Article

Cover

Title

The review of designs of mirror spacecraft antennas with solid high precision size stable reflector

Authors

¹V.B. Taygin, ^2,3А.V. Lopatin

Organizations

¹JSC «Academician M. F. Reshetnev» Information Satellite Systems»
Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk region, Russian Federation
²Federal Research Center for Information and Computational Technologies SB RAS
Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
³Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology
Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation

Abstract

The article provides an overview of designs of reflector antennas for spacecraft with solidstate precision dimensionally stable reflectors. The requirements for modern reflector antennas of spacecraft intended for the transmission of high-frequency radio signals are formulated. The features of using composite materials in manufacture of antenna reflectors in the context of their reflective capabilities are considered. The classification of reflector antennas is given. Features of the placement of antennas on a spacecraft are outlined. Multiple designs of reflectors of modern antennas are considered. Various ways of ensuring accuracy of shape and rigidity of reflectors are analyzed. Designs of antennas with a contoured service area and dichroic antennas are described. Antenna assemblies which are placed on a spacecraft and their advantages are considered. An overview of the engineering analyzes carried out during the antenna design phase is provided. The types of tests used to check the performance of spacecraft antennas are considered.

Keywords

spacecraft, reflector antenna, offset antenna, axisymmetric antenna, composite material, engineering analysis, ground-based experimental testing

References

[1] Satish K. Sh., Sudhakar R., Lotfollah Sh. Handbook of Reflector Antennas and Feed Systems. Theory and Design of Reflectors, 2013, vol. 1, 350 p.

[2] Pokras A. M., Somov A. M., Tsurikov G. G. Antenny zemnyh stantsiy sputnikovoy svyasi [Satellite antennas of earth communications]. Moscow, Radio i svyas’, 1985, 288 p. (In Russian)

[3] Galehdar A., Nicholson K., Rowe W., Ghorbani K. The conductivity of unidirectional and quasi isotropic carbon fiber composites // Microwave Conference (EuMC), European, 2010, pp. 882–885.

[4] Artner G., Gentner Ph. K., Nicolics J., Mecklenbrauker Ch. F. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer with Shredded Fibers: Quasi-Isotropic Material Properties and Antenna Performance // International Journal of Antennas and Propagation, 2017, vol. 2017, Article ID 6152651, 11 p. doi: 10.1155/2017/6152651.

[5] Pontoppidan K., Viskum H.-H. Electrical properties of triaxially woven fabrics for reflector antennas // Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 2003, vol. 2, pp. 774–777. doi: 10.1109/APS.2003.1219350.

[6] Sedhed E. Electromagnetic Analysis of Reflector Antenna Surfaces // Master’s Thesis, Department of Electrical and Information Technology Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, 2015.

[7] Mikheev A. E., Girn A. V., Kharlamov V. A., Chernyatina A. A., Khomenko I. I. Razrabotka tehnologii naneseniya radiootrazhayushego pokrytiy [Development of technology for applying radio-reflective coatings] // Vestnik SibSAU, 2013, no. 4 (50), pp. 222–226. (In Russian)

[8] 3D Systems – Direct Metal Printing at the Tipping Point? Available at: additivemanufacturing.com/2016/08/29/3dsystems-direct-metal-printing-at-the-tipping-point/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[9] New Thales Alenia Space antenna reflector is qualified. Available at: www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/news/new-thales-alenia-space-antenna-reflector-qualified (accessed 07.02.2021).

[10] ArianeGroup applying launch cost reduction targets to satellite components. Available at: spacenews.com/arianegroupapplying-launch-cost-reduction-targets-to-satellite-components/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[11] Ultra-Light Reflector for Ka-band Applications. Available at: artes.esa.int/projects/ulrka (accessed 07.02.2021).

[12] Reflector antennas. Available at: www.hps-gmbh.com/en/portfolio/subsystems/reflector-antennas/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[13] Q/V band Feeder Link Antenna. Available at: artes.esa.int/projects/flant (accessed 07.02.2021).

[14] Reflektor-antennen. Available at: www.hps-gmbh.com/portfolio/subsystems/antennas/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[15] Taygin V. B., Lopatin А. V. Metod obespecheniya vysokoy tochnosti reflectorov zerkalnyh antenn kosmicheskih apparatov [Method of achievement the high accuracy of the shape of reflectors of mirror antennas of spacecraft] // Spacecrafts & Technologies, 2019, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 200–208. doi: 10.26732/2618-7957-2019-4-200-208. (In Russian)

[16] Spacecraft Antenna Reflectors. Available at: www.aascworld.com/portfolio/antenna-reflectors/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[17] Taygin V. B., Lopatin А. V. Razrabotka zerkalnoy antenny kosmicheskogo apparata s ultrolegkim vysokotochnym razmerostabilnym reflectorom [Design of the mirror antenna of a spacecraft with the ultralight high precision sizestable reflector] // Spacecrafts & Technologies, 2019, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 121–131. doi: 10.26732/2618-7957-2019-3-121-131. (In Russian)

[18] Resnik S. V., Prosunsov P. V., Novikov A. D. Perspectivy povisheniya razmernoy stabilnosti i vesovoy effectivnosti reflectorov zerkalnyh kosmicheskih antenn is kompositsionnih materialov [Prospects for increasing the dimensional stability and weight efficiency of reflectors of mirror space antennas made of composite materials]. BMSTU Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2018, no. 1 (694), pp. 71–83. (In Russian)

[19] Resnik S. V., Novikov A. D. Comparative analysis of the honeycomb and thin-shell space antenna reflectors // MATEC Web of Conferences, 2017, vol. 92, P. 01012. doi: 10.1051/matecconf/20179201012.

[20] Sudhakar R. Advanced Antenna Technologies for Satellite Communications Payloads // IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2015, vol. 63, P. 1. doi: 10.1109/TAP.2015.2391283.

[21] Images of Voyager. Available at: voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-of-voyager/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[22] Baunge M., Ekstrom H., Ingvarson P., Petersson M. A new concept for dual gridded reflectors // Proceedings of the Fourth European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, Barcelona, 2010, pp. 1–5.

[23] Invent. Space. Available at: www.invent-gmbh.de/en/raumfahrt/ (accessed 07.02.2021).

[24] Palacin B., Fonseca N. J. G., Romier M., Contreres R., Angevain J.-Ch., Toso G., Mangenot C. Multibeam antennas for very high throughput satellites in Europe: Technologies and trends // 11th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP), Paris, 2017, pp. 2413–2417. doi: 10.23919/EuCAP.2017.7928493.

[25] Areval F. Ka-band high performance reflectors for broadband services // 32nd ESA Workshop on Antennas for Space Applications, Noordwijk, Netherlands, 2010.

For citing this article

Taygin V.B., Lopatin А.V. The review of designs of mirror spacecraft antennas with solid high precision size stable reflector // Spacecrafts & Technologies, 2021, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 14-26. doi: 10.26732/j.st.2021.1.02

This Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).