Description
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a lightweight millimetre-wave antenna reflector with minimal or no sensitivity to acousticloading. The reflector shall be scalable to diameters of up to 3 metres and be compatible with Ka- to W-band operation.
Targeted Improvements:Reduction of mass per reflector area by a factor of 2.
Description: Next-generation telecommunication satellites such as Very-High-Throughput-Satellites (VHTS) will need reflector antennas compatible with Ka- to Wbandoperation. The radiating aperture requirements for such antennas will call for reflector diameters of up to 3 metres. Lightweight technologies existthat offer the needed insensitivity to acoustic loads, however the current state-of-the-art is not suitable for high-frequencyoperation beyond Ka-band.
In this activity, a lightweight reflector concept shall be developed that allows Ka- to W-band operation and complies with the requirement for lowsensitivity to acoustic loading. A reflector shall be designed based on the selected reflector concept. A reduced-scale Engineering Model of the reflectorshall be manufactured and tested. The test campaign shall include, as a minimum, acoustic and sine vibration, thermo-elastic distortion, RF testing(including passive intermodulation) and surface profile measurement.
Tender Specifics