Multi-level orchestration architecture for FPGA SoC-based flexible CubeSat payloads

As the LEO satellite sector keeps growing steadily, reduced entry costs are attracting both private and public investment. This democratization facilitates the emergence of globally accessible services and creates opportunities for commercial applications, particularly in areas such as the Internet of Things. Simultaneously, it opens diverse research avenues in performance optimization, communication protocols, energy efficiency, and positioning systems, among others. Additionally, there is a growing need for flexible hardware infrastructure in space, capable of supporting increasingly dynamic, scalable, and distributed service deployments. This work examines flexible payloads as a solution for LEO infrastructures, detailing the hardware and software architecture of a satellite node implemented on a Software Defined Radio (SDR) FPGA SoC platform. Our proposed framework delivers flexibility through three distinct layers: L1 (Hardware Reconfiguration), L2 (Operating System Software Virtualization), and L3 (Service-based Deployment orchestrated from Ground Segment). This multi-tiered approach enables adaptive satellite capabilities that respond to evolving mission requirements.