The micro-Broadband Receiver (uBBR) on the Very-Low-Frequency
Propagation Mapper (VPM) CubeSat
Abstract
The Very Low Frequency (VLF) Propagation Mapper (VPM) is a 6U CubeSat
designed to measure VLF radio waves in Low-Earth Orbit. The science
goals of the VPM mission are to measure VLF signals broadcast by the DSX
mission, and to study natural and anthropogenic signals (from lightning
and VLF transmitters) in the near-Earth space environment. The primary
payload consists of an electric field dipole antenna deployed to 2
meters in length, and a magnetic search coil deployed 50 cm from the
spacecraft. Signals from these two sensors are conditioned by analog
electronics, sampled, and then processed digitally into downloadable
data products. The VPM mission was launched in January 2020; science
operations began in March 2020 and continued through September, when
contact with the spacecraft was lost. This paper describes the mission
goals and instrument designs in detail, as well as some examples of the
VPM dataset.