AMSAT-NA Microsats - Protocols

The UoSAT/Microsat File transfer protocols (The PACSAT Protocol Suite) were first published in the Proceedings of the 9th ARRL Computer Networking Conference, September, 1990. The PACSAT Protocols define file transfer protocols for use by Low Earth Orbit Packet Radio Satellites (PACSATs).

These protocols are currently in use on AO-16, LO-19, UO-14, UO-22, KO-23, KO-25, IO-26, and PoSAT. They are also in use on three pure commercial spacecraft, the upcoming UNAMSAT mission, and six missions under development.

Most of the specification files contain the original text of the papers that define the Pacsat Protocols. Other files contain updates to those documents. The updates will be rolled into the base documents at some time in the far future, probably on another timeline. I don't know why I even mentioned it. In any case, only the base+update represents the true protocol. The text files are available as a zipped group.

Contents

INTRO.TXT

PACSAT Protocol Suite Overview

BROADCST.TXT

Text of the original broadcast protocol specification.

BDCASTU1.TXT

Fixes to the original broadcast protocol spec.

BDCASTU2.TXT

Directory broadcast specification.

BDCASTU3.TXT

Implementation details.

FTL0.TXT

FTL0 protocol specification. The download portions have been superseded in practice by the broadcast protocol.

FTL0U1.TXT

Corrections and implementation notes to FTL0

FHEAD.TXT

PACSAT File Header Definition

CTYPES.TXT

The current list of compression types.

FTYPES.TXT

The current list of file types.

DATASPEC.TXT

PACSAT Data Specification Standards

Contact Information

Dr. Jeff Ward
Technical Director
Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd.
University of Surrey
Guildford, Surrey, GU2 5XH
England
j.w.ward@ee.surrey.ac.uk

Harold Price
President
BekTek, Inc.
5949 Pudding Stone Lane
Bethel Park, PA 15102
hprice@bektek.com

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Last modified: January 19, 1995

Harold Price, NK6K