A Nanosatellite Optoelectronic Payload Dedicated to Radiation-Induced Degradation Measurement in Erbium-Doped Fiber

Radio over optical fiber (RoF) technologies appears as good candidates to address flexible payload requirements of the next generation of telecommunication satellites operating in Ku and Ka bands. In this context we have started the assembly of a 3U nanosatellite dedicated to the qualification of several erbium-doped fibers by using an optoelectronic metrology technique. The objective is hence to quantify the gain and noise figure degradation of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) due to cosmic ray exposure during a two years mission at a low earth orbit (LEO). This educational project is called NIMPH for "Nanosatellite to Investigate Microwave Photonics Hardware". It started in 2013 and involves students from the University of Toulouse with the support of Thales Alenia Space and CNES, the French national space agency.