A tutorial on the TT&C for Space Missions

Abstract

This paper presents a tutorial on the Tracking, Telemetry, and Command (TT&C) for spacecraft and satellite missions. In particular, it provides a thorough summary of the design of the TT&C, starting from elementary system aspects and going down to the details of the on-board TT&C subsystem design, its units, and the physical layer. The paper is then complemented with a description of emerging TT&C techniques and technologies, the standardization framework, and with practical examples of actual spacecraft design of European space missions. The tutorial here presented is thought for professionals (also in other telecommunication engineering fields) that want to face the challenges and state-of-the-art of the TT&C, and know more about this fundamental function that allows us to daily control and monitor our spacecraft.