Satellite Tracker

The satellite tracker was built as part of my senior design project at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. The purpose of the tracker was to communicate with our Cubesat once launched.

The design featured two large Nema 34 stepper motors with 10:1 reduction gears which enabled the tracker to:

• Carry multiple large antennas simultaneously
• Point with precision and accuracy
• Maintain pointing precision and accuracy under large wind loads

The control software is divided into two parts:

• The high level Python script which runs on the computer provides the graphical user interface, calculates antenna pointing angles, and controls the frequency setting on the ICOM 910H radio.
• The low level C code which runs on the Arduino and controls the stepper motors and limit switches.

I have attached the tracker CAD files and documentation further down on this page.

Solid Works – STEP – PDF Drawings

Download (PDF, 980KB)

I would like to thank:

• The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Ignite program, for sponsoring with the funding to create the tracker.
• igus Inc, for providing the TB20 Twister Band cable carrier.