Design of a Deployable Helix Antenna at L-Band for a 1-Unit CubeSat: From Theoretical Analysis to Flight Model Results

Abstract

The 3Cat-4 mission aims at demonstrating the capabilities of a CubeSat to perform Earth Observation (EO) by integrating a combined GNSS-R and Microwave Radiometer payload into a 1-Unit CubeSat. One of the greatest challenges is the design of an antenna that respects the 1-Unit CubeSat envelope while operating at the different frequency bands: Global Positioning System (GPS) L1 and Galileo E1 band (1575 MHz), GPS L2 band (1227 MHz), and the microwave radiometry band (1400–1427 MHz). Moreover, it requires between 8 and 12 dB of directivity depending on the band whilst providing at least 10 dB of front-to-back lobe ratio in L1 and L2 GPS bands. After a trade-off analysis on the type of antenna that could be used, a helix antenna was found to be the most suitable option to comply with the requirements, since it can be stowed during launch and deployed once in orbit. This article presents the antenna design from a radiation performance point of view starting with a theoretical analysis, then presenting the numerical simulations, the measurements in an Engineering Model (EM), and finally the final design and performance of the Flight Model (FM).

A High Gain Deployable L/S Band Conical Helix Antenna Integrated With Optical System for Earth Observation CubeSats

“…In addition, the proposed antenna, along with the antenna from [51], has a dual-band gain compared to the other considered antenna. Compared to antenna system in [34], the proposed antenna is more compact and can be integrated with the CubeSat camera, although it has a slightly lower gain. Given these characteristics, it can be assumed that the proposed antenna can be used in CubeSat spacecraft for remote sensing missions.…”

“…In [33], conical log spiral and quadrifilar helix antennas (QHA) were used for the UHF band, as well as a deployment mechanism that includes spiral pantograph and origami models with a Z-fold configuration. The study [34] considered the 1U CubeSat mission, which requires an antenna for bands such as L1, L2, and E1, and a microwave radiometry band (1400-1427 MHz) with a gain of 8-12 dB. After a review analysis, the authors noted that among the practically used antennas, the helical antenna is the most suitable.…”

Low-Profile Antenna System for Cognitive Radio in IoST CubeSat Applications

“…The dual polarization has been achieved in [ 8 ] as CP and in [ 46 ] as LP without pattern diversity and reconfigurability based on slot antenna and shared aperture antenna, respectively. On the other hand, the antennas in [ 3 , 8 , 38 , 40 , 47 , 48 ] achieved CP with a complicated structure. Therefore, the proposed antenna is a good candidate for future CR-IOST applications.…”

“…Numerous use cases require a more global, scalable, flexible, and robust solution, such as monitoring remote areas, internet provisioning to underserved or disturbed regions, or intelligent global transport management. CubeSats are recommended to achieve global communication systems between those different services [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. CubeSats are a type of low-weight satellite (1.33 kg) that have a volume of and a weight of less than kg (commonly represented as 1 U).…”

Miniaturized Folded-Slot CubeSat MIMO Antenna Design with Pattern Diversity

“…Various methodologies and approaches have been proposed to achieve a planar configuration with reduced antenna size [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. However, simultaneously achieving miniaturization with a planar configuration, wide bandwidth, and higher gain, particularly in the UHF band, remains a challenging task.…”