HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) Scientific Pathfinder (HERMES-SP) is a mission concept based on a constellation of nano-satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), hosting new miniaturized detectors to probe the X-ray temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) and the electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Wave Events (GWE). The European Commission supported HERMES-SP project started in 2018, builds on a strong and cross-fertilizing collaboration between astrophysicists, engineering and industrial teams. The consortium with 11 members includes astrophysics teams and engineering teams from universities and research institutes and in four SME from space industry.
In this phase C3S investigated the required ground segments and made an analysis on using the Ground Segment with single and multiple Antenna Stations at multiple locations. C3S also made a trade-off study on the data transfer availability of the Iridium communication system. Besides, we investigated the UHF and S-band data link between the satellites and the Ground Segment to maximize the up- and downlinked data rate and examined the needed software or hardware modifications for our own Ground Station design in order to perform tests to demonstrate the proper functioning of the communication in the laboratory in 2021.
