The Mobile CubeSat Command and Control (MC3) Ground Station Network: An Overview and Look Ahead
The Mobile CubeSat Command and Control (MC3) ground station network is a Department of Defense (DoD) led effort to build common use infrastructure supporting communications and mission operations of small satellites for a wide range of US government organizations, contractors, universities, and foreign partners. The network consists of low cost ground station terminals fielded at participating institutions, providing operators bent pipe access to their satellites from any location with an internet connection. MC3 currently consists of eight active stations, and three international collaborators. One of the most important aspects of the ground station network has been the diverse community of small satellite users that have come together to share capabilities of mutual interest. This paper describes the MC3 network and presents an overview of cost effective future capabilities that will benefit researchers flying experiments on small satellites. Key capabilities include the Satellite Agile Transmit and Receive Network (SATRN) software, flexible software defined radio architectures, fast track radio licensing, expanded frequency support, and integration into secure cloud based infrastructure. The paper also highlights some of the research undertaken at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) which utilizes the MC3 network and the satellites it operates as a testbed for advanced concepts. Research topics include optimization of constellation operations, predictive modeling of pass quality, and representative communications experiments flown on high altitude balloons and high power rockets.