QbX Spacecraft

Communications payload and experiments.

For the first two QbX satellites, flight software, antennas, and the TTC radio were built and integrated by the Naval Center for Space, as was the developmental communications payload. The payload consisted of an extendible antenna, a modem, and a radio.

The payload featured custom built BIB (Bus to Payload Interface Card ), a custom-built, half-duplex TT&C radio, and experimental LRM (Low Rate Modem) used for the primary communications experiments, and a custom-build deployable dual-antenna with a central UHF (TT&C) monopole surrounded by a quadrifiler helix antenna.

• PLATFORM - Pumpkin