# Cost-Effective Satellite Ground Stations in Real-World Development for Space Classrooms
## 1 Introduction  
\"Training satellite engineering or wireless communication engineers without a satellite ground station is like teaching someone to drive without providing a car\". This statement might be appropriate to highlight the importance of this research.  
Even though satellite communication and wireless communication are among the most important and rapidly growing technologies of the present era, having a satellite ground station capable of receiving and transmitting signals to satellites is essential for the study, research, and development of these technologies [1]. However, constructing a satellite ground station involves creating a large-scale system with high costs, making it difficult for educational institutions and small research organizations to access. This issue leads most educational institutions to focus only on theoretical teaching.  
This paper presents the construction of a cost-effective satellite ground station as a learning technology, specifically designed for training researchers in space technology through hands-on practice, particularly in satellite communication, satellite orbits, and wireless communication. The research covers mathematical design for system optimization, significantly reducing construction costs, conceptual design, and actual development and installation, as well as measuring and evaluating the system's capabilities from signal reception. Additionally, this research compiles important characteristics of satellites through real signal reception tests, gathering data such as frequency, bandwidth, transmission power,transmission time schedules, and reception techniques, which are crucial and challenging to collect.  
The ground station developed in this research consists of two systems: the L-band station, as shown in Figure 1a, and the terrestrial and LEO satellite station, as shown in Figure 1b. Both systems are controlled and receive signals from the ground control system, as illustrated in Figure 1c. These systems can receive signals from satellites in the V, U, and L frequency bands, allowing access to a variety of satellite data from low Earth orbit (LEO) to geostationary orbit (GEO). This includes full-disk meteorological images, low-rate information transmission (LRIT), and scientific data from satellite payloads in various orbits. Additionally, the ground station can receive signals from other terrestrial sources such as ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) and air band voice communication from aircraft. In essence, this ground station is designed as a multi band, multi-mode station for comprehensive learning. These capabilities are similar to those of ground stations of large organizations but at a much lower cost.  
Educational institutions or small research organizations can utilize the knowledge from this paper to develop a ground station for research and teaching purposes. This research presents blueprints, a budget, and a bill of materials (BOM) for development. Additionally, it can be further developed into a network of ground stations to exchange raw data, which can be used for further studies in geographic information systems (GISs).  
This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 discusses the utilization of ground stations and space classrooms in educational scenarios, providing examples of courses that can be taught using these facilities. Section 3 focuses on the list of satellites and signals that can be received, highlighting those suitable for educational purposes. Section 4 presents the numerical design considerations required to optimize the construction of the ground station for efficient performance. Section 5 details the design and construction of the satellite ground station, starting from the conceptual design to specifics such as the antenna, feed, rotator, server, and software components. Section 6 shows the results of receiving satellite signals using the constructed ground station. Finally, Section 7 concludes the paper with a summary of the findings and outlines plans for future developments.