Article

Cover

Title

Analysis of the designs of membrane transformable antennas for spacecraft

Authors

G.S. Terletsky, A.O. Zykov, V.B. Taygin

Organization

JSC «Academician M. F. Reshetnev» Information Satellite Systems»
Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk region, Russian Federation

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of various designs of transformable membrane reflector antennas for spacecrafts, considers the dependence of the surface accuracy on the operating frequency of the antenna and the requirements imposed on deviations of the antenna surface from the paraboloid. A classification of membrane transformable antennas is presented depending on the presence or absence of supporting elements and stiffeners. Structural schemes for opening membrane antennas are described, from the classical umbrella opening scheme to original schemes for winding ribs on a central hub, tension supporting elements, winding paraboloid segments on a central hub, and folding the reflector surface using origami methods. The design of an offset membrane transformable antenna is considered. Modern materials for the manufacture of reflectors of membrane antennas, such as polymer composite materials with triaxial weaving of carbon fabric with a silicone matrix, polyamide and polyimide films with and without reinforcement, are considered. Materials with shape memory for opening membrane antennas are considered. Calculations of structures for natural vibration frequencies, calculations for bending of folds are described. A description of ground-based experimental testing, in particular, for the disclosure of various types of membrane antennas, was carried out.

Keywords

spacecraft, antenna, membrane antenna, transformable structure

References

[1] Chebotarev V. E., Kosenko V. E. Osnovy proektirovaniya kosmicheskikh apparatov informatsionnogo obespecheniya [Fundamentals of spacecraft design information support]. Krasnoyarsk, SibGAU Publ., 2011, 488 p. (In Russian)

[2] Archer J. S. High-Performance Parabolic Antenna Reflectors // Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 1980, vol. 17, issue 1, pp. 22–26.

[3] Feng C. M., Liu T. S. A bionic approach to mathematical modeling the fold geometry of deployable reflector antennas on satellites // Acta Astronautica, 2014, vol. 103, pp. 36–44. doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2014.06.029.

[4] Kosmicheskij apparat «Luch-5V» [Space apparatus «Luch-5V»]. Available at: https://www.iss-reshetnev.ru/spacecraft/spacecraft-relay/luch-5v (accessed 04.06.2022). (In Russian)

[5] Pellegrino S. Deployable Membrane Reflectors // Proc. of the 2nd World Engineering Congress, 2002, vol. 22, 9 p.

[6] Development of a novel X-band Cassegrain deployable antenna for microsatellite platforms. Available at: https://icubesat.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/b-4-2-201805291233-lawton.pdf (accessed 04.06.2022).

[7] Datashvili L., Lang M., Baier H., Sixt T. Membranes for large and precision deployable reflectors. Germany : Technical University of Munich, 2005.

[8] Datashvili L., Baier H. SMART reflectors / Large Space Apertures. USA : Workshop Keck Institute for Space Studies, 2008.

[9] Amend Ch., Nurnberger M., Oppenheimer P., Koss S., Purdy B. A Novel Approach for a Low-Cost Deployable Antenna // Proc. of the 40th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium, NASA Kennedy Space Center, 2010.

[10] ULTEM resin. Available at: https://www.sabic.com/en/products/specialties/ultem-resins/ultem-resin (accessed 04.06.2022).

[11] Taylor R. M. Large Aperture, Solid Surface Deployable Reflector. USA, 2011.

[12] Footdale J. N., Murphey Th. W. Mechanism Design and Testing of a Self-Deploying Structure Using Flexible Composite Tape Springs // Proc. of the 42nd Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium, NASA Goddard space flight center, 2014.

[13] Reynolds Wh. D., Murphey Th. W., Banik J. A. Highly Compact Wrapped-Gore Deployable Reflector // Proc. of the 52nd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics & Materials Conference, 2011.

[14] Dufour L., Datashvili L., Goussetis G., Guinot F. Origami foldable reflector for small satellites // Proc. of the 3rd International Conference «Advanced Lightweight Structures and Reflector Antennas», Georgia, Tbilisi, 2018.

[15] Furuya H., Inoue Yo., Masuoka T. Deployment Characteristics of Rotationally Skew Fold Membrane for Spinning Solar Sail // Proc. of the 46th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics & Materials Conference, USA, Austin, 2005.

For citing this article

Terletsky G.S., Zykov A.O., Taygin V.B. Analysis of the designs of membrane transformable antennas for spacecraft // Spacecrafts & Technologies, 2022, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 149-162. doi: 10.26732/j.st.2022.3.01

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