An In-Orbit Demonstration of a Deployable Ka-Band Antenna for Small Satellites

Abstract – Large Space Structures GmbH (LSS) is a European supplier for deployable antennas for satellites. The 8 m unfurlable mesh reflector for L- to Ka-band intended for the radiometer of the upcoming COPERNICUS CIMR mission is being developed under the leadership of LSS, as part of a European consortium. At the same time, LSS have been working on a variety of smaller, deployable antennas for the small satellite market and for applications ranging from Earth observation instruments (passive and active RF-based instruments) to data transmission. To this effect, these relatively small aperture products are tailored to operate in high frequency bands such as Ka-band up to even G-band, leading to high gain antenna solutions with low mass and compact stowed volumes.
One such system is the 0.5 m REVOLVE antenna that had been pre-developed under an EU-funded Marie Curie grant. In 2022, it has been selected under the EU / ESA CASSINI program for an in-orbit flight demonstration (IOD / IOV). ESA has recently contracted with Open Cosmos to provide the flight opportunity. REVOLVE has been optimized for Ka-band, has a gain of 41 dBi at 30 GHz and structurally is based on a flexible reflecting surface (FlexRS®) composite shell for the main reflector (fiber-reinforced elastomer) that is folded in an OriFlex® Origami pattern. The IOD experiment being prepared for REVOLVE for flight on an Open Cosmos provided satellite platform consists of a mechanical deployment demonstration coupled with an active RF experiment to assess the performance of the antenna system in Ka-band. The RF part of the IOD is a collaboration between LSS and Heriot-Watt University.
The REVOLVE IOD mission is planned to pave the way for a variety of use cases of this LSS antenna product.