MULTIBEAM GATEWAY ANTENNA FOR SATCOM CONSTELLATIONS (ARTES AT 6B.147) - EXPRO+

Objective: The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a single aperture Ka or Q/V band gateway multibeam antenna, capable to serve multiple satellites located in a large field of view.Targeted Improvements: Replacing multiple (up to 12) gateway antennas based on reflectors with a single aperture multi-beam gateway antenna ; Reducing by a factor 10 the complexity ofa conventional active array antenna.Description: With the proliferation of satellite constellations, there is a strong interest, need, and market opportunities for innovative multibeam antennas for Gateway stations. These antennas should be able to generate multiple simultaneous beams in order to guarantee the link with different satellites. Existing gateway antennas are mainly based on reflectors dishes repointable mechanically, and able to track a single satellite instantaneously. Multibeam gateway antennas based onactive phased arrays are also under development. They can generate multiple simultaneous beams, but they are not competitive yet interms of complexity, power dissipation, thermal issues, cost. For these reasons, in this activity innovative multibeam antennas with a reduced complexity should be developed. The beamforming could be analogue, digital or hybrid. A significant simplification can be obtained by limitingthe multiple beams directions in a limited portion of the field of view where the majority of the satellitesareexpected to be visible. In facts, the number of active controls in the antenna is proportional to the extension of the angular field of view. Another simplification can be obtained by assuming a minimum angular separation between two contiguous beams corresponding to two different satellites. The design must be customisable based on the longitude and latitude of the gateway station considering also the orbital position and orientation of the constellations to be served. By applying these simplifications and customisations, significant simplifications in the gateway antennas should be obtained.The activity will design, manufacture and test a singleaperture Ka or Q/V band gateway multibeam antenna, capable to serve multiple satellites located in a large field of view. At least twopromising technical solutions will be identified and studied. Trade-offs will be carried out and the most promising concept willbe selected and implemented in a reduced scale prototype. The developed multibeam gateway antenna will be tested in a relevant environment establishing a link with a real satellite and scanning two independent andsimultaneous beams.