RF Design and Development of a Deployable Membrane Reflectarray Antenna for Space

Cooley, Mike; Tomek, Eric; Chambers, Trevor; Stickle, Nicholas; Peter, Colin; Rahul, Eric; Ring, T.; Wiens, Mitchell; Yon, Bret; Konapelsky, Dan; Sall, David; March, Rob; Harris, Alyssa; Yen, Songyi; Fasanella, Nick; Wilson, Scott D.

doi:10.1109/past43306.2019.9020871

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Among them, some target lower frequencies (such as X or Ku band) for improved penetration capability in deep convection and heavy precipitation and to leverage on mature electronics and large deployable antenna technologies. The general viability of this approach is well represented by examples such as the DARPA's Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) satellite which was launched with a less than 2 year development time using commercial parts and low cost (see Figure 20b and Cooley et al., 2019) and which is being leveraged upon for a precipitation Doppler radar concept with a 5 m deployable antenna targeting a 1 m s −1 Doppler accuracy and 5 dBZ sensitivity. Along similar lines, a small radar constellation concept is being developed in Japan to address the needs of GSMaP: It consists of small size TRMM/PR‐like precipitation radar satellites to provide 6‐hourly precipitation map over tropical region.…”

Section: Future Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spaceborne Cloud and Precipitation Radars: Status, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Battaglia

Kollias

Dhillon

et al. 2020

Reviews of Geophysics

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Spaceborne radars offer a unique three‐dimensional view of the atmospheric components of the Earth's hydrological cycle. Existing and planned spaceborne radar missions provide cloud and precipitation information over the oceans and land difficult to access in remote areas. A careful look into their measurement capabilities indicates considerable gaps that hinder our ability to detect and probe key cloud and precipitation processes. The international community is currently debating how the next generation of spaceborne radars shall enhance current capabilities and address remaining gaps. Part of the discussion is focused on how to best take advantage of recent advancements in radar and space platform technologies while addressing outstanding limitations. First, the observing capabilities and measurement highlights of existing and planned spaceborne radar missions including TRMM, CloudSat, GPM, RainCube, and EarthCARE are reviewed. Then, the limitations of current spaceborne observing systems, with respect to observations of low‐level clouds, midlatitude and high‐latitude precipitation, and convective motions, are thoroughly analyzed. Finally, the review proposes potential solutions and future research avenues to be explored. Promising paths forward include collecting observations across a gamut of frequency bands tailored to specific scientific objectives, collecting observations using mixtures of pulse lengths to overcome trade‐offs in sensitivity and resolution, and flying constellations of miniaturized radars to capture rapidly evolving weather phenomena. This work aims to increase the awareness about existing limitations and gaps in spaceborne radar measurements and to increase the level of engagement of the international community in the discussions for the next generation of spaceborne radar systems.

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Section: Future Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(a) Mesh deployable antennas at Ka band and lower frequencies ( https://85f2c62a-b345-48a7-8394-fe93e1395d10.filesusr.com/ugd/c5273f_0081c8a108f5424683ac6fd36d0025fe.pdf). (b) Membrane deployable antenna at X band (Cooley et al., 2019). (c) The G band VIPR (Vapor In‐cloud Profiling Radar) antenna system.…”

Section: Future Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spaceborne Cloud and Precipitation Radars: Status, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Battaglia

Kollias

Dhillon

et al. 2020

Reviews of Geophysics

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“…surface errors. MMA Design LLC later reported a 2.25 m demonstration design (45.4 dBi gain and 68% aperture efficiency), a 5 m prototype design, and a 4.2 m RF design [84]. Also, the deployment is conducted by 4 motors, tapes, and tensioning lanyards.…”

Section: Membrane Reflectarray Antennasmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on the Development of Spaceborne Membrane Antennas

Liu

et al. 2022

Space Sci Technol

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The membrane antenna technology is a very promising approach to obtain large aperture with light weight and low stowed volume. In the past decades, extensive studies have been carried out on active and passive membrane antennas. However, the practical spaceborne applications are rare due to many challenges, e.g., the surface accuracy maintenance, the on-orbit reliability, and the environmental compatibility. This paper summarizes the history and state-of-art progresses on spaceborne membrane antennas. Curved surface reflectors, conformal active membrane antennas, planar array membrane antennas, and planar reflectarray membrane antennas have been introduced, respectively. Radiofrequency design, deploying mechanism, material, experiment, application, and analysis method have been presented. By concluding the advantages and challenges of the current membrane antennas, this paper is aimed at providing a perspective of the existing problems and future trend of spaceborne membrane antennas.

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“…Several deployable CubeSat RAs with high gain and high packing efficiency have been presented. In general, the designs can be grouped into three categories: inflatable RAs [8]- [10], membrane RAs [11]- [13], and folded-panel RAs (FPR) [14]- [16]. Inflatable RAs can achieve high packing efficiencies, but they suffer from complicated and bulky pneumatic systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Deployable Volume-Efficient Miura-Ori Reflectarray Antenna for Small Satellite Applications

Rubio,

Kaddour,

Pruett

et al. 2023

IEEE Access

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Traditional high-gain antennas, like parabolic reflectors and phased arrays, are challenging to implement on small satellites (SmallSats) due to their reduced volume when stowed for launch. Therefore, a deployable volume-efficient Miura-ori (VEMO) reflectarray aperture is presented that achieves high gain (35.3 dBi) and high volume efficiency (96%). The design is based on a modified Miura-Ori origami folding pattern that allows for ultra-high volume efficiency and simple deployment. In its stowed state, the aperture fits in a cuboid volume (8.0 cm × 8.0 cm × 2.5 cm) that occupies just 16% of the volume of a 1U CubeSat. The aperture is deployed by releasing stored energy from strategically placed neodymium magnets in the magnetic longitudinal offset (MaLO) hinge system. The aperture has a large reflecting surface area (24.8 cm × 24.8 cm) that is stabilized by the MaLO hinges. The antenna operates in the K a -band (38 GHz), and provides low side lobe level (-17.5 dB), high cross-polarization discrimination (37.1 dB), and acceptable efficiency (27.4%). The main advantage of the proposed VEMO RA antenna is that it achieves high gain with a design that is straightforward, low-cost, and easily deployable while occupying only a small portion of the payload volume. These characteristics are ideal for many SmallSat applications, such as satellite communications, remote sensing, and deep space research.

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RF Design and Development of a Deployable Membrane Reflectarray Antenna for Space

Cited by 8 publications

References 4 publications

Spaceborne Cloud and Precipitation Radars: Status, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Spaceborne Cloud and Precipitation Radars: Status, Challenges, and Ways Forward

A Review on the Development of Spaceborne Membrane Antennas

A Deployable Volume-Efficient Miura-Ori Reflectarray Antenna for Small Satellite Applications

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