# RMCSat: An F10.7 Solar Flux Index CubeSat Mission
## 3 RMCSat Mission
### Performance Requirements and Constraints
#### 3.1.1 Pointing Requirements  
An analysis of the main beam of the chosen helical antenna was performed using the ANSYS Electronics Desktop High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) [18]. An F10.7  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline MSN-OBJ-01 & \begin{tabular}{l} Obtain space-based F10.7 solar flux measurements, increasing temporal coverage over 24 h and geographical coverage. \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline MSN-OBJ-02 & \begin{tabular}{l} Monitor 2800 MHz and 2695 MHz using the same calibration standard to allow for signal comparison and true scaling of measurements. Since 2695 MHz is an interference-free protected channel, it will also be compared against 2800 MHz to determine if the 2800 MHz channel is experiencing narrowband RFI unique to that channel, or broadband solar/internal interference. \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline MSN-OBJ-03 & \
\begin{tabular}{l} Produce measurements of F10.7 both in and outside of the DRAO \\ operation window with sufficient accuracy to complement existing operations. \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline MSN-OBJ-04 &
\begin{tabular}{l} Proude hands-on space mission and solar monitoring experience to a new generation of university students. The project will provide the basis for approximately five graduate theses in Physics and Engineering, while providing undergraduate Space Science students with mission design, satellite construction, and space operations training. RMC faculty \\ mentored undergraduate and graduate students in the development of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast payload that flew on the CanX-7 CubeSat. Currently, RMC Space Mission Analysis and Design courses form the cornerstone of the International Space Mission Training Program, a Collaborative Research and Training Experience sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. \\ \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Primary mission objectives of RMCSat.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline MSN-OBJ-05 & \
\begin{tabular}{l} Improve the current understanding of the correlation between solar flux observations wavelengths. \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline MSN-OBJ-06 &
\begin{tabular}{l} Assess the suitability of using 2695 MHz data generated by the RSTN as a scaled substitute for F10.7. \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Secondary mission objectives of RMCSat.  
signal of 100 sfu was simulated at 2800 MHz. This frequency generates a narrower beam pattern for the payload antenna compared to 2695 MHz. Figure 3a shows the primary lobe of the antenna gain response pattern and the influence of the boresight angle. The maximum detected value of the gain pattern occurs when the boresight angle is at zero degrees; lower values result from off-boresight angles. Figure 3b shows a close-up of the same gain pattern. Here, the red dotted line indicates the desired 1% signal measurement accuracy. While the curve is asymmetrical, a boresight angle tolerance of 1.3\({}^{\circ}\) is required to achieve accuracy. Based on this analysis, an overall pointing accuracy \(\leq\)1\({}^{\circ}\) is proposed for RMCSat, with a pointing knowledge of 0.5\({}^{\circ}\) and pointing accuracy of 0.5\({}^{\circ}\).  
It should be noted that these pointing requirements are based on the chosen helical antenna and will require further verification once the final antenna is selected. A narrower final beam pattern would require stricter pointing requirements. However, the proposed ADCS for the satellite, the MAI-400 [25], is a space-proven system that provides 0.1\({}^{\circ}\) accuracy, so it is unlikely that subsystem design changes would be necessary.