Structure- Integrated Antennas for Solar Sails
Structure- Integrated Antennas for Solar Sails
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太阳帆结构集成天线
DOI：
10.1109/aero53065.2022.9843275
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发表时间：
2022
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在本文中，我们提出了用于太阳航行任务的膜集成天线的概念。太阳航行对航天器提出了具有挑战性的要求。阳光施加在帆上的小力导致航天器相应地产生较小的加速度。更高的加速度允许执行更复杂的任务，这就是为什么轻量级子系统设计是可取的。对于深空任务，需要大天线孔径来维持通信和传回科学数据。然而，大型天线会带来额外质量和增加装载体积的缺点。这带来了一个问题，特别是对于较小的帆船。我们建议将天线阵列集成到薄膜表面可以显着减少天线系统的质量。在本文中，我们提出了太阳帆膜上有源天线阵列的理论概念。我们研究了经典传输线的适用性，例如共面波导（CPW）以及单导体欺骗表面等离子体激元（SSPP）传输线。我们使用全波模拟分析 SSPP 的线路损耗。我们使用基于现有微波电路和天线的分析阵列模型，表明在 X 频段，在理想情况下使用 256 个元件阵列可以实现超过 30 dBi 的增益。我们基于具有不同损耗参数的 SSPP 馈电网络评估阵列的孔径空气密度。孔径空气密度随着天线阵列的尺寸迅速增加。然而，我们发现具有 128 个单元的阵列的孔径空气密度仅为 0.16 kg/m2，我们得出结论，SSPP 是未来轻型天线阵列的一项有前途的技术。
In this paper we present a concept for membrane-integrated antennas for solar sailing missions. Solar sailing imposes challenging requirements on the spacecraft. The small force exerted on the sail by the sunlight results in a proportionally small acceleration of the spacecraft. A higher acceleration allows for more complex missions which is why lightweight subsystem designs are desirable. For deep-space missions, large antenna apertures are necessary to maintain communication and transmit back scientific data. However, large antennas come with the penalty of additional mass and increased stowage volume. This poses a problem, especially for smaller sailcraft. We propose that integrating an array of antennas onto the membrane's surface can significantly reduce the mass of the antenna system. In this paper we present a theoretical concept for an active antenna array on solar sail membranes. We investigate the applicability of classical transmission lines, such as coplanar waveguides(CPW), as well as single-conductor spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) transmission lines. We analyze the line losses of SSPP using full-wave simulations. We use an analytical array model, based on existing microwave circuits and antennas, showing that in X-band, more than 30 dBi gain could be achieved under ideal circumstances with a 256 element array. We evaluate the aperture aereal density of arrays based on a SSPP feed network with different loss parameters. The aperture aereal density rapidly increases with the size of the antenna array. However, we find that the array with 128 elements has an aperture aereal density of only 0.16 kg/m2, We conclude that SSPP are a promising technology for future lightweight antenna arrays.