Table Of ContentAntenna Design
for CubeSats
For a complete listing of titles in the
Artech House Antennas and Propagation Library,
turn to the back of this book.
Antenna Design
for CubeSats
Reyhan Baktur
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A catalog record for this book is available from the U.S. Library of Congress.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover design by Charlene Stevens
ISBN 13: 978-1-63081-785-5
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Amina Osman Baktur and Gayit Musa Baktur
Contents
Preface 11
References 13
Acknowledgments 15
1 Orbits and Small Satellites 17
1.1 Satellites and Orbits 18
1.1.1 LEO 19
1.1.2 Polar Orbit and Sun-Synchronous Orbit 20
1.1.3 Medium Earth Orbit 20
1.1.4 HEO 21
1.1.5 Geosynchronous Orbit 21
1.1.6 Geostationary Orbit and Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit 21
1.2 Classification of Satellites 21
1.3 Small Satellite Architecture and Advantage 22
1.4 Technical Challenges 24
1.5 Small Satellite Development History and Resources 25
References 26
2 CubeSats: From Concept to Orbit 27
2.1 Overview and Terminology 28
2.1.1 Introduction 29
2.1.2 Terminology 29
2.2 Typical CubeSat Missions, Dispensers, Launch Vehicle, and
Deployment 33
2.2.1 Examples of CubeSat Missions 33
2.2.2 Dispensers 37
2.2.3 Launch Vehicle 39
2.2.4 CubeSat Deployment 40
7
8 Antenna Design for CubeSats
2.3 CubeSat Mission Development 47
2.3.1 CubeSat Architecture and Key Components 47
2.3.2 From Concept to Launch: A Brief Process Overview 52
2.3.3 Documentation and Testing Procedures or Reports 53
2.3.4 Points of Interest for RF Engineers: Licensing, Antennas, and
Ground Station 55
2.4 List of Resources 57
2.4.1 Documents and Sites 57
2.4.2 CubeSat Launch Programs and Lists of CubeSats 57
2.4.3 Conferences and Journals 58
2.5 Summary with a Rocket Launch Example 58
References 63
3 Overview of CubeSat Antennas: Design
Considerations, Categories, and Link Budget
Development 67
3.1 Functions and Basics of CubeSat Antennas 68
3.2 Factors to Be Considered and Analyzed 70
3.2.1 Requirements for CubeSat Antennas 70
3.2.2 Special Considerations Due to Space Environment 71
3.2.3 Considerations Due to CubeSat Structure 71
3.2.4 CubeSat Pointing and Orientation 72
3.2.5 Link and Power Budgets 73
3.3 Categorization of CubeSat Antennas 74
3.3.1 In Terms of Deployment 74
3.3.2 In Terms of Gain 76
3.4 CubeSat Link Budget: Elements, Calculations, and Examples 77
3.4.1 Overview of CubeSat Link Budget 77
3.4.2 The Basic Elements of a Link Budget 80
3.4.3 CubeSat Link Budget Examples 90
3.5 Summary 98
3.6 Resources 98
References 99
4 Traditional CubeSat Antennas 103
4.1 Coupling Between the Antenna and CubeSat 104
4.2 Dipole and Monopole Antennas 106
4.2.1 Design Procedure 107
4.2.2 Tape Measure Antennas 108
4.3 Helical Antenna 109
4.4 Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 112
4.4.1 Basic Terms 112
4.4.2 Characteristics of Quadrifilar Antennas 115
4.4.3 Application Notes 116
4.5 Microstrip Patch Antenna 118
4.5.1 Geometry, Cavity Model, and Dominant Mode 119
4.5.2 Design Parameters 122
4.5.3 Circular Polarization 126
8 Antenna Design for CubeSats Contents 9
4.5.4 Feeding Methods, Array, and Considerations for Space
Applications 129
4.6 Horn Antennas 130
References 134
5 Conformal Integration of Antennas with CubeSat
Solar Panels 137
5.1 Factors to Be Studied 138
5.2 Typical Solar Panel Assembly, Commercial Space-Certified
Solar Cells, and Types of Integration 139
5.3 Antennas Placed Under Solar Cells 141
5.3.1 Design Philosophy 141
5.3.2 Interaction Between Solar Cells and Antennas 142
5.4 Antennas Placed Integrated Around Solar Cells 142
5.4.1 Two Design Examples 143
5.4.2 Solar Cell Integration and Measurements 145
5.5 Antennas Placed Integrated on Top of Solar Cells 146
5.5.1 Antennas Designed From Transparent Conductors 147
5.5.2 Meshed Patch Antennas 149
5.6 Effect of Solar Cells on the Antennas Integrated on Top of Them 154
5.6.1 Lossy Photovoltaic Layer 155
5.6.2 Effect of the Electrodes 156
5.6.3 The Effect of an Adhesive Layer 156
5.6.4 Effect of the Solar Panel Geometry, Orientation of Integrated
Antennas, and Working Status of Solar Cells 156
5.6.5 The Effect of the Antenna on the Solar Panel 157
5.6.6 Summary: Numbers for the Link Budget 160
5.7 Conformal UHF Antennas 161
5.7.1 Design Philosophy and Parameters 161
5.7.2 Fabrication and Assembly 165
5.7.3 Results and Discussions 167
5.7.4 Measurement Setup, Results, and Summary 168
5.8 Summary, Design Flow, and Practical Considerations 172
References 174
6 High Gain Antennas for CubeSats and Emerging
Solutions 179
6.1 Overview and Comparisons of Reflector, Reflectarray, and
Phased Array Antennas 179
6.2 Reflectarray Fundamentals 181
6.2.1 Design Equation and Phase-Length Curve 182
6.2.2 Analysis Method 184
6.2.3 Efficiencies 186
6.2.4 Subwavelength Reflectarray 189
6.2.5 Different Element Geometry: Circular Polarization 190
6.2.6 Design Procedure for Implementation on CubeSats 191
6.3 RainCube Antenna: A Deployable Parabolic Mesh Reflector 192
6.4 Reflectarray Integrated Under the Solar Panel 193
