MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) is the latest NASA Discovery mission managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. MESSENGER is a mission to orbit the least explored terrestrial planet, Mercury. MESSENGER's high-data-rate downlink will use the first electronically scanned phased-array antenna for a deep-space telecommunication application. Measured results for the lightweight phased-array antenna and the high-efficiency solid state power amplifiers (SSPAs) are presented. Two functional amplifiers within the X-band SSPAs provide output power that is scalable from 11 to 15 watts without major design changes. Five different hybrid microcircuits, including high-efficiency HFET amplifiers and MMIC phase shifters have been developed for use within the SSPAs. A highly efficient packaging approach enables the integration of a large number of hybrid circuits into a SSPA with a mass less than 450 g. The hybrids and the hermetic package are generic and are suitable for a wide range of space applications beyond the MESSENGER program.
Phased-array antenna system for the MESSENGER deep space mission
2001 IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.01TH8542) ; 1 ; 1/41-1/49 vol.1
01.01.2001
1072634 byte
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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