The Serial Peripheral Interface Bus or SPI bus is a synchronous serial data link de facto standard, named by Motorola, that operates in full duplex mode. Devices communicate in master/slave mode where the master device initiates the data frame. Multiple slave devices are allowed with individual slave select (chip select) lines. Based on the result of two running TEC-EDD activities (Modular RTU - GSTP, Standardization of Digital interfaces - TRP) this activity will prototype SPI protocol(s) and physical layers for space applications.

XIPE is designed to be launched with a VEGA-C vehicle into an orbit of 550 km and <6° inclination. With this orbit, eclipses last about 35 minutes. Due to remaining spacecraft fragments the mission is planned to end by controlled re-entry. The baseline ground station is Kourou either for S/S or S/X telemetry band, albeit Malindi (or Singapore) is additionally available, if necessary, for additional downloading capability in case of particularly bright sources. The mission duration is 3+2 years.

The forthcoming launch of SAOCOM satellites will make multitemporal L band signatures available. To take benefit from this opportunity, this study analyzes and models L band signatures of typical Argentinean crops, and proposes an algorithm able to retrieve soil moisture.

The CubISSat study investigates the feasibility of operating a multi-purpose small satellite in the International Space Station (ISS) environment whose aim is to provide the ground and flight crew with effective tools to cope with a variety of situations, potentially avoiding to rely on complex robotics and extravehicular activities as currently conceived.

The study aims at investigating technical solutions to design a reliable TT&C system during superior solar conjunctions, to mitigate the detrimental effects of phase and amplitude scintillation, which limit the maneuvers under 5 deg of Sun- Earth-Probe (SEP) angle. After the analysis of data acquired during superior solar conjunctions of Mars Express (MEX) in 2013-2015 and Cassini in 2001-2002, that allowed deriving a mathematical model to be used in the simulations, the current ESA TT&C system has been evaluated, in terms of link performance.

The number of spacecraft flying in highly nonlinear gravitational fields is largely increased during the last few decades, and probes orbiting in Lissajous or Halo orbits can be found around both the Lagrangian Points L1 and L2 of the Sun-Earth&Moon system.

Motivation:
To provide a proof-of-concept demonstration of light rectification in a nano-rectenna as an alternative energy conversation process to semiconductor solar cells based on the photovoltaic effect. For space this alternative energy conversion process could enable applications under different environmental conditions (e.g. temperature ranges, radiation) and offer the advantage of higher theoretical conversion efficiency.
Methodology:
To provide a proof-of-concept demonstration of rectennas working at high frequencies through the development of:

In the future, satellites will have to demonstrate compliance with debris mitigation requirements, covering re-entry or parking graveyard orbits and passivation. Nevertheless, during the mission, a failure could occur without any possibility to manoeuvre the satellite and achieving its compliance to the Space Debris Mitigation requirements. Therefore to anticipate the need to use ADR for deorbiting (or reorbiting) the satellite, it is interesting to evaluate the implication of adapting the satellites and launcher upper stage to support a future ADR mission.

The goal of this study is two-fold. First, to identify and develop a DA- based high-order filter for relative pose estimation. The application considered is the rendezvous with an uncooperative target, modelled after ESA's e.deorbit mission. Secondly, the DA algorithms are implemented on hardware mimicking the limited computational power available in space. The resulting implementation is tested in a processor in the loop (PIL) test-bench using the approach phase of the chaser to the uncooperative target to be estimated.

Protection of space assets is becoming more and more important now that vital services and applications are depending on space infrastructure. This is particularly true in the domain of navigation where an increased number of applications like safety of life aeronautical services, critical bank transaction are relying on the services provided by the GNSS systems as the primary if not the sole source of the time and position solution.Designing robust telecommanding and Mission receivers is therefore one of the mandatory requirements for the design of future systems.