Low cost digital satellite communications for rural areas

World-wide communications using the UoSAT-2 Digital Communications Experiment have demonstrated the practicality and application of store-and-forward techniques using low Earth orbiting satellites in support of communications in rural areas. These experiments have been made possible primarily by recent developments in VLSI processors and semiconductor mass memory devices. Cost-effective spacecraft engineering techniques pioneered by the University of Surrey have been applied to highly reliable, low-cost satellites produced within short timescales. A pilot experiment, in conjunction with the Amateur Satellite Service, provides routine store-and-forward communications to numerous stations worldwide using the UoSAT-2 DCE. Applying this practical, in-orbit experience, engineers with AMSAT and UoSAT are planning a `PACSAT´ store-and-forward communications payload for the UoSAT-C satellite