Design and prototype of a flight microstrip antennas for the Pico satellite ERPSat-1

Abstract

Small satellites, accomplished by new technologies, allowed the achievement of many tasks and experiments in space. In this context, Pico satellites team of Research Group on Intelligent Machines laboratory of the engineering school of Sfax, Tunisia, has designed and prototyped Microstrip antennas for the first Tunisian Pico satellite ERPSat-1 use. Its resonant frequency is 2.4 GHz. The various losses like atmospheric, free space, Ionosphere and rain losses are taken in consideration. Atmospheric and free space losses vary in accordance with the distance between the Pico satellite ERPSat1 and the ground antenna. During simulations, the changes of the earth antenna which are based on elevation angle, pointing and polarization losses should be taken in consideration. The obtained Microstrip antennas will be used for inter Picosatellites and their ground stations communication.In this paper, we present the design of the ERPSat-1 Microstrip antennas, the results and the limits of the used models to prove their use for space communications. As a first step, these Microstrip antennas will be used in remote sensing system for data transmission from camera to the FPGA platform developed in REGIM laboratory of Sfax University.

Electrically Small Microstrip Antennas Targeting Miniaturized Satellites: the CubeSat Paradigm

“…The next study deals specifically with planar antennas targetting a CubeSat programme. (Hamrouni et al, 2009) designed and prototyped two microstrip antennas on a 1.6 mm-tall substrate. The antennas were intended for use on the first Tunisian pico-satelite ERPSat-1 and operated at 2.4 GHz (S-band).…”

“…At the other end of the design spectrum, the work by (Muchalski et al, 2004) is a typical example of how suspended, electrically large patches can exhibit quite significant bandwidths. Furthermore, resonant-size patches can produce gains in the range 4-6.5 dBi and bandwidths of a few percent (Gao et al, 2008;Hamrouni et al, 2009;Maqsood et al, 2010). On the other hand, 3-D structures consisting of folded and stacked radiating parts offer moderate bandwidths and gains combined, and can even become electrically small (Lee & Woo, 2008).…”

“…1.575 n/a 8.5 2.82 (Zackrisson, 2007) X-band RX 8.000 n/a 8.9 2.63 (Zackrisson, 2007) X-band TX 8.000 n/a 7.5 2.24 (Gao et al, 2008) 2.250 22.2 6.5 1.99 (Lee & Woo, 2008) (Hamrouni et al, 2009) 1 2.400 2.9 n/a 1.62 (Hamrouni et al, 2009) Table 2. Comparison of electrical performance among GPS/GNSS/TTC antennas missions since it is 3.7-4.8 times larger than the size of the CSPP, which fits marginally on the wall of the spacecraft.…”

Design and prototype of an image capturing and processing system for ERPSat-1 Pico Satellite

“…These antennas rest on a substrate with a permittivity equal to 4.32 and thickness H equal to 1.6 mm. After simulations and test, the team found that the antenna resonant frequency is 2.4 GHz and has a directive radiated pattern and a band width of 70 MHz [13]. One of these antennas is shown in the following figure: The energy required to operate the satellite will be provided by tiny solar panels affixed to the surface of the cube ( Figure 7).…”

Τεχνολογίες Ενεργειακά Αποδοτικών Ευρυζωνικών Και Συμπαγών Κεραιοσυστημάτων Υψηλών Συχνοτήτων Για Κινητά Τερματικά Και Προηγμένα Ασύρματα Δίκτυα Επικοινωνιών

“…Το ηλεκτρικό μέγεθος υπολογίστηκε στο (ka) lower = 1.39 rad.Η επόμενη μελέτη αφορά ειδικά σε επίπεδη κεραία για το πρόγραμμα CubeSat. Οι Hamrouni et al[276] σχεδίασαν και κατασκεύασαν δύο μικροταινιακές κεραίες πάνω σε υπόστρωμα ύψους 1.6 mm. Οι κεραίες προορίζονται για τον πρώτο pico-δορυφόρο της Τυνησίας, τον ERPSat-1, και λειτουργούν στα 2.4 GHz (S-band).…”