Three inflatable array antennas recently developed for spacecraft applications are a 3.3 m/spl times/1.0 m L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) array, a 1.0 m-diameter X-band telecom reflectarray, and a 3 m-diameter Ka-band telecom reflectarray. All three antennas are similar in construction and each consists of an inflatable tubular frame that supports and tensions a multi-layer thin-membrane RF radiating surface with printed microstrip patches. The L-band SAR array achieved a bandwidth of 80 MHz, an aperture efficiency of 74%, and a total mass of 15 kg. The X-band reflectarray achieved an aperture efficiency of 37%, good radiation patterns, and a total mass of 1.2 kg (excluding inflation system). The 3 m Ka-band reflectarray achieved a surface flatness of 0.1 mm RMS, good radiation patterns, and a total mass of 12.8 kg (excluding inflation system). These antennas demonstrated that inflatable arrays are feasible across the microwave and millimeter-wave spectrums. Further development of these antennas are deemed necessary, in particular, in the area of qualifying the inflatable structures for space environment usage.
The development of inflatable array antennas
2000 IEEE Aerospace Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.00TH8484) ; 5 ; 59-65 vol.5
2000-01-01
873064 byte
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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