Technology for deployable panel antennas

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for deployable panel antenna arrays are described. An antenna system (e.g., an antenna system for a communications satellite) may include panels rotatably deployable via one or more rotary joints. Each panel may include antenna elements of an antenna array on one side of the panel and, in some examples, solar elements that provide power for operating the antenna system on an opposite side of the panel. The panels may be housed in a relatively compact configuration that may be at least partially within a cross-sectional projection of a body portion (e.g., of a communications satellite) and may be deployed by rotating the panels about one or more coupling axes. In the deployed configuration, the panels may form a polygon or a circle, such that the surface area available for the antenna elements, the solar panels, or both, is greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the body.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 476,138, entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STOWING AND DEPLOYING SATELLITE ANTENNAS," by Buer et al., filed December 19, 2022, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to communication systems that include technology for deployable panel antennas. [Background technology]

[0003] A communication system may include an antenna configured to communicate information via wireless signaling. For example, a satellite may be configured with one or more antennas supporting communication with or between ground segment terminals (e.g., gateway terminals, user terminals). Antenna system performance may be relatively higher with relatively larger antennas. However, relatively large antennas may be associated with challenges, such as challenges for delivering the satellite to an orbital slot (e.g., as a relatively large payload volume in a launch vehicle) or otherwise moving or positioning the relatively large antenna. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatus for deployable panel antennas. A communication device (e.g., a communication satellite) may be configured to communicate with or relay signals between other devices via wireless signaling using the communication device's antenna system. For example, the satellite may be deployed in an orbital position or a mobile orbital configuration (e.g., a non-geostationary orbit (NGSO), e.g., a low Earth orbit (LEO) or a medium Earth orbit (MEO)) and may include an antenna system implementing a set of multiple antenna elements (e.g., direct radiating antenna elements, direct radiating arrays). These antenna elements may, in some examples, be configured to communicate signaling with other devices via one or more beamformed beams (e.g., receive beams, transmit beams). However, some implementations of such sets of antenna elements may occupy a relatively large surface area, including when such antenna elements are operated without a reflector. Additionally, operation of such sets of antenna elements may be associated with relatively large power consumption and may be supported by a relatively large solar array. In some cases, deploying such communications satellites may include enclosing a set of multiple such communications satellites within a fairing of a launch vehicle (e.g., a rocket) so that the communications satellites may be deployed from the fairing into their orbital paths at altitudes above Earth after launch of the launch vehicle. Due to space constraints within the fairing, some implementations of communications satellites may have insufficient surface area to support the spatial distribution of antenna elements of an antenna array, or a relatively large solar array, or both.

[0005] According to examples disclosed herein, a communications satellite may include rotatably deployable panels to increase the surface area for mounting antenna elements (e.g., an array of antenna elements), solar elements (e.g., a solar array), or both. For example, each such panel may include a respective subset of the communications satellite's antenna elements on one side of the panel and, in some examples, a respective set of solar elements for providing power for operating the communications satellite on an opposite side of the panel. To deploy, each panel may be configured to rotate to a respective angular alignment about a combined axis (e.g., an axis extending from the body of the communications satellite). Thus, the panels may be housed in a relatively compact configuration that may be at least partially within a cross-sectional projection of the communications satellite's body and may deploy in a deployed configuration (e.g., an extended configuration, a circular configuration) associated with rotating the panels about the combined axis. In the deployed configuration, the panels may form a polygon or a circle such that the surface area available for the antenna elements, the solar panels, or both is greater than the cross-sectional shape of the body portion. This may improve the performance characteristics of the communications satellite.

[0006] In some cases, the body portion of such a communications satellite may also include one or more sets of antenna elements, one or more sets of solar elements, or both. Additionally, the panels, body portion, or a combination thereof may include circuitry configured to operate the antenna elements (e.g., signal processing circuitry, beamforming circuitry, control circuitry), circuitry configured to operate the solar elements (e.g., power converters, power distribution circuitry, batteries), or both. Implementing the panels in such a rotatably deployable configuration may support increasing the satellite's available surface area to support communications satellite performance characteristics, while maintaining a relatively compact shape to support a relatively large number of such satellites deployed from within a single launch vehicle fairing. While some of the described techniques may be implemented within communications satellites, the described techniques may also be applicable to other communications systems (e.g., ground-based antenna systems, portable antenna systems, vehicle-mounted antenna systems, etc.).

[0007] Further scope of applicability of the described methods and systems will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims, and drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are given by way of example only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the description will become apparent to those skilled in the art. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a communications system that supports technology for deployable panel antennas according to examples described herein. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example fairing configuration that supports techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A illustrates an example satellite supporting techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B illustrates an example satellite supporting techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A illustrates an example satellite supporting techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B illustrates an example satellite supporting techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 illustrates an example signal processing architecture that supports techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting technology for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatus for deployable panel antennas. A communication device (e.g., a communication satellite) may be configured to communicate with or relay signals between other devices via wireless signaling using the communication device's antenna system. For example, the satellite may be deployed in an orbital position or a mobile orbital configuration (e.g., a non-geostationary orbit (NGSO), e.g., a low Earth orbit (LEO) or a medium Earth orbit (MEO)) and may include an antenna system implementing a set of multiple antenna elements (e.g., direct radiating antenna elements, direct radiating arrays). These antenna elements may, in some examples, be configured to communicate signaling with other devices via one or more beamformed beams (e.g., receive beams, transmit beams). However, some implementations of such sets of antenna elements may occupy a relatively large surface area, including when such antenna elements are operated without a reflector. Additionally, operation of such sets of antenna elements may be associated with relatively large power consumption and may be supported by a relatively large solar array. In some cases, deploying such communications satellites may include enclosing a set of multiple such communications satellites within a fairing on a launch vehicle (e.g., a rocket) so that the communications satellites may be deployed from the fairing into their orbital paths at altitudes above the Earth after launch of the launch vehicle. Due to space constraints within the fairing, some implementations of communications satellites may have insufficient surface area to support a spatial distribution of antenna elements, or a relatively large solar array, or both.

[0010] According to examples disclosed herein, a communications satellite may include rotatably deployable panels to increase the surface area for mounting antenna elements, solar elements, or both. For example, each such panel may include a respective subset of the communications satellite's antenna elements on one side of the panel, and in some examples, a respective set of solar elements for providing power for operating the communications satellite on an opposite side of the panel. To deploy, each panel may be configured to rotate to a respective angular alignment about a combined axis (e.g., an axis extending from the body of the communications satellite). Thus, the panels may be housed in a relatively compact configuration that may at least partially reside within a cross-sectional projection of the communications satellite's body, and may deploy in a deployed configuration (e.g., an extended configuration, a circular configuration) associated with rotating the panels about the combined axis. In the deployed configuration, the panels may form a polygon or a circle, such that the surface area available for the antenna elements, the solar panels, or both is greater than the cross-sectional shape of the body portion. This may improve the performance characteristics of the communications satellite.

[0011] In some cases, the body portion of such a communications satellite may also include one or more sets of antenna elements, one or more sets of solar elements, or both. Additionally, the panels, body portion, or a combination thereof may include circuitry configured to operate the antenna elements (e.g., signal processing circuitry, beamforming circuitry, control circuitry) or the solar elements (e.g., power converters, power distribution circuitry, batteries), or both. Implementing the panels in such a rotatably deployable configuration may support increasing the satellite's available surface area to support communications satellite performance characteristics while maintaining a relatively compact shape to support a relatively large number of such satellites deployed from within a single launch vehicle fairing. While some of the described techniques may be implemented within communications satellites, the described techniques may also be applicable to other communications systems (e.g., ground-based antenna systems, portable antenna systems, vehicle-mounted antenna systems, etc.).

[0012] Aspects of the present disclosure are initially described in the context of a satellite communications system. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to fairing configurations, satellites, signal processing architectures, and methods related to techniques for deployable panel antennas.

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a communications system 100 (e.g., a satellite communications system) supporting deployable panel antenna technology according to examples disclosed herein. The communications system 100 may use various architectures (e.g., an architecture including a ground segment 101 and a space segment 102) to support communications services. The space segment 102 may include one or more satellites 120 (e.g., communications satellites). The ground segment 101 may include ground terminals, such as one or more user terminals 150 (e.g., service consumer terminals) and one or more gateway terminals 130 (e.g., access node terminals, network terminals, service provider terminals), as well as network devices 141, such as network operations centers (NOCs), satellite and gateway terminal command centers, etc. In some implementations, the terminals (e.g., gateway terminals 130) of the communications system 100 may be communicatively coupled to each other, one or more networks 140, or a combination thereof (e.g., via a mesh network, a star network, a wired network, a wireless network, etc.).

[0014] Satellites 120 may include any suitable type of satellite configured for wireless communication with (e.g., to provide communication services to) or between gateway terminals 130 and user terminals 150. In some examples, one or more of satellites 120 (e.g., all of satellites 120) may be in respective orbits (e.g., NGSO) in which the positions of satellites 120 relative to Earth vary over time. In some other examples, one or more of satellites 120 (e.g., all of satellites 120) may be in respective positions relative to Earth such that one or more of the satellites maintain the same relative position relative to a point on Earth (e.g., geostationary orbit). Although at least some techniques are described herein with reference to satellite 120, which is an example of a device that supports relaying communications between ground terminals, one or more techniques described herein may be applicable to other types of devices operable to relay signaling (e.g., between ground terminals). These devices may have a generally overhead position relative to the ground terminals (e.g., airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, airships) or may be ground-based relay devices (including mobile or stationary relay devices).

[0015] Communications system 100 may support uplink signaling (e.g., from ground segment 101 to space segment 102), downlink signaling (e.g., from space segment 102 to ground segment 101), crosslink signaling (e.g., between devices in space segment 102, e.g., between satellites 120), or any combination thereof. Communications system 100 may also support forward signaling (e.g., from gateway terminal 130 to user terminal 150) and return signaling (e.g., from user terminal 150 to gateway terminal 130), among other signaling (e.g., signaling between gateway terminals 130, signaling between user terminals 150), or any combination thereof. For example, satellite 120 may receive uplink signals 132 (e.g., forward uplink signals) from one or more gateway terminals 130 and may transmit downlink signals 172 (e.g., forward downlink signals) to one or more user terminals 150. This may be related to (e.g., may include) relaying of forward link signaling. Additionally or alternatively, satellite 120 may receive uplink signals 173 (e.g., return uplink signals) from one or more user terminals 150 and may transmit downlink signals 133 (e.g., return downlink signals) to one or more gateway terminals 130. This may be related to relaying of return link signaling. Additionally or alternatively, a first satellite 120 may transmit crosslink signals 175 that can be received by a second satellite 120. This may include forward crosslink signaling (e.g., between forward uplink signal 132 and forward downlink signal 172), return crosslink signaling (e.g., between return uplink signal 173 and return downlink signal 133), or a combination thereof.

[0016] Various physical layer modulation and coding techniques may be supported for communication of signals between gateway terminal 130 and user terminal 150 (e.g., via one or more satellites 120), such as multi-frequency time division multiple access (MF-TDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), or any number of hybrid or other schemes known in the art. In various implementations, the physical layer technology may be the same for each of signals 132, 133, 172, 173, and 175, or some such signals may use a different physical layer technology than other such signals. Satellite 120 may support communications using one or more frequency bands and any number of sub-bands thereof. For example, one or more of the satellites 120 may each support operation in any one or more of the E-band, W-band, V-band, Ka-band, K-band, Ku-band, X-band, C-band, S-band, L-band, or V-band, among other bands or combinations of bands.

[0017] The satellite 120 may include one or more antenna systems (e.g., one or more antenna systems), such as a phased array antenna, a direct-radiating phased array antenna, a phased array-fed reflector (PAFR) antenna, or any other component known in the art for transmitting and / or receiving signals for communication services. In some examples, the antenna system may support communication via one or more beamformed spot beams 125 (e.g., spot beams associated with directional transmission, spot beams associated with directional reception, spot beams associated with directional transmission and directional reception) (which may be referred to as beams, service beams, satellite beams, or any other suitable terminology). Signals may be passed through an array of feed elements of the antenna system of the satellite 120 (e.g., via a beamformer) to transmit or receive a spatial electromagnetic radiation pattern (e.g., a scanning volume) of the spot beam 125. In some examples, the spot beam 125 may use or otherwise be associated with a single carrier (e.g., one frequency or a contiguous frequency range).

[0018] In some examples, spot beam 125 may be configured (e.g., by location, by frequency range, by polarization) to support only a gateway terminal 130 (e.g., a single gateway terminal 130). In this case, spot beam 125 may be referred to as a gateway spot beam or gateway beam (e.g., gateway spot beam 125-a). For example, gateway spot beam 125-a may be configured to support one or more uplink signals 132 between satellite 120 and gateway terminal 130 (e.g., forward uplink signals as a receiving spot beam of satellite 120), one or more downlink signals 133 between satellite 120 and gateway terminal 130 (e.g., return downlink signals as a transmitting spot beam of satellite), or a combination thereof. In some examples, the satellite 120 may support a first gateway spot beam 125 (e.g., an uplink gateway spot beam, a forward gateway spot beam) for receiving an uplink signal 132 (e.g., a forward uplink signal for outputting a forward uplink beam signal) and a second gateway spot beam 125 (e.g., a downlink gateway spot beam, a return gateway spot beam) for transmitting a downlink signal 133 (e.g., a return downlink signal for obtaining a return downlink beam signal). In various examples, such techniques may include gateway beams 125 aligned along the same direction from the satellite 120 (e.g., toward the same gateway terminal 130 for simultaneously supporting forward and return traffic), or gateway beams 125 aligned along different directions from the satellite 120 (e.g., toward different gateway terminals 130 for forward and return traffic), or gateway beams 125 supported via different antenna systems (e.g., a receive antenna system and a transmit antenna system) of the satellite 120, or portions thereof, or both.

[0019] In some examples, the spot beam 125 may be configured (e.g., by location, by frequency range, by polarization) to support only a user terminal 150 (e.g., one or more user terminals 150). In this case, the spot beam 125 may be referred to as a user spot beam or a user beam (e.g., a user spot beam 125-b that may be associated with a respective user spot beam coverage area 126-a). For example, the user spot beam 125-b may be configured to support one or more downlink signals 172 (e.g., forward downlink signals as a transmitting spot beam of the satellite 120), one or more uplink signals 173 (e.g., return uplink signals as a receiving spot beam of the satellite), or a combination thereof, between the satellite 120 and the user terminal 150. In some examples, the satellite 120 may support a first user spot beam 125 (e.g., a downlink user spot beam, a forward user spot beam) for transmitting a downlink signal 172 (e.g., a forward downlink signal for outputting a forward downlink beam signal) and a second user spot beam 125 (e.g., an uplink user spot beam, a return user spot beam) for receiving an uplink signal 173 (e.g., a return uplink signal for obtaining a return uplink beam signal). In various examples, such techniques may include user beams 125 aligned along the same direction from the satellite 120 (e.g., toward the same portion of a service area to simultaneously support forward and return traffic in the same area), or user beams 125 along different directions from the satellite 120 (e.g., toward different portions of a service area to support forward and return traffic in different areas), or user beams 125 supported via different antenna systems (e.g., a transmit antenna system and a receive antenna system) or portions thereof, or both, of the satellite 120.

[0020] In some examples, spot beam 125 may be configured to serve both user terminal 150 and gateway terminal 130. For example, spot beam 125 may be configured to support any combination of downlink signal 172, uplink signal 173, uplink signal 132, or downlink signal 133 between satellite 120 and user terminal 150 and gateway terminal 130. In some examples, satellite 120 may use spot beam 125 to transmit crosslink signal 175, or to receive crosslink signal 175, or both (not shown). Such techniques may be supported by satellite 120 using the same crosslink spot beam to transmit and receive crosslink signal 175, or using a first crosslink spot beam to transmit crosslink signal 175 and a second crosslink spot beam to receive crosslink signal 175. These may be supported by the same antenna system or different antenna systems of satellite 120.

[0021] A spot beam 125 may support communication services with target devices (e.g., user terminal 150, gateway terminal 130, satellite 120) located within the volume of the spot beam 125 (e.g., located within the spot beam coverage area 126, or its projection (e.g., at different distances from the plane or surface of the spot beam coverage area 126)). The spot beam coverage area 126 may be defined by an area of ​​the electromagnetic radiation pattern of the associated spot beam 125 projected onto the ground or other reference surface that has signal characteristics (e.g., signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)) that exceed or otherwise meet thresholds. The spot beam coverage area 126 may cover any suitable service area (e.g., circular, elliptical, hexagonal, local, regional, national, planar, non-planar) and may support communication services with any quantity of target devices located within the spot beam coverage area 126. The target devices may include target devices located within the associated spot beam 125 (e.g., within the volume of the associated spot beam 125), but not necessarily in the reference plane of the spot beam coverage area 126 (e.g., an airborne terminal or an underwater terminal).

[0022] In some examples, a satellite 120 may support multiple beamformed spot beams 125, each associated with a respective spot beam coverage area 126, each of which may or may not overlap with another (e.g., adjacent) spot beam coverage area 126. For example, a satellite 120 may support one or more service areas (e.g., service coverage areas) using any quantity of spot beam coverage areas 126. A service area may be broadly defined as a coverage area in which either a terrestrial transmission source or a terrestrial receiver may participate in a communication service (e.g., transmit and / or receive signals associated with a communication service) via one or more satellites 120 and may be served by one or more spot beam coverage areas 126 via one or more satellites 120 (e.g., respective periods in which a satellite 120 in an NGSO may provide service to one or more spot beam coverage areas 126 that at least partially overlap with the service area). In some systems, the service coverage area for each communication link (eg, forward uplink coverage area, forward downlink coverage area, return uplink coverage area, and / or return downlink coverage area) may be different.

[0023] User terminal 150 may include various devices configured to communicate signals with satellite 120 or other target devices. This may include fixed terminals (e.g., ground-based stationary terminals) or mobile terminals (e.g., ship-based terminals, aircraft-based terminals, ground-based vehicle-based terminals), among other types of terminals. User terminal 150 may communicate information via satellite 120 or other target devices. The communication may include communication via gateway terminal 130 to a destination device (e.g., network device 141) or some other device or distributed server associated with network 140. User terminal 150 may communicate signals according to various physical layer transmission modulation coding techniques (e.g., including those defined by the DVB-S2, WiMAX, LTE, and DOCSIS standards, among other standards).

[0024] The user terminal 150 may include an antenna 155 configured to receive downlink signals 172 (e.g., from satellite 120), transmit uplink signals 173 (e.g., to satellite 120), or both. The antenna 155 may be part of an antenna assembly 151 (e.g., a user terminal antenna assembly), which may also include various hardware for mounting or orienting the antenna 155. The antenna assembly 151 may also include circuitry and / or a processor for converting (e.g., performing frequency translation, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, filtering, forwarding) between radio frequency (RF) communication signals (e.g., downlink signals 172, uplink signals 173) and user terminal communication signals 157 communicated between the antenna 155 and a user terminal controller 158. Such circuitry and / or a processor may be included within the antenna assembly 151, which may be referred to as an integrated antenna assembly or a processor-integrated antenna assembly. Additionally or alternatively, the user terminal controller 158 may include circuitry for performing various RF signal operations (e.g., receiving, performing frequency conversion, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, etc.) The antenna assembly 151 may also be known as a satellite outdoor unit (ODU), and the user terminal controller 158 may be known as an indoor unit (IDU).

[0025] User terminal 150 may be connected to one or more instances of consumer premises equipment (CPE) 160 via wired or wireless connections 161 and may provide network access services (e.g., access to network 140, Internet access) or other communication services (e.g., broadcast media, multicast media) to CPE 160 via one or more devices of communication system 100. CPE 160 may include user devices (e.g., without limitation, computers, local area networks, Internet appliances, wireless networks, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors), printers, sensors, vehicles, and other equipment). CPE 160 may also include any equipment located at a subscriber's premises (e.g., routers, firewalls, switches, private branch exchanges (PBXs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways, among others). In some examples, the user terminal 150 supports bidirectional communication between one or more CPEs 160 and one or more networks 140 (e.g., via one or more satellites 120, via one or more gateway terminals 130).

[0026] The gateway terminal 130 may service uplink signals 132 and downlink signals 133 (e.g., to and from one or more satellites 120). The gateway terminal 130 may also be known as a ground station, gateway, or hub. The gateway terminal 130 may include a gateway terminal antenna system 131 and a gateway controller 135 (e.g., an access node controller). The gateway terminal antenna system 131 may be bidirectional and designed with sufficient transmit power and receive sensitivity to reliably communicate with one or more satellites 120. In some examples, the gateway terminal antenna system 131 may include a parabolic reflector with high directivity in the direction of the satellites 120 and low directivity in other directions. The gateway terminal antenna system 131 may include various other configurations to support operational characteristics (e.g., high isolation between orthogonal polarizations, high efficiency in the operating frequency band, low noise, and other characteristics).

[0027] In some examples, gateway terminal 130 (e.g., gateway controller 135, access node controller) may schedule traffic to user terminal 150. Additionally or alternatively, traffic scheduling may be performed in other parts of communication system 100 (e.g., in one or more network devices 141, which may include a network operations center (NOC) and / or a gateway command center). Satellite 120 may communicate with gateway terminal 130 by transmitting downlink signals 133, receiving uplink signals 132, or both, via one or more spot beams 125 (e.g., gateway spot beam 125-a, which may be associated with a respective gateway spot beam coverage area 126-a). Gateway spot beam 125-a may support, for example, communication services for one or more user terminals 150 (e.g., relayed by satellite 120) or any other communication between satellite 120 and gateway terminal 130.

[0028] Gateway terminal 130 may provide an interface between network 140 and satellite 120 and may be configured to relay information sent between network 140 and one or more user terminals 150. Gateway terminal 130 may format information for delivery to each user terminal 150. Additionally or alternatively, gateway terminal 130 may be configured to receive signals from satellite 120 (e.g., from one or more user terminals 150) sent to a destination accessible via network 140. Gateway terminal 130 may also format the received signals for transmission to network 140.

[0029] Network(s) 140 may be any type of network, including, for example, the Internet, an Internet Protocol (IP) network, an intranet, a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a local area network (LAN), a virtual private network (VPN), a virtual LAN (VLAN), a fiber optic network, a hybrid fiber coaxial network, a cable network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public switched data network (PSDN), a public land mobile network, and / or any other type of network that supports communication between devices as described herein. Network(s) 140 may include both wired and wireless connections as well as optical links. Network(s) 140 may connect one or more gateway terminals 130 with other gateway terminals 130 that may communicate with satellite 120 or other satellites. One or more network device(s) 141 may couple to gateway terminal 130 and control aspects of communication system 100. In various examples, the network device 141 may be co-located with the gateway terminal 130, or may otherwise be located near the gateway terminal 130, or may be a remote location that communicates with the gateway terminal 130 and / or the network(s) 140 via wired and / or wireless communication link(s).

[0030] In some examples, communications system 100 (e.g., space segment 102) may implement a set (e.g., a constellation) of multiple satellites 120 to support communications services. For example, the coverage area of ​​such communications services may be configured such that, at a given time, communications may be provided by one or more satellites 120 (e.g., satellites 120 in a respective NGSO) passing over the coverage area. In some examples, such technologies may also be supported by communications system 100 including satellite 180, which may be a satellite in a different orbit (e.g., a geostationary orbit) than satellite 120. Satellite 180 may be implemented to support various technologies in communications system 100. For example, satellite 180 may be configured to support data signaling with or between gateway terminal 130 (e.g., via signals 181, which may include uplink signaling, downlink signaling, or both), with or between user terminal 150 (e.g., via signals 182, which may include uplink signaling, downlink signaling, or both), or a combination thereof (e.g., as a relay between gateway terminal 130 and user terminal 150). Additionally or alternatively, satellite 180 may be configured to support data signaling with satellite 120 (e.g., via signals 183), including by implementing it as a crosslink relay. Additionally or alternatively, satellite 180 may support the transmission of configuration signaling, for example, to configure the operation of gateway terminal 130 (e.g., via signal 181), to configure the operation of user terminal 150 (e.g., via signal 182), or to configure the operation of satellite 120 (e.g., to deploy or configure the operation of satellite 120, to configure or adjust the satellite's orbital parameters, via signal 183), or any combination thereof.

[0031] In accordance with the examples described herein, one or more of the satellites 120 of the communication system 100 may include rotatably deployable panels to increase the surface area for mounting antenna elements (e.g., of an antenna array), solar elements (e.g., of a solar array), or both. For example, each such panel may include a respective subset of the antenna elements of the satellite 120 on one side (e.g., a nadir side) of the panel, and in some examples, a respective set of solar elements for providing power to operate the satellite 120 on an opposite side (e.g., a zenith side) of the panel. To deploy, the panels may each be configured to rotate about a joint axis (e.g., an axis extending from the body of the satellite 120) to a respective angular alignment (e.g., to deploy the antenna array). Thus, the panels may be housed in a relatively compact configuration that may be at least partially within a cross-sectional projection of the body of the satellite 120 and may deploy in a deployed configuration associated with rotating the panel about the joint axis. In the deployed configuration, the panels may form a polygonal or circular shape such that the surface area available for antenna elements, solar panels, or both is greater than the cross-sectional shape of the body portion, which may improve the performance characteristics of satellite 120.

[0032] In some cases, the body portion of such a satellite 120 may also include one or more sets of antenna elements (e.g., of an antenna array), one or more sets of solar elements, or both. Additionally, the panel, the body portion, or a combination thereof may include circuitry configured to operate the antenna elements (e.g., signal processing circuitry, beamforming circuitry, circuitry that collectively causes the antenna elements to operate as an array), circuitry configured to operate the solar elements (e.g., power converters, power distribution circuitry, batteries), or both. Implementing the panels in such a rotatably deployable configuration may support increasing the surface area of ​​the satellite 120 available to support its performance characteristics while maintaining a relatively compact shape to support a relatively large number of such satellites 120 deployed from within a single launch vehicle fairing. For example, deploying the satellites 120 may include enclosing the satellites 120 within a launch vehicle fairing and launching the launch vehicle into space, so that the satellites 120 may be deployed from the fairing into their respective orbital paths or slots. Implementing rotatably deployable panels may support increasing the surface area of ​​satellites 120 without increasing the cross-sectional profile of satellites 120, thereby supporting the launch of a relatively large number of satellites 120 in a common fairing. That is, a given fairing may contain a relatively large number of satellites 120 because the cross-sectional area of ​​the satellites 120 before deployment may be relatively compact.

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates an example fairing configuration 200 that supports techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. The fairing configuration 200 may be implemented to deploy a set of satellites 120-a for operation in a communication system (e.g., communication system 100). FIG. 2 illustrates the fairing configuration 200 in a trimetric view with a cross-sectional opening in the fairing 205 to view contents within the fairing 205. Aspects of the fairing configuration 200 may be described with reference to an illustrated coordinate system 201 (e.g., the coordinate system of the fairing configuration).

[0034] The fairing 205 may be part of a launch vehicle (e.g., installed on a rocket system, not shown) that includes a propulsion system, a guidance system, and a payload. For example, the launch vehicle may implement the fairing 205 as part of the payload. In some examples, the fairing 205 may be configured according to the particular launch vehicle. In some cases, the fairing 205 may include a cylindrical structure (e.g., a body) having a top that decreases in diameter (e.g., according to a cone, a truncated cone, or other shape). For example, the cylindrical structure may have a diameter (e.g., in the xy plane) that extends a distance along the z direction and may have a diameter (e.g., in the xy plane) that decreases along the top z direction. In an illustrative example, the interior of the cylindrical structure may have a diameter of 4.6 meters along a height of 6.7 meters. The fairing 205 may include a cavity that encloses an object (e.g., satellite 120-a) to be deployed in Earth orbit.

[0035] The fairing 205 may include or enclose a mounting structure 215. The mounting structure 215 may be centrally secured within the fairing 205 along an axis 220 (e.g., the centerline of the mounting structure 215, fairing 205). The mounting structure 215 may include a cylindrical portion having a diameter extending a distance along the z-direction. The mounting structure 215 may include a set of mounting ports 210 located on the mounting structure 215 radially about the axis 220 and axially along the axis 220. For example, the mounting ports 210 may be located in a circular configuration around the mounting structure 215. In some cases, the mounting structure 215 may include a set of one or more substructures 216 each associated with a subset of the mounting ports 210. For example, each substructure 216 may be a cylindrical structure with mounting ports 210 distributed around the outer surface of the cylindrical structure. In some examples, each substructure 216 may be implemented in accordance with a payload standard (eg, in accordance with the Evolvable Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) standard).

[0036] The fairing configuration 200 may support (e.g., include) a set of satellites 120-a, each connected to a respective attachment port 210. In some cases, the shape of the satellites 120-a may facilitate encapsulating the satellites 120-a within the fairing 205. For example, because each satellite 120-a is attached (e.g., radially) around the attachment structure 215, the fairing 205 may accommodate satellites 120-a having a relatively large width at the end opposite the connection to the port 210. Thus, in some implementations, each satellite 120-a may have a trapezoidal, curved, wedge-shaped, or arc-shaped profile in the x-y plane and its projection along the z-direction. By configuring the fairing 205 with such a shape, it may be possible to encapsulate a relatively large number of satellites 120-a, each of which may have a relatively large cross-sectional area (e.g., in the x-y plane).

[0037] In some cases, satellites may be deployed in NGSO (e.g., LEO). In some such cases, there may be a desire to deploy a relatively large number of satellites to support a desired coverage area or signaling capacity in communications system 100. However, implementing a relatively large number of satellites may, in some instances, involve a relatively large number of launch vehicles. Thus, by implementing aspects of satellite 120-a (e.g., generally trapezoidal in shape and with an antenna array having deployable panels), it may be possible to package a relatively large number of satellites 120-a with relatively high performance antenna systems within a launch vehicle, which may reduce the number of launch vehicles and be associated with lower costs, among other benefits.

[0038] 3A and 3B illustrate an example satellite 120-b supporting deployable panel antenna technology according to examples disclosed herein. Aspects of the satellite 120-b may be described with reference to an illustrated coordinate system 301 (e.g., the coordinate system of the satellite 120-b). For example, FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the satellite 120-b in an opposite trimetric view rotated about the y-direction. FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the satellite 120-b in a compact configuration prior to deployment of its panels 315 (e.g., associated with maintaining the panels 315 in an orientation substantially confined within the projection of the body 305). The satellite 120-b may be deployed by a launch vehicle (e.g., by the fairing configuration 200, among other configurations).

[0039] Satellite 120-b may include a body 305 and a set of panels 315 rotatably coupled to body 305. Body 305 may be configured to connect to mounting port 210 (e.g., the end facing the negative y direction) of mounting structure 215. Body 305 may have a generally trapezoidal shape (e.g., in the xy plane). For example, body 305 may have a first width (e.g., width 308) along the x direction at a first end of body 305 (e.g., the first end along the y direction, the end for coupling with port 210) and a second width (e.g., width 309) along the x direction at a second end of body 305 (e.g., the opposite end from the first end). Body 305 may have a generally prismatic shape including a projection of the generally trapezoidal shape along the z direction. At least the shell of body 305 may be made from a metallic material (e.g., aluminum, titanium), and body 305 may enclose at least a portion of the circuitry (e.g., control circuitry, signal processing circuitry) for operating satellite 120-b, among other components (e.g., one or more thrusters for adjusting the orbital characteristics of satellite 120-b, one or more angular momentum systems for adjusting the attitude of satellite 120-b). In some examples, body 305 may be shaped such that panel 315 fits into a generally trapezoidal projection along the z-direction.

[0040] In some implementations, the body 305 may be omitted, and aspects of the satellite 120 or other antenna system may be distributed among the panels 315 without the body 305. For example, such a satellite 120 or other antenna system may instead implement a single stack of panels 315 rotatably coupled to one another and configured to deploy into a deployed configuration. In some such examples, the satellite 120 or other antenna system may distribute control circuitry, signaling processing circuitry, or other circuitry among the stack of panels 315. In some examples, the body 305 may be replaced by a mounting system (e.g., a mounting system for mounting to a vehicle, tripod, building, or another structure) for deploying an antenna system (e.g., a deployable panel antenna array) according to examples disclosed herein.

[0041] The set of panels 315 may be rotatably coupled (e.g., to the body 305 and to each other) along one or more coupling axes 330 (e.g., axes extending along the z direction) via one or more revolute joints 325. For example, the one or more revolute joints 325 may extend (e.g., along the z direction) from a face 306 of the body 305 (e.g., a face in the xy plane, the nadir of satellite 120-b) along the coupling axis 330, and the coupling axis 330 may extend (e.g., perpendicular) from the face 306. In some cases, the revolute joint 325 or the coupling axis 330 may be located at a first end (e.g., the narrower end) of the body 305 to facilitate rotating the panels 315 about the coupling axis 330 to form a generally circular or polygonal surface area. In some cases, the rotary joint 325 may include a rotational structure (e.g., a hinge, a bearing, a bushing, a sleeve, a shaft), each of which may be coupled to or otherwise associated with a respective panel 315 and configured to support rotation about the coupling axis 330. In some such cases, the rotational structure of the rotary joint 325 may be a cylindrical structure (e.g., or another shaped structure) configured to rotate about the coupling axis 330.

[0042] The satellite 120 may mount the panels 315 in one or more stacks 310, where each panel 315 may be positioned at a respective position (e.g., a fixed position, distance) along the joint axis 330. For example, each panel 315 may be related to a respective xy plane along the z direction such that the panels 315 of the stack 310 are offset from one another along the z direction (e.g., in parallel xy planes). In some examples, the offset between the panels 315 may support stacking of the panels 315 such that the stack 310 of panels 315 may rotate about the joint axis 330 without interfering with (e.g., undesirably contacting) one another. In some cases, the face 316 of each panel 315 (e.g., respective face in the xy plane, respective nadir face) may be fixed (e.g., fixed perpendicular) relative to the joint axis 330 (e.g., by a planar constraint). In some examples, the panels 315 may be implemented in a single stack 310 that is rotatably coupled (e.g., with the body 305 and with each other) about a single coupling axis 330. For example, the stacks 310 may be coupled via a single revolute joint 325 (e.g., including one or more revolute structures). In some other examples, the set of panels 315 of satellite 120 or other implementations may be split among two or more stacks 310 that are rotatably coupled to the body 305 about two or more coupling axes 330. For example, in satellite 120-b, the panels 315 of stack 310-a may be coupled along coupling axis 330-a (e.g., including one or more revolute joints 325), and the panels 315 of stack 310-b may be coupled along coupling axis 330-b.

[0043] In some cases, the panels 315 may have a generally trapezoidal, arc-shaped, wedge-shaped, or triangular shape (e.g., in the xy plane). For example, the shape of panel 315-a may be generally trapezoidal in the xy plane and projected along the z direction. In another example, the shape of panel 315-b may be generally wedge-shaped (e.g., triangular) in the xy plane and projected along the z direction. In some cases, the panels 315 may be configured to have structures with different shapes to support a set of panels 315 that form a generally circular or polygonal shape in the deployed configuration. In some implementations, the panels 315 may be configured to have different shapes, which may be related to the panels 315 being associated with one or more stacks 310 that at least partially (e.g., substantially, 80% or more, 90% or more, 95% or more) fit within a projection (e.g., in the xy plane) of the body 305 along the z direction. That is, the panels 315 may be arranged within a cross-sectional profile of the body 305 perpendicular to the bond axis 330. For example, at least a portion of the area of ​​panel 315 may be within the area of ​​body 305 from a top or bottom view of satellite 120-b (e.g., along the z direction). In some examples, at least a portion of panel 315 may be made from a metallic material (e.g., aluminum, titanium), and in some examples, at least a portion of the on-board circuitry (e.g., control circuitry, signal processing circuitry) may be encapsulated within panel 315.

[0044] Satellite 120-b may also include an array of antenna elements 320. In various implementations, the antenna elements 320 may be disposed on the panels 315, or on a combination of the panels 315 and the body 305, if applicable. For example, each panel 315 may include a respective subset of the antenna elements 320 mounted on a face 316 of the respective panel 315 (e.g., the nadir face of the panel 315). In some examples, the body 305 may also include a subset of the antenna elements 320 mounted on a face 306 (e.g., the nadir face of the body 305). In some examples, the faces 316 and 306 may lie in respective xy planes such that the faces 316 and 306 are parallel (e.g., by constrained parallelism). The antenna elements 320 may (e.g., collectively) support communicating signaling (e.g., uplink signals 132 and 173, downlink signals 133 and 172, crosslink signal 175, or any combination thereof) between satellite 120-b and other devices. In some examples, the antenna elements 320 may be configured to support such signaling via any quantity of one or more beamformed beams 125 (e.g., via a single beam 125, via multiple beams 125 simultaneously, via beams 125 electronically steered along a signaling direction by beamforming circuitry). In some examples, the antenna elements 320 may be configured to operate in a particular bandwidth (e.g., as an L-band antenna element).

[0045] In some implementations, the antenna elements 320 may each include an antenna feed 321 and a feed cavity 322 (e.g., a reflecting cavity). The antenna feed 321 may be configured to transmit and receive signaling reflected (e.g., redirected) from the feed cavity 322. In some other examples, the antenna elements 320 may omit the feed cavity 322, e.g., with a direct-radiating antenna element 320 or a direct-radiating antenna feed 321. In some cases, each antenna element 320 may include at least one transmit element and at least one receive element (e.g., as separate elements, as a combined transceiver element), which may be configured to support bidirectional communication between the satellite 120-b and other devices.

[0046] Satellite 120-b may also include solar panels 350 (e.g., solar elements or solar arrays). In various examples, solar panels 350 may be mounted on panel 315, or on body 305, or a combination thereof. For example, each panel 315 may include one or more solar panels 350 mounted on a respective face 317 of the respective panel 315 (e.g., the face in the xy plane opposite face 316, the face opposite antenna element 320, the zenith face). Additionally or alternatively, body 305 (e.g., if applicable) may include a set of one or more solar panels 350 mounted on (e.g., within) face 307 (e.g., the face opposite face 306, the zenith deck, the zenith face of body 305). In some examples, face 317 and face 307 may be in the xy plane such that face 317 and face 307 are parallel (e.g., by a constrained parallel relationship).

[0047] In some cases, panel 315 may have configurations (e.g., material configurations, geometric configurations) for dissipating heat associated with mounting antenna elements 320, solar panels 350, or support circuitry within panel 315, among other heat sources. For example, exposed surfaces facing outward from panel 315 or body 305 (e.g., along one or more directions in the xy plane, along the z direction) may be configured for radiative heat transfer from satellite 120-b. In some examples, such surfaces may be configured on both panel 315 and body 305 because rotary joint 325 may be a thermal choke point.

[0048] The solar panel 350 may be configured to provide power to the satellite 120-b based on receiving incident solar power and converting the solar power into electrical power. For example, the solar panel 350 may power the operation of the satellite 120-b. The operation may be, for example, operating the antenna element 320 (e.g., sending and receiving signaling), operating the actuator 335 to deploy or fold the panel 315, or maneuvering the satellite 120-b (e.g., using one or more angular momentum systems), among other uses. In some examples, the body 305, the one or more panels 315, or a combination thereof, may include one or more batteries to store the power provided by the solar panel 350. The satellite 120-b may utilize the power stored in the one or more batteries to operate the satellite 120-b. In some cases, the body 305, the one or more panels 315, or a combination thereof may include conductors to couple such batteries to the solar panel 350. For example, panel 315 may include one or more conductors extending between solar panel 350 mounted on panel 315 and one or more batteries mounted on body 305, and such conductors may extend at least partially through one or more rotary joints 325.

[0049] In some cases, satellite 120-b may include signal processing circuitry. For example, body 305, one or more panels 315, or a combination thereof may include circuitry supporting signal processing, control, power distribution, or other functions. In some cases, satellite 120-b may include an antenna 355 separate from the array of antenna elements 320. In some examples, antenna 355 may be associated with a different bandwidth (e.g., Ka-band), may be positioned outside the cross-sectional profile of body 305 or panel 315 (e.g., in a non-deployed state, a deployed state, or both), and may support signaling to and from satellite 120-b in various scenarios (including scenarios in which the array or antenna elements 320 do not support communication). In some other examples, antenna 355 may be omitted.

[0050] 4A and 4B show satellite 120-b in a deployed configuration after deployment of panels 315 of satellite 120-b (e.g., by rotating panels 315 about joint axis 330). For example, satellite 120-b may be configured to be launched in a compact configuration (e.g., into low Earth orbit) as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. After launch (e.g., when deployed along an orbital path), satellite 120-b may be configured to be deployed in a deployed configuration as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

[0051] To deploy the panels 315 of satellite 120-b, one or more actuators (e.g., actuator 335) may be configured to rotate the panels 315 about the joint axis 330, which may include driving one or more rotational joints 325 or actuators (e.g., motors, spring releases) within the body 305. For example, each panel 315 may be configured to rotate to or through a respective deployment angle 410 (e.g., panel 315-c rotates through deployment angle 410-c, panel 315-d rotates through deployment angle 410-d). In the deployed configuration, the set of panels 315 may form a circle or a polygon (e.g., when viewed along the z direction), such that the set of antenna elements 320 forms an array 405 (e.g., an antenna array, a direct radiating array). In some cases, satellite 120-b may be configured to switch between a compact configuration and a deployed configuration based on one or more conditions monitored at satellite 120-b or based on commands from a communication system. For example, satellite 120-b may switch from the compact configuration to the deployed configuration based on determining that satellite 120-b has detached from port 210 and cleared fairing 205, or determining that satellite 120-b has entered a desired orbital path, among other examples. In some cases, satellite 120-b may include one or more propulsion components (e.g., thrusters) and one or more attitude adjustment components (e.g., angular momentum system, flywheel) for adjusting the positioning and orientation of satellite 120-b. For example, the one or more propulsion components, the one or more attitude adjustment components, or a combination thereof may enable adjustment of satellite 120-b along its orbital path (e.g., velocity along the orbital path, direction of the orbital path). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more propulsion components, the one or more attitude adjustment components, or a combination thereof may enable alignment of array 405 of antenna elements 320 (e.g., z-direction of satellite 120-b) along a direction toward a target service area.

[0052] In some embodiments, one or more rotation structures of the rotation joint 325 may be configured to rotate to a respective deployment angle 410, where a first rotation structure may support rotation to the first deployment angle 410, a second rotation structure may support rotation to the second deployment angle 410, and so on. In some embodiments, the second rotation structure may rotate to the second deployment angle 410 based on the rotation of the first rotation structure to the first deployment angle 410, whereby the second deployment angle is dependent on the first deployment angle 410. For example, the first panel 315 may be rotated by 30° relative to the body 305, and the second panel 315 may be rotated by 30° relative to the first panel 315, making the overall deployment angle of the second panel 315 60°. In some other embodiments, the second rotating structure may rotate to the second deployment angle 410 independently of the first rotating structure rotating to the first deployment angle 410, thereby implementing the second deployment angle 410 independently of the first deployment angle 410.

[0053] In some cases, satellite 120 may include multiple stacks of panels 315. For example, satellite 120-b may include a first stack of panels 315 and a second stack of panels 315, each configured to rotate about a respective joint axis 330 (e.g., joint axis 330-a and joint axis 330-b). Implementing multiple stacks of panels 315 may allow for a relatively smaller offset between the panels 315 along the z-direction. For example, for a single stack of panels 315 (e.g., for a given total amount of panels), the distance along the z-direction between the top panel 315 of the stack and the bottom panel 315 of the stack (or body 305) may be relatively large. However, for two stacks of panels 315 to implement the same number of panels 315 in satellite 120-b, the distance along the z-direction between the top panel 315 of the first stack and the bottom panel 315 of the first stack (or body 305) may be relatively smaller. Implementing a reduced distance between panels 315 may improve the communications performance of satellite 120-b by supporting a smaller difference in signal propagation path length (e.g., along the z-direction) between antenna elements 320 of array 405 (e.g., between antenna elements 320 of the top panel 315 and antenna elements 320 of the bottom panel 315 or body 305).

[0054] In some cases, the shape of the panel 315 may be defined by a projection of the body 305 (e.g., along the z direction) and a rotational expansion about the body 305 (e.g., about one or more bond axes 330). For example, the panel 315 may be generally trapezoidal in shape such that the panel 315-e may have a width 415 at a first end (e.g., a radially inner end) of the panel 315-e and a width 420 at a second end (e.g., a radially outer end) of the panel 315-e that is greater than the width 415.

[0055] One or more of the revolute joints 325, or the body 305, or a combination thereof, may include one or more actuators 335 configured to deploy the set of panels 315. For example, the one or more actuators 335 may be configured to rotate the one or more revolute joints 325, thereby rotating the one or more panels 315 about the joint axis 330. In some implementations, the one or more actuators 335 may be configured to rotate the rotational structure of the one or more revolute joints 325. In some cases, the one or more actuators 335 may include one or more springs configured to rotate the one or more panels 315 about the joint axis 330. For example, such springs may hold the one or more panels 315 in a constrained (e.g., compressed, torqued) state when the satellite 120-b is in the compact configuration, and then release (e.g., by a pin mechanism, a release mechanism) when the satellite 120-b is deployed to the deployed configuration. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more actuators 335 may include one or more motors configured to rotate the one or more panels 315 about the coupling axis 330. In some embodiments, the one or more actuators 335 may be configured to rotate each panel 315 to a respective deployment angle 410. For example, the one or more actuators 335 may be configured to independently rotate each rotational structure of the one or more rotational joints 325 to a respective deployment angle 410. In some other examples, the one or more actuators 335 may be configured to rotate one or more rotational joints 325 such that the rotational structures may reach their respective deployment angles 410 based on their interdependence. For example, panel 315-a may be rotated to its deployment angle 410, which may in turn pull panel 315-b to its deployment angle 410 (e.g., as a result of a mechanical stop between panels 315-a and 315-b), and so on.

[0056] The ability to switch from a compact configuration to a deployed configuration may facilitate encapsulating the satellites 120-b within the fairing 205 and preparing them for deployment. For example, the fairing 205 may have limited storage capacity (e.g., encapsulation volume), but there may be a desire to package a relatively large number of satellites within the fairing 205. Packaging the satellites 120-b in a compact configuration may facilitate encapsulating a relatively large number of satellites 120-b within the fairing 205 because the volume of the satellites 120-b in a compact configuration (e.g., a trapezoidal or other compact prismatic shape) may be packed relatively efficiently within the fairing 205. Additionally, because the satellites 120-b are configured to deploy the panels 315 (e.g., of one or more stacks) about a single axis (e.g., a constrained planar relationship, with a single rotational degree of freedom), the array 405 may be deployed relatively simply, reducing the risk of deployment errors.

[0057] In some cases, the array 405 of antenna elements 320 (e.g., a set of panels 315) may be mounted on a vehicle, e.g., a ground-based vehicle (e.g., a truck), a water-based vehicle (e.g., a ship, a submarine), or an air-based vehicle (e.g., an airplane, a helicopter). In some other cases, the array 405 may be implemented as a mobile unit, e.g., as a unit that can be mounted on a tripod or other mounting structure, on a building, or on a person (e.g., on a backpack, as a handheld unit), among other implementations. For example, other implementations of the array 405 of antenna elements 320 may include various instances of panels 315 configured to rotatably deploy about one or more coupling axes 330 to increase the surface area for mounting the antenna elements 320.

[0058] 5 illustrates an example signal processing architecture 500 supporting techniques for a deployable panel antenna according to examples disclosed herein. The signal processing architecture 500 may be implemented within the satellite 120 to support the operation of the array 405 (e.g., the collective operation of a set of antenna elements 320). For example, the signal processing architecture 500 illustrates example components (e.g., signal processing circuitry) of the receive path 501 and the transmit path 502, which may be distributed between one or more panels 315 and the body 305 to support signaling via the array 405. While the signal processing architecture 500 illustrates example components that may support such signaling, other architectures according to the described techniques may include one or more of the illustrated components in a different order, omit one or more of the illustrated components, or include one or more additional components according to the described techniques for an antenna system with a deployable array 405.

[0059] In the example signal processing architecture 500, respective subsets of components for both the receive path 501 and the transmit path 502 may be included in panel circuitry 503, which may be located within one or more panels 315 (e.g., distributed or split among the same panels 315 as the antenna elements 320 supported by the components, distributed or split among different panels 315 than the antenna elements 320 supported by the components, or a combination thereof). Furthermore, respective subsets of components for both the receive path 501 and the transmit path 502 may be included in body circuitry 504, which may be located within the body 305. The receive path 501 and the transmit path 502 may be coupled to antenna element 320-a, which may refer to a collective set of multiple antenna elements 320 (e.g., at least a portion of the antenna elements 320 of the array 405) located on one or more panels 315. In some embodiments, such an array 405 may also include antenna elements 320 disposed on the body 305 (not shown), in which case all of the receive path 501 and transmit path 502 components for at least these antenna elements 320 on the body 305 may be disposed within the body 305.

[0060] In general, signal processing circuitry supporting signaling (e.g., receive, transmit, or both) via the array 405 may include analog-to-digital conversion circuitry, digital-to-analog conversion circuitry, frequency conversion circuitry, filtering circuitry, amplification circuitry, beamforming circuitry, demodulation circuitry, modulation circuitry, control circuitry, or any combination thereof, among other example circuits. In the described architectures with deployable panels 315, such circuitry may be distributed between the panels 315, between the panels 315 and the main body 305, or within the main body 305, depending on various design trade-offs. For example, some components (e.g., analog components) may be located relatively close to the antenna elements 320 (e.g., antenna element 320-a within the panel 315) to lower signal noise or distribute heat, while some other components (e.g., digital processing components) may be located centrally (e.g., within the main body 305) to support aspects of centralized processing (e.g., beamforming or other collective signal processing applicable to a set of antenna elements 320 of the array 405).

[0061] The interface between the panel circuitry 503 and the body circuitry 504 may include various examples of signal paths 560, including portions between panels 315 (e.g., between adjacent panels 315 along the joint axis 330), or between the panels 315 and the body 305, or any combination thereof. The signal paths 560 may be implemented within, through, or along (e.g., external to) one or more rotary joints 325. In some examples, at least a portion of the signal paths 560 may be configured to convey analog signaling, digital signaling, or a combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, at least a portion of the signal paths 560 may be configured to convey power, for example, between components of the signal processing architecture 500 and solar panels 350 or batteries, or between batteries distributed among the panels 315 and the body, or between solar panels 350 on the panels 315 and one or more batteries in the body, among other examples (e.g., as a power distribution signal path). Signal path 560 may include conductive lines (e.g., wires, cables), optical lines (e.g., fiber optic lines), or any combination thereof to support a given transmission. In some implementations, signal path 560 may extend at least partially through rotary joint 325 (e.g., through a path in the rotary joint via a slip ring).

[0062] Receive path 501 may include various components supporting signal reception (e.g., directional reception via array 405 on satellite 120), including reception via antenna element 320-a. For example, each of antenna elements 320-a may receive a respective electromagnetic signal, which may be converted by antenna element 320-a into an electrical signal (e.g., an analog electrical signal, a component signal of antenna element 320-a), and antenna element 320-a's electrical signal may be sent to receive path 501. Along receive path 501, such electrical signals may be passed through band-rejection filter 505 to remove signal components within a bandwidth corresponding to band-rejection filter 505, through band-pass filter 510 to remove signal components outside the bandwidth corresponding to band-pass filter 510, and through gain controller 515 to adjust (e.g., increase, amplify, attenuate) the strength of the electrical signal. Such processed electrical signals may be passed through analog-to-digital converter 520 to support digital signal transmission and processing.

[0063] In some examples, including analog-to-digital converter 520 circuitry in one or more panels 315 (e.g., as part of panel circuitry 503) may support conveying digital signaling of receive path 501 over signal path 560 (e.g., via rotary joint 325), which may reduce attenuation, reduce noise susceptibility, reduce the quantity or quality (e.g., size, conductivity, shielding) of signal path 360, or both, compared to conveying analog receive signaling. In some implementations, signal processing architecture 500 may include a separate signal path 560 for each of antenna elements 320-a to convey corresponding digital signaling from analog-to-digital converter 520. In some other implementations, digital or analog signaling for multiple antenna elements 320-a (e.g., for each set of antenna elements 320-a in a given panel 315) may be multiplexed and conveyed over a shared signal path 560 (e.g., a per-panel signal path 560, among other examples), which may include time domain multiplexing (TDM), frequency domain multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), or other multiplexing techniques.

[0064] In the body circuitry 504, the receive path 501 may include a digital receive beamformer 525, which may receive digital component signals associated with at least antenna element 320-a (e.g., any antenna element 320 on the body 305, if applicable) and may perform various directional receive techniques (e.g., supporting reception associated with any quantity of one or more beams 125). For example, for each of one or more receive beams 125 (e.g., for each of one or more receive directions), the digital receive beamformer 525 may apply a respective gain, time offset, phase offset, or any combination thereof (e.g., in the digital domain) to one or more (e.g., each) of the digital component signals and combine (e.g., sum) the processed signals to generate a beam signal associated with the receive beam 125 (e.g., associated with the receive direction). In some examples, such techniques (e.g., applying a time offset, applying a phase offset) may account for differences in signal propagation path lengths associated with different positions of the antenna elements 320-a (e.g., positions along the z-direction of different panels 315), which may be configured internally by the digital receive beamformer 525 (e.g., by configured position or distance along the z-direction) or based on configuration signaling (e.g., based on detected differences in the arrival times of reference signals transmitted by a configuration entity, e.g., a gateway terminal 130, a satellite 180, or another satellite 120). Such beam signal(s) for any quantity of one or more beams 125 may be sent to digital receive signal processing 530, which may perform operations (e.g., frequency conversion, demodulation, signal extraction, signal insertion, or other techniques) before sending to the transmit path 502.

[0065] The transmit path 502 may include various components supporting signal transmission (e.g., via the array 405 in the satellite 120), including transmission via the antenna elements 320-a. For example, in the body circuitry 504, the beam signals received from the receive path 501 (e.g., from the digital receive signal processing 530 to relay one or more beam signals) may be routed to the digital transmit signal processing 535, which may perform operations (e.g., signal insertion, modulation, frequency conversion, or other techniques) before being routed to the digital transmit beamformer 540. The digital transmit beamformer 540 may implement various directional transmission techniques (e.g., to support transmissions associated with any number of one or more beams 125, which may be the same number of transmit beams 125 as the receive beams 125 or a different number). For example, for each of one or more transmit beams 125 (e.g., for each of one or more transmit directions that may be different or the same as the receive directions), the digital transmit beamformer 540 may apply a respective gain, time offset, phase offset, or any combination thereof (e.g., in the digital domain) to the corresponding beam signal to generate a respective digital component signal for each of the antenna elements 320 (e.g., at least the antenna element 320-a) for the transmit beam 125 (e.g., associated with the transmit direction). As with the digital receive beamformer 525, such techniques in the digital transmit beamformer 540 may also account for differences in signal propagation path lengths associated with different locations of the antenna element 320-a. For each of the antenna elements 320-a, the corresponding digital component signals for multiple beams 125 may be combined such that each of the antenna elements 320-a may support transmission of electromagnetic signaling for some or all of the configured transmit beams 125.

[0066] In some examples, including digital-to-analog converter 545 circuitry in one or more panels 315 (e.g., as part of panel circuitry 503) may support conveying digital signaling for transmit path 502 over signal path 560 (e.g., via rotary joint 325), which may reduce attenuation, reduce noise susceptibility, reduce the quantity or quality (e.g., size, conductivity, shielding) of signal path 360, or both, compared to conveying analog transmit signaling. In some implementations, signal processing architecture 500 may include a separate signal path 560 for each of antenna elements 320-a to convey corresponding digital signaling from digital transmit beamformer 540. In some other implementations, digital or analog signaling for multiple antenna elements 320-a (e.g., for each set of antenna elements 320-a in a given panel 315) may be multiplexed and conveyed over a shared signal path 560 (e.g., a per-panel signal path 560, among other examples), which may include time domain multiplexing (TDM), frequency domain multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), or other multiplexing techniques.

[0067] In the panel circuitry 503, the combined digital component signals may be passed through a digital-to-analog converter 545 to generate electrical component signals for each of the antenna elements 320-a, then through a gain controller 550 to adjust (e.g., increase, amplify, attenuate) the strength of the electrical component signals, and through a bandpass filter 555 to remove signal components outside the bandwidth corresponding to the bandpass filter 555. The filtered component signals may then be sent to the antenna elements 320-a to convert the electrical component signals into electromagnetic signals that may be transmitted by the antenna elements 320-a (e.g., to form one or more transmit beams 125).

[0068] Although signal path 560 of signal processing architecture 500 illustrates an exemplary division of components of receive path 501 and transmit path 502 between panel circuitry 503 and body circuitry 504, such components (or components of different signal processing architectures) may be arranged in different ways. For example, body circuitry 504 may be omitted (e.g., for implementations lacking body 305) so that signal processing circuitry may be distributed across one or more panels 315. In some other examples, panel circuitry 503 may be omitted so that signal processing circuitry may be included within body circuitry 504 and signal path 560 may carry analog electrical signaling directly from antenna element 320-a.

[0069] In some other examples, at least a portion of the beamforming circuitry (e.g., of the digital receive beamformer 525, the digital transmit beamformer 540, or both) may be included in the panel circuitry 503. For example, the beamforming circuitry may be distributed across one or more panels 315, including implementations in which each panel 315 includes beamforming circuitry associated with all of the antenna elements 320-a disposed on the panel 315. Such implementations may support beam signals being digitally communicated to each of the panels 315 via signal paths 560, which may use various multiplexing techniques to reduce the quantity of signal paths 560. In some other examples, the beamforming circuitry may be omitted, and the antenna elements 320 (e.g., antenna elements 320-a and antenna elements 320-a on the body 305, if applicable) may be configured to receive or transmit signaling along a single direction (e.g., along the z-direction of the satellite 120 or array 405 according to a plane wave, without electronic steering). Similar to the techniques described for the digital receive beamformer 525 or the digital transmit beamformer 540, such techniques for plane wave signaling may also take into account differences in signal propagation path lengths associated with different positions of the antenna elements 320-a (e.g., by adding respective time delays for the antenna elements 320-a of a given panel 315 based on their position along the coupling axis 330).

[0070] In some cases, signal processing architecture 500 may be controlled by one or more controllers of satellite 120 or other device that includes signal processing architecture 500. For example, satellite 120 or other device may include control circuitry 570 (e.g., of or otherwise coupled to signal processing architecture 500), which may be included in body circuitry 504 (if applicable) or another portion of the device (e.g., in panel circuitry 503, distributed between body circuitry 504 and panel circuitry 503). In some examples, control circuitry 570 may be configured (e.g., based on configurations in control circuitry 570, based on commands received by control circuitry 570) to support beamforming or other operations of signal processing architecture 500 (e.g., establishing beam direction, gain, offset, or other signal processing). In some examples, control circuitry 570 may also be configured to control one or more propulsion components of satellite 120, or one or more attitude adjustment mechanisms of satellite 120, or a combination thereof (e.g., to coordinate beamforming with the position or alignment of satellite 120). Additionally or alternatively, control circuitry 570 may be configured to control actuators 335 of satellite 120 such that control circuitry 570 is operable to facilitate deployment of panels 315 of satellite 120. Control circuitry 570 may include any quantity of one or more processors and one or more memory devices, as well as other circuitry that may support configuring control circuitry 570 to support performance of various aspects of the described techniques.

[0071] Implementing satellite 120 according to the examples disclosed herein may support implementing a relatively greater number of antenna elements 320-a for a given size (e.g., cross-sectional size) of satellite 120. For example, satellite 120 may be efficiently enclosed within launch vehicle fairing 205 and then deployed to expand into a deployed configuration in which satellite 120 exposes a set of antenna elements 320-a to form array 405. Satellite 120 may utilize signal processing architecture 500, among other architectures, to support the transmission and reception of signaling via deployed array 405.

[0072] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 600 for supporting techniques for deployable panel antennas according to examples disclosed herein. The operations of the method 600 may be implemented by a satellite 120, or other communications device, or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 600 may be performed by a satellite 120, or other device including an antenna array 405, as described with reference to FIGS. 1-5. In some examples, the communications system 100, the satellite 120, or another device may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the satellite 120 or other device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the satellite 120 or other device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0073] At 605, the method may include deploying an antenna array (e.g., array 405) (e.g., of satellite 120) based at least in part on rotating each panel 315 of the antenna array's multiple panels 315 by a respective deployment angle 410 about coupling axis 330, each panel 315 including a respective subset of antenna elements 320 of the antenna array's multiple antenna elements 320 disposed on face 316 of each panel 315. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 605 may be performed by a deployment component (e.g., one or more actuators 335).

[0074] At 610, the method may include communicating signaling via the plurality of antenna elements 320 (e.g., via the array 405) based at least in part on deploying the antenna array. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 610 may be performed by a communication component (e.g., a component of the signal processing architecture 500).

[0075] In some examples, an apparatus described herein (e.g., satellite 120 or other apparatus) may perform a method or methods (e.g., method 600). An apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor), or any combination thereof, for performing aspects of the present disclosure.

[0076] It should be noted that these methods describe example implementations, and that the acts and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified so that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. For example, aspects of each method may include steps or aspects of other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein.

[0077] The detailed description set forth above in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrates examples and is not intended to represent the only example that may be practiced or the only example within the scope of the claims. The term "example," as used herein, means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples." The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, these technologies may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0078] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout this specification may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0079] The various example blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed by one or more processors (e.g., processing systems). The one or more processors may include one or more of a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0080] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by one or more processors, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software executed by one or more processors, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by one or more processors, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. The features implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0081] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio, and microwave), the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio, and microwave) are included within the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0082] As used herein, including in the claims, "or," when used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by phrases such as "at least one" or "one or more"), indicates an inclusive list, such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed to refer to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" could be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be construed similarly to the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0083] In the accompanying figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Furthermore, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label that distinguishes between the similar components. When only a first reference label is used herein, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second reference label or any other reference labels that follow.

[0084] The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A satellite (120), an antenna array (405) including a plurality of antenna elements (320); a plurality of panels (315) rotatably coupled to one another via one or more rotational joints (325) along a coupling axis (330), each panel (315) being disposed at a respective position along the coupling axis (330), each panel (315) including a respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) arranged on a face (316) of the respective panel (315); and one or more actuators (335) operable to deploy the plurality of panels (315), wherein deploying the plurality of panels (315) includes rotating each of the plurality of panels (315) by a respective deployment angle (410) about the joint axis (330).

2. 2. The satellite (120) of claim 1, wherein for each panel (315), the face (316) of said each panel (315) is constrained to be perpendicular to said joint axis (330).

3. 3. The satellite (120) of claim 1 or 2, wherein each panel (315) is associated with a fixed position along the joint axis (330).

4. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the antenna array (405) is a direct radiating array.

5. 5. The satellite (120) of claim 1, further comprising a body (305), wherein the plurality of panels (315) are rotatably coupled to the body (305), and the coupling axis (330) extends from a face (306) of the body (305).

6. 6. The satellite (120) of claim 5, wherein for each panel (315), the face (316) of said each panel (315) is constrained to be parallel to the face (306) of said body (305).

7. a plurality of second panels (315) rotatably coupled to the body (305) via one or more second rotational joints (325) along a second coupling axis (330) extending from the face (306) of the body (305), each second panel (315) being disposed at a respective second position along the second coupling axis (330), each second panel (315) including a respective second subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) arranged on a face (316) of the each second panel (315); 7. The satellite (120) of claim 5, further comprising: one or more second actuators (335) operable to deploy the plurality of second panels (315), wherein deploying the plurality of second panels (315) comprises rotating each of the plurality of second panels (315) by a respective second deployment angle (410) about the second joint axis (330).

8. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising a second subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) on the face (306) of the body (305) along which the coupling axis (330) extends.

9. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the body (305) includes signal processing circuitry (501, 502, 504) operable to communicate signaling via the plurality of antenna elements (320).

10. 10. The satellite (120) of claim 9, wherein the signal processing circuitry (501, 502, 504) includes analog-to-digital conversion circuitry (520) for communicating signaling from the respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of each panel (315), digital-to-analog conversion circuitry (545) for communicating signaling to the respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of each panel (315), or a combination thereof.

11. 11. The satellite (120) of claim 9 or 10, wherein the signal processing circuitry (501, 502, 504) includes beamforming circuitry (525, 540) operable to assist in forming one or more beams (125) using the plurality of antenna elements (320).

12. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising a plurality of signal paths (560) between the signal processing circuit (504) and a respective second signal processing circuit (503) in each of the plurality of panels (315), each of the plurality of signal paths (560) extending at least partially through the one or more rotary joints (325).

13. The plurality of signal paths (560) 13. The satellite (120) of claim 12, comprising one or more first signal paths for communicating communication signaling, one or more second signal paths (503) for communicating control signals associated with controlling operation of the respective second signal processing circuits, or a combination thereof.

14. one or more batteries disposed within the body (305) of the satellite (120); 14. The satellite (120) of claim 5, further comprising: one or more conductors (560) operable to couple the one or more batteries to one or more solar panels (350) disposed on the plurality of panels (315), each of the one or more conductors extending at least partially through the one or more rotary joints (325).

15. 15. The satellite (120) of claim 14, further comprising one or more second solar panels (350) arranged on a second face (307) of the body (305) opposite the face (306) of the body (305) along which the coupling axis (330) extends, the one or more second solar panels (350) operable to couple with the one or more batteries.

16. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 5 to 15, wherein in a non-deployed state, the plurality of panels (315) are arranged within a cross-sectional profile of the body (305) perpendicular to the joint axis (330).

17. 17. The satellite (120) of claim 16, wherein the cross-sectional profile has a first width (308) perpendicular to the bond axis (330) at a first end along which the bond axis (330) extends, the first width (308) being narrower than a second width (309) at a second end opposite the first end.

18. Each panel (315) 18. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 17, further comprising a respective set of one or more solar panels (350) arranged on a second face (317) of each panel (315) opposite the face (316) of each panel (315).

19. Each panel (315) 20. The satellite (120) of claim 18, further comprising a respective set of one or more batteries operable to couple with the respective set of one or more solar panels (350).

20. Each panel (315) The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 19, further comprising respective signal processing circuits (501, 502, 503) operable to communicate signaling over said respective subsets of said plurality of antenna elements (320).

21. 21. The satellite (120) of claim 20, wherein, for each panel (315) of the plurality of panels (315), the respective signal processing circuitry (503) includes analog-to-digital conversion circuitry (520) for communicating signaling from the respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of the each panel (315), digital-to-analog conversion circuitry (545) for communicating signaling to the respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of the each panel (315), or a combination thereof.

22. 22. The satellite (120) of claim 20 or 21, wherein for each panel (315) of the plurality of panels (315), the respective signal processing circuitry (501, 502, 503) includes beamforming circuitry (525, 540) operable to assist in forming one or more beams (125) using the respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of the each panel (315).

23. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein each antenna element (320) of the plurality of antenna elements (320) comprises a transmitting element, a receiving element, or a combination thereof.

24. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein a first panel (315) of the plurality of panels (315) has a different shape than a second panel (315) of the plurality of panels (315).

25. The one or more actuators (335) A satellite (120) according to any preceding claim, comprising one or more motors operable to deploy said plurality of panels (315).

26. The one or more actuators (335) The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 25, including one or more springs operable to deploy the plurality of panels (315).

27. The plurality of antenna elements (320) are associated with a first bandwidth, and the satellite (120) 27. The satellite (120) of any one of claims 1 to 26, further comprising a second antenna (355) associated with a second bandwidth, the second antenna (355) being positioned outside a first cross-sectional profile of the plurality of panels (315) in a non-deployed state and outside a second cross-sectional profile of the plurality of panels (315) in a deployed state.

28. 1. A method comprising: deploying an antenna array (405) of a satellite (120) based at least in part on rotating each panel (315) of a plurality of panels (315) of the antenna array (405) by a respective deployment angle (410) about a coupling axis (330), each panel (315) including a respective subset of antenna elements (320) of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of the antenna array (405) disposed on a face (316) of the each panel (315); and communicating signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) based at least in part on deploying the antenna array (405).

29. Deploying the antenna array (405) includes rotating each panel (315) by the respective deployment angle (410) relative to the body (305) of the satellite (120), the coupling axis (330) extending from a face (306) of the body (305); 30. The method of claim 28, wherein communicating the signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) includes communicating using signal processing circuitry (540) of the body (305) of the satellite (120).

30. 30. The method of claim 29, further comprising: supplying power to the satellite (120) via one or more solar panels (350) of the satellite (120), the one or more solar panels (350) being located on one or more panels (315) of the plurality of panels (315) on a side (317) opposite the respective subset of antenna elements (320), or on a side (307) of the body (305) of the satellite (120) opposite the plurality of panels (315), or a combination thereof.

31. Communicating the signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) comprises:

31. The method of claim 29 or 30, comprising performing conversion between digital and analog signaling in circuitry (520) located within one or more panels (315) of the plurality of panels (315).

32. Communicating the signaling via the plurality of antenna elements (320) comprises:

31. The method of any one of claims 29 to 30, comprising performing beamforming signal processing in circuitry (525, 540) located in one or more panels (315) of the plurality of panels (315), or in circuitry (525, 540) located in the body (305) of the satellite (120), or a combination thereof.

33. The method of any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein the antenna array (405) is a direct radiating array.

34. 1. A system comprising: a mounting structure (215) including a plurality of mounting ports (210) positioned radially about an axis (220) of the mounting structure and axially along the axis (220) of the mounting structure; a plurality of satellites (120), each connected to a respective attachment port (210) of the plurality of attachment ports (210), each satellite (120) comprising: an antenna array (405) including a plurality of antenna elements (320); a plurality of panels (315) rotatably coupled to one another via one or more rotational joints (325) along a coupling axis (330), each panel (315) being disposed at a respective position along the coupling axis (330), each panel (315) including a respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) arranged on a face (316) of the respective panel (315); one or more actuators (335) operable to deploy the plurality of panels (315), wherein deploying the plurality of panels (315) comprises rotating each of the plurality of panels (315) by a respective deployment angle (410) about the connecting axis (330).

35. 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the antenna array (405) is a direct radiating array.

36. 1. A system comprising: A base (305); an antenna array (405) including a plurality of antenna elements (320); a plurality of panels (315) rotatably coupled to the base (320) along a coupling axis (330) extending from the base (305), each panel (315) positioned at a different position along the coupling axis (330), each panel (315) including a respective subset of the plurality of antenna elements (320) arranged on a face (316) of each panel (315); one or more actuators (335) operable to deploy the plurality of panels (315), wherein the deploying of each of the plurality of panels (315) comprises rotating the panel by a respective deployment angle (410) about the coupling axis (330).

37. 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the antenna array (405) is a direct radiating array.

38. 1. An apparatus comprising: means for deploying an antenna array (405) of a satellite (120) based at least in part on rotating each panel (315) of a plurality of panels (315) of the antenna array (405) by a respective deployment angle (410) about a coupling axis (330), each panel (315) including a respective subset of antenna elements (320) of the plurality of antenna elements (320) of the antenna array (405) disposed on a face (316) of the each panel (315); means for communicating signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) based at least in part on deploying the antenna array (405).

39. the means for deploying the antenna array (405) includes means for rotating each panel (315) by the respective deployment angle (410) relative to the body (305) of the satellite (120), the coupling axis (330) extending from a face (306) of the body (305); 39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the means for communicating the signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) includes means for communicating using signal processing circuitry (540) of the body (305) of the satellite (120).

40. 40. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising: means for supplying power to the satellite (120) via one or more solar panels (350) of the satellite (120), the one or more solar panels (350) being disposed on one or more panels (315) of the plurality of panels (315) on a side (317) opposite the respective subset of antenna elements (320), or on a side (307) of the body (305) of the satellite (120) opposite the plurality of panels (315), or a combination thereof.

41. The means for communicating the signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) comprises:

39. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising: means for performing conversion between digital and analog signaling in circuitry (520, 545) located within one or more panels (315) of the plurality of panels (315).

42. The means for communicating the signaling (132, 133, 172, 173, 175) via the plurality of antenna elements (320) comprises:

40. The apparatus of claim 39, comprising means for performing beamforming signal processing in circuitry (525, 540) located in one or more panels (315) of the plurality of panels (315), or in circuitry (525, 540) located in the body (305) of the satellite (120), or a combination thereof.

43. Apparatus according to any one of claims 38 to 42, wherein the antenna array (405) is a direct radiating array.

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