Deployable Ka/W Dual Band Cylindrical Parabolic Antenna Including Feed Support Structure

The need for large radio frequency (RF) apertures in space has long driven technology developments that enable aperture sizes that exceed the allowable volume within a launch vehicle fairing. As the operating wavelength of these systems increases, the difficulty and cost grow exponentially. Large aperture high frequency antennas are of significant interest for science instruments and commercial communications. NASA weather and precipitation monitoring efforts utilize RF sensing instruments operating at Ka and W band frequencies. The proposed deployable high frequency antenna, will enable future satellite missions with one-dimensional parabolic dual frequency RF apertures operating at 35 GHz and 94 GHz in sizes ranging from <2 to 32 square meters (4 meters x 8 meters) and larger. This antenna will be adaptable to other government and commercial applications across a broad range of frequencies. The ~1 meter x 2 meter "module" can satisfy the needs of the following subtopics: - Deployable Cylindrical Parabolic Antenna including Feed Support Structure o Supports dual frequency at 35 GHz and 96 GHz o Stows in 20 x 20 x 100 cm - Deployable Cylindrical antenna o Supports 36 GHz - Deployable W-band (94 GHz) antenna suitable for CubeSats and SmallSats o Supports SmallSats o Scalable to smaller apertures for CubeSats

High frequency antennas support next generation weather satellites monitoring precipitation, hurricanes, and other atmospheric phenomena. Deployable antennas will support larger apertures and/or smaller, more affordable launch systems for these missions. High frequencies are also targeted for next generation communications requirements offering dramatic increases in data transfer rates for RF systems that can also be supported by this technology.

There are a wide variety of military, civil, and commercial users with significant interest Ka/V/W band frequency spectrum. All of these are influenced by the same trend to use deployable antenna technologies to fit their needs onto smaller satellites that are more rapidly developed and launched within smaller budgets while preserving the maximum data output/throughput value.

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