List of projects and satellites for Roger Birkeland

Active projects

GNSS-R for marine surveilance (2024 - 2025)

Role: Project member.
Description: The project will cover GNSS-R mission analysis, conceptualization and payload concept design. We are investigating the use of GNSS-R for jamming/spoofing detection as well as for marine surveilance. Key tasks are developing a simulator for coverage/utility analysis, payload receiver and antenna design and processing chains for the usecases.

Mission Mjøsa 2023 --

Role: PhD supervisor for Simen Berg.
Description: The Mission Mjøsa is a cross disiplinary research project which amis to facilitate value creation through sustainable use of the resources and echosystem around Mjøsa. It is importaint to still maintain the structure, productivity and life of the echosystem, including critical infrastructure. We contribute with analysis on how the current and future HYPSO satellites may provide data for the research and monitoring of the Mjøsa area.

GNSS-R receiver (2024) -- The Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader, NTNU part.
Description: Through a project led by the company EIDEL, we aim to develop a concepts for a breadboard GNSS-R receiver. NTNU is working on concept development on GNSS-R for marine surveilance, simple receiver design including an antenna for ground tests. UiO aims to integrate the receiver made by EIDEL and antenna from NTNU to perform tests.

Novel hyper-spectral instruments (2024) -- The Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project member.
Description: WP lead for mission analysis for a new hyper-spectral satellite concept.

Development of university activities (2024 - 2025) -- Norwegian Space Academy

Role: Project member.
Description: Together with Andøya Space Education we are exploring how Norwegian universities can utilize the infrastructure on located at Andøya in conjunction with Andøya Space. The project aims to develop courses and activities to promote hands-on experiences. The activities should be part of relevant curriculum at the universities and support their local activities.

AURORASPACE (2023 - 2026) - Interreg Aurora

Role: Project member.
Description: From the project description: "Our mission is clear: boost space businesses, enhance sustainability practices, and address pressing societal challenges in our region. By fostering collaboration and generating new businesses, we’re not only advancing commercial processes but also paving the way for a sustainable future."

Project webpage: auroraspace.eu

A system-of-systems approach to real-time integrated ocean environmental monitoring (2023 - 2026) - Norwegian Research Concil

Role: Project partner.
Description: The state of the oceans and marine life is an essential factor in the Earth’s climate and primary production, as well as sustainable production of seafood through fisheries and aquaculture. The oceans are huge and complex, with important phenomena ranging from micro- to macro-scales in space and time. Our ability to acquire data, analyze the data and build scientific knowledge about the oceans is strongly limited by the technologies that available for ocean observation.

The projects page at Norwegian Research Council.

HYPSCI (2022 - 2026) - Norwegian Research Concil

Role: Project partner, WP lead for management and distribution of satellite data, PhD supervisor for Corrado Chiatante.
Description: The HYPSCI project’s overall objective is to show that hyperspectral imaging from small satellites, in combination with low altitude and in situ observations from buoys, ships and autonomous vehicles, provide a highly effective approach to marine ecosystem research relevant from pole to pole and in different temporal and spatial scales. The project aims to demonstrate the potential of this disruptive concept of an observational pyramid by leveraging NTNU’s unique satellites with hyperspectral imagers (HYPSO1&2) and NTNU’s long-term research and infrastructure. The project brings together a team of leading scientists with expertise in remote sensing, autonomous systems, hyperspectral imaging, small satellite systems, ocean modelling, bio-optics, bio-geo-chemistry and ecology.

The physics and biology – for instance, algal blooms – of the ocean can be simulated using ocean models. However, models are uncertain, and better accuracy can be achieved by using observations to correct their state. The HYPSO satellite is a unique new source of measurements that can be used to monitor ongoing algal blooms.

The projects page at Norwegian Research Council.

Completed projects

UltraBoB (2023 -- 2024) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: In this project we aim to develop a prototype for the next generation payload processor, suitable for satellite payloads producing large amounts of data and requiring considerable on-board processing capabilites. The project is carried out in collaboration with industry through Tycho Space Technologies. The result is a prototype of a AMD Xilinx UltraScale based onboard processing unit.

Observational Pyramid (2023 -- 2024) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: WP leader for NTNU's part.
Description: The project will investigate further integration of multi-domain autonomous agents. NTNU is a partner in the project lead by Tycho Space Technologies.

Pre-project HYPSO-3 (2023 -- 2024) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Researcher.
Description: The project will investigate the next generation, high-resolution, hyper-spectral imager for small satellites.

HYPSO-2 instrument improvements (2022 -- 2024) - ESA Prodex

Role: Researcher.
Description: ESA support for improvements of the HYPSO-2 instrument.

MASSIVE (2017 - 2022) - Norwegian Research Concil

Role: Project manager for HYPSO-2. Technical coordinator and contact point for our satellite providor. Responsible for establishing ground station and operations.
Description: Our current main project is called Mission-oriented autonomous systems with small satellites for maritime sensing, surveilance and communication (MASSIVE). In this project we develop the mission, payloads and required ground infrastructure for our two first satellites; HYPSO-1 and HYPSO-2. You can read more about the HYPSO-project at hypso.space.

On HYPSO-1 we fly one payload consisting of a hyperspectral imager and one RGB imager. The goal is to observe ocean color and detect harmful algal blooms (HABs). Several of the other projects spin out from research on data processing and use of information from this payload.

HYPSO-2 will fly an upgraded version of the hyperspectral camera as well as a software-defined-radio (SDR) for communication purposes. The SDR will be used to continue a series of on-orbit interference measurements as well as serve as a platform for experimental communications for Arctic purposes.

The projects page at Norwegian Research Council.

The researcher and HYPSO-1. Photo credit: NanoAvionics.

NTNU UHF ground station antenna.

Rocket catch (2022 - 2023) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Researcher.
Description: In this project we investigate technologies relevant for recovery of rocket parts of various sizes, by means of unmanned vessels.

Space4Atlantic - project study (2021 - 2022) - ESA InCubed

Role: Researcher.
Description: Contributed with definition of user- and science requirements for a joint study on an Atlantic constellation of EO satellites. Main partner was the AIR Centre at the Azorez, Portugal.
Project page at ESA.

SVIMAA (2021 - 2022) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: In the project Satellite VHF interference measurement analysis and automation (SVIMA2) we will measure and analyze on-orbit RF interfernece by utilizing the VHF receiver onboard the NorSat-2 satellite. Space Norway is our partner providing operations and access of data from the NorSat-2 satellite.

Main publication:
Quintana Diaz, Gara; Birkeland, Roger; Løge, Lars; Andersen, Even; Bolstad, Anton; Ekman, Torbjörn. In-orbit Interference Measurements and Analysis in the VDES-band with the NorSat-2 Satellite. IEEE Aerospace Conference;
DOI: 10.1109/AERO53065.2022.9843810

FRAMSAT-1 (2021 - 2022) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: Together with Orbit NTNU we develop the FRAMSAT-1 satellite, which we aim to be the first Norwegian built satellite launched from the launch site at Andøya Space when this site is operational in 2022 or 2023. FRAMSAT-1 was in December 2021 announced to be selected for a free flight with the Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket. Project partners are Eidsvoll Electronics and Andøya Space Education.

IoT over satellite for remote areas (2019) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: This project studied the potensial of small satellites as communication nodes in hetrogenious sensor networks, mainly intended for use in remote areas with little existing infrastructure.

Pre-project, communication payload design (2017) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: In this project, we conducted an early phase study for candidate payloads for future NORSat-series satellites.

NUTS student activities (2016) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: This project supported student activities such as workshops and a balloon campaign in the NUTS CubeSat project.

Communication payload design (2015) - Norwegian Space Agency

Role: Project leader.
Description: In this project, we performed an early phase study for potential communication payloads for remote/Arctic sensor networks.

The Student CubeSat project NUTS (2010 - 1014) - Norwegian Space Agency, Andøya Space Education, NTNU

Role: Project leader.
Description: This was the second student CubeSat project at NTNU, following the nCube-project from 2001-2006. The goal was to enable students from various fields of study at NTNU to build a 2 unit CubeSat. Even though the project never finalized the satellite itself, the student organization evolved into Orbit NTNU, which now is a more self-propelled stand alone organization with two satellites to be launched in 2022.