Engineering

ALTIUS RF GENERATOR

2019: Small autonomous space instrument on-board a PROBA-satellite, keeping an eye on the amount of ozone.

ALTIUS (Atmospheric Limb Tracker for the Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere) will be circling the Earth, keeping a close eye on the amount of ozone in our air. Deeply hidden in the body of the ALTIUS spectrometer is a piece of electronics hardware that truly creates the heartbeat of the instrument.

Using Radio Frequency signals, it allows the eyes of ALTIUS (the Acousto-Optical Tunable Filters) to capture light at any place in the spectral domain. During the pre-development phase, the Engineering service was involved in the design and building of this RF-generator.

Delivery year: 2019

 

ALTIUS RFALTIUS RF Generator early prototype

ALTIUS in orbit. Credit: ESA. ALTIUS in orbit. Scheduled for launch in 2026. Credit: ESA. 

ALTIUS is a satellite mission proposed by the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) and implemented under the European Space Agency (ESA)'s EarthWatch programme. The science team at BIRA-IASB is currently developing the mission's level-2 scientific retrieval algorithms.

The ALTIUS instrument design. Credit: OIPThe ALTIUS instrument design. Credit: OIP

All details:

 

Publications:

  • Montrone, L.; Aballea, L.; Bernaerts, D.; Navarro-Reyes, D.; Santandrea, S.; Saillen, N.; Sarna, K.; Holbrouck, P.; Moelans, W.; Kendall, D.; Mollet, D.; De Nutte, R.; Demidov, S.; Saari, H.; Ward, J.; Kassel, R.; Fussen, D.; Dekemper, E.; Neefs, E.; Vanhamel, J. (2019), “Technological innovation for the ALTIUS atmospheric limb sounding mission”, (Neeck, S.P., Ed.), Proceedings of SPIE 11151: Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XXIII, 10 October 2019, Strasbourg, France, Vol. 11151, A111510S, DOI: 10.1117/12.2533151
  • Dekemper, E.; Fussen, D.; Van Opstal, B.; Vanhamel, J.; Pieroux, D.; Vanhellemont, F.; Mateshvili, N.; Franssens, G.; Voloshinov, V.; Janssen, C.; Elandaloussi, H. (2014), “ALTIUS: A spaceborne AOTF-based UV-VIS-NIR hyperspectral imager for atmospheric remote sensing", Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 9241, 92410L-1, DOI: 10.1117/12.2063937
  • Vrancken, D.; Gerrits, D.; Tallineau, J.; Van Hove, J.; Holsters, P.; Naudet, J.; Ilsen, S.; Dayers, L.; Keereman, A.; Wierinck, D.; Debraekeleer, T.; Fussen, D.; Dekemper, E.; Pieroux, D.; Vanhellemont, F.; Mateshvili, N.; Franssens, G.; Vanhamel, J.; Van Opstal, B.; Neefs, E.; Maes, J.; Aballea, L.; De Geeter, K.; De Vos, L. (2014), “ALTIUS: High performance Limb Tracker, based on a PROBA platform”, Proceedings of the 65th International Astronautical Congress 2014 (IAC 2014), Our World Needs Space, Toronto, Canada, 29 September-3 October 2014, 3677-3688

  • Fussen, D.; Dekemper, E.; Loodts, N.; Van Opstal, B.; Maes, J.; Vanhellemont, F.; Mateshvili, N.; Franssens, G.; Pieroux, D.; Delanoye, S.; Neefs, E.; Nevejans, D.; De Vos, L.; Aballea, L.; Moelans, W.; Gerrits, D.; Naudet, J.; Dayers, L.; Vrancken, D.; Preudhomme, F.; Ward, J. (2012), “The ALTIUS mission”, Proceedings of the 2012 4S Symposium: Small satellite Systems and Services, Portoroz, Slovenija, 4-8 June 2012
  • Fussen, D.; Neefs, E.; Loodts, N.; Dekemper, E.; Vanhellemont, F.; Mateshvili, N.; Tétard, C.; Bingen, C.; Capouillez, N. (2008), “The ALTIUS project: a Belgian atmospheric limb sounder aboard a micro-satellite platform”, Physicalia Magazine, Vol. 30, Issue 4, 239-259
  • Vrancken, D.; Paijmans, B.; Fussen, D.; Neefs, E.; Loodts, N.; Dekemper, E.; Vanhellemont, F.; Devos, L.; Moelans, W.; Nevejans, D.; Schroeven-Deceuninck, H.; Bernaerts, D.; Zender, J. (2008), “Remote sounding of the Earth's Atmospheric Limb from a micro-satellite platform: A feasibility study of the ALTIUS mission”, ESA SP-660: The Proceedings of the 4S Symposium - Small Satellites Systems and Services, 26–30 May 2008, ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Vol. 660

  • Vanhamel, J. (2020), “Analysis, design and realization of an RF driving system for space-based Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter applications”, Ph.D. dissertation, Fac. of Eng. Tech., KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • Vanhamel, J.; Berkenbosch, S.; Dekemper, E.; Leroux, P.; Neefs, E.; Van Lil, E. (2017), “Testing of a possible RF-generator for a Space Based AOTF application in the Frame of an ESA Space Mission”, 2017 XXXIInd General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI GASS), 19-26 August 2017, Montreal, Canada, DOI: 10.23919/URSIGASS.2017.8105079
  • Yukhnevich, T.V.; Voloshinov, V.B.; Mantsevich, S.N.; Dekemper, E.; Vanhamel, J.; Van Opstal, B.; Fussen, D. (2016), “Influence of temperature gradients on spectral transmission of acousto-optic tunable filters based on KH2PO4 crystal”, IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), A7728518, DOI: 10.1109/ULTSYM.2016.7728518

  • Vanhamel, J.; Berkenbosch, S.; Dekemper, E.; Fussen, D.; Leroux, P.; Neefs, E.; Van Lil, E. (2016), “Implementation of Different RF-Chains to Drive Acousto-Optical Tunable Filters in the Framework of an ESA Space Mission”, URSI Radio Science Bulletin, Vol. 357, 37-43
  • Vanhamel, J.; Fussen, D.; Dekemper, E.; Neefs, E.; Van Opstal, B.; Pieroux, D.; Maes, J.; Van Lil, E.; Leroux, P. (2015), “RF-driving of acoustic-optical tunable filters; design, realization and qualification of analog and digital modules for ESA”, Microelectronics Reliability, Vol. 55, Issue 9-10, 2103-2107, DOI: 10.1016/j.microrel.2015.07.034
  • Dekemper, E.; Vanhamel, J.; Van Opstal, B.; Fussen, D.; Voloshinov, V.B. (2015), “Influence of driving power on the performance of UV KDP-based acousto-optical tunable filters”, Journal of Optics, Vol. 17, Issue 7, 75404, DOI: 10.1088/2040-8978/17/7/075404