Experimental CubeSat-based Network for Alert Messages Broadcasting

In this paper an end-to-end proof of concept of a low complexity CubeSat-based network architecture for alert dissemination is presented. The adoption of a CubeSat for alert messages broadcasting, of MAMES (Multiple Alert Message Encapsulation over Satellite) as alert messages transport protocol and of a satellite Portable SDR (Software Defined Radio) terminal as the receiver represent the key elements of the proposed architecture. The proposed system is described, highlighting the functioning of the whole “alert chain” from the generation to the reception of MAMES messages: particularly, the experimental activities carried out to prove the feasibility of the proposed alert network and the applicability of MAMES to LEO satellites are reported.