A Survey on CubeSat Missions and Their Antenna Designs

Abstract

CubeSats are a class of miniaturized satellites that have become increasingly popular in academia and among hobbyists due to their short development time and low fabrication cost. Their compact size, lightweight characteristics, and ability to form a swarm enables them to communicate directly with one another to inspire new ideas on space exploration, space-based measurements, and implementation of the latest technology. CubeSat missions require specific antenna designs in order to achieve optimal performance and ensure mission success. Over the past two decades, a plethora of antenna designs have been proposed and implemented on CubeSat missions. Several challenges arise when designing CubeSat antennas such as gain, polarization, frequency selection, pointing accuracy, coverage, and deployment mechanisms. While these challenges are strongly related to the restrictions posed by the CubeSat standards, recently, researchers have turned their attention from the reliable and proven whip antenna to more sophisticated antenna designs such as antenna arrays to allow for higher gain and reconfigurable and steerable radiation patterns. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the antennas used in 120 CubeSat missions from 2003 to 2022 as well as a collection of single-element antennas and antenna arrays that have been proposed in the literature. In addition, we propose a pictorial representation of how to select an antenna for different types of CubeSat missions. To this end, this paper aims is to serve both as an introductory guide on CubeSats antennas for CubeSat enthusiasts and a state of the art for CubeSat designers in this ever-growing field.

A High Gain Deployable L/S Band Conical Helix Antenna Integrated With Optical System for Earth Observation CubeSats

“…The features of patch antennas have been listed, considered, and noted in previous review articles [16,17,22,31]. Although the gains in patch antennas are relatively high compared to wire antennas, they are limited owing to their structural features and manufacturing technology [32]. In the same review paper [32], statistical data indicated that helical antennas allow for even more gain within the VHF to S-bands compared to patch/planar antennas and can be easily assembled and deployed.…”

“…Although the gains in patch antennas are relatively high compared to wire antennas, they are limited owing to their structural features and manufacturing technology [32]. In the same review paper [32], statistical data indicated that helical antennas allow for even more gain within the VHF to S-bands compared to patch/planar antennas and can be easily assembled and deployed. In [33], conical log spiral and quadrifilar helix antennas (QHA) were used for the UHF band, as well as a deployment mechanism that includes spiral pantograph and origami models with a Z-fold configuration.…”

Miniaturized Folded-Slot CubeSat MIMO Antenna Design with Pattern Diversity

“…Antenna design is an important component in satellite systems for both the upstream and downstream communications that connect ground stations to satellites. Their size and weight should be in accordance with the CubeSat, and should provide good radiation performance [ 1 ]. In recent time, the requirements for Multi-Input–Multi-Output (MIMO) antennas for CubeSats operating at 437 MHz, i.e., the amateur UHF band, have increased.…”

Multiband circularly polarised CubeSat antenna operating in S, C, X, Ku, K, and Ka bands

“…Recently, the CubeSat has been used as a scientific application in radio bands [8].The antenna is essential in a CubeSat telecommunication subsystem because it establishes the communication link between the ground station and the CubeSat. So, the CubeSat Antenna is developed in different designs to enhance the operating frequency bands and radiation performance [9,10]. It is essential for the RainCube rainfall radar [8], missions in deep space [11], and the Internet of space [12], and it enables us to see the satellite constellation and the Pleiades in space [13].…”

“…From [9,10,19], challenges and the restrictions of CubeSat platforms have been studied and considered during the design and integration phase of the antenna with the CubeSat after a deep review of the challenges that face the CubeSat antenna design, and the most common challenges and our contribution towards these challenges are as follows:…”