Development and improvement of computer application(s) to automate short movie recording mission control

Abstract

Miniaturised satellites like the CubeSat with the ability to carry a camera payload have seen an increasing popularity among space and satellite researchers. While many such satellites have a similar segmented data downlink format for the captured Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) images, automated and user-friendly software to decode these image packets are still not widely available online. Video recordings, of which are less encouraged on miniaturised satellites, are more difficult to obtain than images despite their useful applications in studying a mission process. In this report, a computer software application is proposed to reconstruct segmented JPEG images and generate a Motion JPEG (MJPEG) video file from the downlinked segmented image packets. The user may interact with a user-friendly Graphic User Interface (GUI) to achieve these functionalities. Error handling capabilities are also integrated within the program. The application’s neat visual display coupled with useful functionalities allows researchers to retrieved satellite captured JPEG images and obtain a video recording for research efficiently and effortlessly.