Analogue Beamforming Antenna for Tracking Starlink Constellation

Noori BniLam, Paolo Crosta, Alessio Curzio, Elisa Sbalchiero, Samuele Fantinato, Lionel Tombakdjian, and Fabien Ferrero

Abstract: This paper explores the use of an analogue beamforming antenna, incorporating a 3D-printed Luneburg lens, to acquire and track signals from Starlink satellites for navigation. Operating in the Ku-band, the antenna provides a wide sky coverage and high gain, improving satellite signal reception. Experimental results demonstrate the system’s ability to detect and correlate Starlink signals for potential use in positioning. Future work will enhance satellite detection and tracking stages, and it will optimize positioning accuracy by using a dedicated algorithm to process the satellite Doppler shifts. The solution offers a low-SWAP method for multi-satellite navigation based on Starlink as signals of opportunity.
Published in: Proceedings of the 37th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2024)
September 16 - 20, 2024
Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor
Baltimore, Maryland
Pages: 3498 - 3502
Cite this article: BniLam, Noori, Crosta, Paolo, Curzio, Alessio, Sbalchiero, Elisa, Fantinato, Samuele, Tombakdjian, Lionel, Ferrero, Fabien, "Analogue Beamforming Antenna for Tracking Starlink Constellation," Proceedings of the 37th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2024), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2024, pp. 3498-3502. https://doi.org/10.33012/2024.19940
Full Paper: ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit
Sign In