Deployable Satellite Antenna with Folded Reflector
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing antennas with long focal lengths for telecommunications satellites face integration challenges due to their size and weight, leading to complex and costly support structures that interfere with the satellite's field of view and limit the arrangement of other antennas, making them difficult to integrate on satellites with reduced height.
Innovation Solution
A compact, robust antenna design with a reflector oriented away from the support structure in the stored position, featuring a deployment arm with rotational articulations that allow the reflector to deploy without protruding from the satellite's surface, enabling easy testing and deployment without disturbing other equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a long focal length antenna with large diameter reflector is used to optimize performance, then antenna performance is improved, but the antenna requires a long focal length (greater than or equal to 1.5 times the diameter) which makes integration on satellites with reduced height very difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a deployable mechanism that transforms the antenna from a compact stored configuration to an extended deployed configuration. The reflector assembly can be folded against the satellite body during launch and storage, then deployed to achieve the required focal length for optimal performance, resolving the contradiction between maintaining long focal length for performance and reducing physical size for integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The reflector is designed to fold and nest against the satellite support structure in the stored position. The active face of the reflector is oriented away from the support structure, allowing it to be compactly stored while maintaining the capability to deploy to the required focal length, effectively nesting the large reflector within the limited satellite volume.
2Length of moving object
If a heavy and expensive source supporting structure is used to raise the antenna source, then the focal length requirement is met, but the field of view of the source interferes with the platform and its appendages, and the face of the satellite facing the Earth is cluttered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the reflector assembly as a separate, deployable unit that can be positioned away from the satellite body only when needed. In the stored position, the reflector is folded against the support structure, removing the source of field of view interference and surface clutter. The deployable nature allows the system to achieve required focal length while minimizing interference during non-operational phases.
3Length of moving object
If a Gregorian antenna with two reflectors and dedicated structures is used, then the focal length requirement is met, but the mass and cost increase significantly, and thermal control of the source becomes critical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the secondary reflector and its dedicated support structures from the traditional Gregorian antenna design. By using a single reflector with a deployable mechanism, the system achieves the required focal length while significantly reducing mass and simplifying thermal control requirements, as there is no secondary reflector to support or thermally manage.
4Length of moving object
If a Bi-grid antenna with reduced focal length/diameter ratio is used, then the focal length requirement is reduced, but the bulk in the stored configuration due to the height of the peripheral stiffener poses compatibility problems with standard launcher fairings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a deployable mechanism that allows the antenna to transition from a compact stored configuration to an extended deployed configuration. The focal length is achieved only when deployed, while in the stored position the structure is compact enough to fit within standard launcher fairings, resolving the contradiction between achieving sufficient focal length and maintaining compatibility with launch vehicle constraints.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention proposes a solution to the problem of deploying long-focal-length antennas on satellites, and, by way of non-limiting example, on satellites whose height is less than the required focal length. It is based, on the one hand, on a stored reflector "inverted and upside down", and on the other hand, on a deployment mechanism using a long arm attached to the upper part of the reflector via a joint (1 axis) and a conventional deployment mechanism (1 or 2 axes).