The S/X-band microwave feed system for NASA's first beamwaveguide antenna

Abstract

This paper reports on configuration, detail design, and performance of the dual S/X-band microwave feed system for the first Deep Space Network (DSN) beamwaveguide (BWG) antenna. By using existing spare components, simplifying the design of new components, and using new fabrication techniques and material, this feed system was implemented successfully with a small budget and a very tight schedule. The measured noise temperature of the feed systems is 17.5 Kelvin for S-band and 24.0 Kelvin for X-band, which agrees very closely with the predicted performance.