Design, Fabrication and Test of Space Antennas for a Remote Sensing Satellite

Radio Telecommunication between satellites and ground stations is considered as one of the key parts of space missions. Since controlling a satellite is carried out using Telemetry-Telecommand (TT&C) and positioning links, these two satellite links are crucial. Unlike  ground antennas, there are many requirements in designing space antennas depending on the type of communication. Due to the rotation of the satellite around the Earth and the need to maintain the communication with the satellite, one of the most important requirements in designing TT&C and positioning links antennas is to create a relatively omnidirectional radiation pattern with circular polarization to cover at least 300 degrees of space. On the other hand, the location of antennas on the satellite, type of satellite structure and dimension considering mass budget constraints are other important challenges  which determine the antenna layout and location, as well as the antenna type.In this paper, the challenges in designing the TT&C and positioning links antennas for a remote sensing satellite in VHF and UHF frequency bands are investigated, then the designed antennas are fabricated. Finally, the simulation and test results are compared.