Space-Deployed Inflatable Dual Reflector Antenna: Design and Prototype Measurements
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Space-Deployed Inflatable Dual Reflector Antenna: Design and Prototype Measurements Jesse Mills 7 August 2019 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. Delivered to the U.S. Government with Unlimited Rights, as defined in DFARS Part 252.227-7013 This material is based upon work supported by the or 7014 (Feb 2014). Notwithstanding any United States Air Force under Air Force Contract No. copyright notice, U.S. Government rights in this FA8702-15-D-0001. Any opinions, findings, work are defined by DFARS 252.227-7013 or conclusions or recommendations expressed in this DFARS 252.227-7014 as detailed above. Use of material are those of the author(s) and do not this work other than as specifically authorized by necessarily reflect the views of the United States Air the U.S. Government may violate any copyrights Force. that exist in this work. © 2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology RAMS# 1009987 Large Aperture Space Based RF Applications Small satellite 1 deploys 2 Image region of interest with X-Ku band radar 3 Data downlink to ground/surface station • Several RF space applications such as SAR imaging, deep space comms and radio navigation • Inflatables provide large apertures in small packed volumes, required surface precision is challenging • Goal: Demonstrate the feasibility of precision large inflatable apertures at X-Ku band for small satellites SEJS - 2 Dual-Reflector Gregorian Inflatable Antenna Design Dual Reflector Gregorian Design 2.7 m Overall Secondary Diameter Reflector 0.25 m Diameter Secondary Inflatable Chamber Antenna Feed Toroid Inflatable Antenna Prototype in the Compact Range Primary Primary Reflector 2.4 m Inflatable diameter Chamber 1.1 m Total Height Novel dual-reflector Gregorian inflatable antenna, designed, fabricated, and characterized SEJS - 3 Key Design and Fabrication Insights • Gregorian layout removes satellite body beam RF-Transparent Sections at Interfaces obscuration • Three independent inflation chambers allow for post-fab antenna tuning – Tuned pressures for optimal surface quality – Adjustable focal lengths for secondary – Reverse thermoforming to correct fab defects Wrinkling contained to – Post-deployment primary-secondary alignment RF- transparent sections • Pragmatic mechanical design obviates need for high precision design/fab Post-Fabrication Reverse Thermoforming Az/El alignment lanyards Co-alignment of Reflective Surfaces SEJS - 4 Deployed Area vs. Stowed Volume Spacecraft Deployed Reflectors (In Orbit & Lab Models) 102 L/Mesh L/Inflatable NASA/ATK S/Mesh Harris ACeS ATK AstroMesh Solar Sail 1 10 X/Mesh Ku/Mesh Ku/Inflatable Ku/MIT LL ) 3 100 Ka/Mesh (m Ka/Solid Harris Galileo V/Solid Vol NA/Solar Sail -1 Lockheed 10 ATS-6 MIT LL JAXA Ikaros Stowed DARPA ISAT 10-2 USC AENEAS 1.5U packed volume NASA Nanosail-D NASA IAE 10-3 100 101 102 103 Deployed Area (m2) Demonstrated: Inflatable X-Ku band antenna with stowed volume similar to solar sails SEJS - 5 Simulated and Measured Gain (1 of 2) Inflatable Gregorian Reflector Antenna Simulated and Measured Gain at 10 GHz • Measured antenna gain shows good performance at X-band – 37.6 dBi gain, ~1°beamwidth at 10 GHz – Peak directivity within 4 dB of ideal • Improvement in primary reflector design and fabrication required to achieve directivity within 1 dB of ideal SEJS - 6 Simulated and Measured Gain (2 of 2) Inflatable Gregorian Reflector Antenna EM Model of Laser Scanned Surface vs. RMS Surface Error vs. Peak Gain RF Chamber Measurements Projected performance Current prototype • 3D laser scans of prototype and root mean square (RMS) surface error analysis helped identify error sources – All errors associated with primary surface shape • Improvements in primary fab design and integration fixtures expected to bring performance within 1 dB of ideal SEJS - 7 Summary and Path Forward • Designed, prototyped, and characterized a novel dual-reflector Gregorian multi-chambered inflatable antenna for X-Ku band – Successfully demonstrated good RF performance at X-band, very high deployed area to stowed volume ratio • Identified opportunity for improvements in mechanical design and fabrication design • Implementation of identified improvements expected to bring X-Ku band inflatable antenna within 1 dB of ideal performance • Aperture diameters up to 10 meters likely feasible with these design and fabrication approaches at X-Ku band Enabling technology for SAR imaging, deep space communications and radio navigation on small satellites SEJS - 8 Questions? SEJS - 9.