Doppler Limits of LoRa in LEO: A Critical Review of the First In-Orbit Flight Tests

Year : 2025 | Volume : 12 | Issue : 02 | Page : 21-27
    By

    Paavan H. Shah,

  • Mayur M. Sevak,

  1. Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India
  2. Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India

Abstract

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This study provides a comprehensive review of the seminal work by Zadorozhny et al., which presented the first in-orbit flight test results evaluating the impact of Doppler effects on LoRa modulation for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications. The review summarizes the original study’s methodology using the NORBY CubeSat, details its key findings regarding the operational limits imposed by static and dynamic Doppler shifts across various LoRa configurations (Spreading Factor (SF), Bandwidth (BW)), and analyzes the significance of these results. It contextualizes the original findings within the rapidly evolving landscape of Satellite IoT (SatIoT), discussing subsequent research on Doppler compensation techniques, the emergence of competing technologies like 3GPP NTN, and the trend towards hybrid terrestrial-satellite networks. The review concludes that the work by Zadorozhny et al. provides a critical empirical foundation for understanding LoRa’s performance in LEO, highlighting the trade-offs between sensitivity and Doppler robustness, while also noting the ongoing efforts to mitigate identified limitations.

Keywords: LoRa, satellite IoT, doppler effect, LEO

[This article belongs to Recent Trends in Electronics Communication Systems ]

How to cite this article:
Paavan H. Shah, Mayur M. Sevak. Doppler Limits of LoRa in LEO: A Critical Review of the First In-Orbit Flight Tests. Recent Trends in Electronics Communication Systems. 2025; 12(02):21-27.
How to cite this URL:
Paavan H. Shah, Mayur M. Sevak. Doppler Limits of LoRa in LEO: A Critical Review of the First In-Orbit Flight Tests. Recent Trends in Electronics Communication Systems. 2025; 12(02):21-27. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rtecs/article=2025/view=0


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References

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Regular Issue Subscription Original Research
Volume 12
Issue 02
Received 25/04/2025
Accepted 07/05/2025
Published 09/06/2025
Publication Time 45 Days
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