Communication link improvement through antenna optimization for satellite, space, and radio astronomy systems

Abstract

This paper studies the concept of improving the satellite link quality by optimizing the pattern of the receive antenna on board the satellite and at the ground terminal to reduce the antenna temperature. Accurate antenna temperature is calculated by accounting for the temperature difference between land and water bodies in the antenna coverage. The optimization process works on the antenna aperture distribution taking into account the temperature distribution in the antenna pattern. Similar concepts can be used for space and radio astronomy applications.