for nano satellites in post-processing and also in real time; Attitude determination of the space craft; autonomous satellite constellation maintenance; and many more. The GNSS payload will be one of the first positioning modlus in space that allows the tracking of not only GPS, but also GLONASS, QZSS, BeiDou, and Galileo.