VORSat project is based on the VOR (VHF Omni-directional Radio Range) principle, a well known radio navigation used in aviation.
In each of the cube faces there will be three patch antennas, transmitting three sinusoidal waves in three different frequencies. The team’s main goal is to track the satellite’s attitude by calculating the phase difference between the received signals on Earth. By doing this, it will be possible to determine the VORSat angle of emission relative to the line of sight. The relative motion of the satellite relative to the ground station will further allow computing full attitude and rotation rate of the satellite as it tumbles in its orbit.
A high gain prime-focus parabolic dish antenna, combined with a low-noise amplifier, will be used to ensure the proper reception of the signals transmitted by the satellite.
By this time, several tests have been made by the VORSat team and their results allow us to feel very confident in this project’s success.