Abstract
Antennas are an integral part of the satellite radio communication and navigation system that enables the transmission and reception of electromagnetic energy through free space. The small satellite size, volume, thermal, and material constraints pose a special challenge to the antenna system, and the antenna design is as much a challenge for radio engineering as it is for mechanical/structural engineering. Many new techniques including novel packaging solutions, deployment structures, 3D printing, and advances in the commercial printed circuit board technology have helped to tremendously reduce the volume and mass of antenna structures so they can be integrated on small satellites. Over the last decade, many novel and compact antenna solutions have been developed for small satellites that have enabled the small satellite radio communication systems to compete with much larger class satellites. This chapter presents an overview of the antennas that are most commonly used on small satellites and presents some recent examples of commercial small satellite antennas.
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Devaraj, K. (2020). Small Satellite Antennas. In: Pelton, J.N., Madry, S. (eds) Handbook of Small Satellites. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36308-6_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36308-6_10
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36308-6
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