Session
Session VII: Advanced Technologies I
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
Increasingly, CubeSat and Small Satellite platforms are used for space exploration and Earth science remote sensing from LEO locations. Due to their low cost and fast deployment time, CubeSat platforms are also employed for new technology development and technology readiness level (TRL) maturation in the space environment. RF antennas are essential components of these CubeSat/Small Satellite platforms used for communication and remote sensing radars/radiometers. Types of antennas currently used on CubeSat/Small Satellite platforms include; monopole/dipole antennas; printed antennas; printed antennas integrated with a solar cell; and antennas printed on the backside of solar cell. These types of antennas need a packaging and deployment mechanism; hence, their use poses a deployment failure risk to a mission. Furthermore, these types of antennas add extra volume and weight to the payload. A novel load bearing antenna concept for CubeSat/Small Satellite platforms that does not need packaging or a deployment mechanism, thus eliminating the risk of deployment failure is presented.
Novel Load Bearing Antennas for CubeSat Applications
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Increasingly, CubeSat and Small Satellite platforms are used for space exploration and Earth science remote sensing from LEO locations. Due to their low cost and fast deployment time, CubeSat platforms are also employed for new technology development and technology readiness level (TRL) maturation in the space environment. RF antennas are essential components of these CubeSat/Small Satellite platforms used for communication and remote sensing radars/radiometers. Types of antennas currently used on CubeSat/Small Satellite platforms include; monopole/dipole antennas; printed antennas; printed antennas integrated with a solar cell; and antennas printed on the backside of solar cell. These types of antennas need a packaging and deployment mechanism; hence, their use poses a deployment failure risk to a mission. Furthermore, these types of antennas add extra volume and weight to the payload. A novel load bearing antenna concept for CubeSat/Small Satellite platforms that does not need packaging or a deployment mechanism, thus eliminating the risk of deployment failure is presented.
