Microelectromechanical system radio frequency switches in a picosatellite mission

Rockwell Science Center (RSC) has designed and implemented a microelectromechanical-system- (MEMS-) based radio frequency switch experiment in a miniature satellite format (picosat) as an initial demonstration of MEMS for space applications. This effort is supported by DARPA-MTO, and the mission was conducted with Aerospace Corporation and Stanford University as partners. MEMS surface-micromachined metal contacting switches were manufactured and used in a simple, yet informative, experiment aboard the miniature satellites to study the device behavior in space, and its feasibility for space applications in general. Communication links between multiple miniature satellites, as well as between the satellites and ground, were also achieved using communications circuits constructed and provided by RSC. Details of both the MEMS and radio communications and networking efforts will be discussed in this paper.