Design and analysis of antennas for a nano-satellite

Abstract

This paper describes the simulations, practical tests and analysis carried out for monopole and dipole antennas for nano-satellites. The antennas are designed for a 2U nano-satellite. With the monopole and dipole antenna designed to operate in the amateur VHF & UHF bands respectively. The antennas are made of steel tapes, which are obtained from measuring tapes. The antennas have a width of 6mm and thickness 0.2mm. The length of the monopole is 570mm and that of the dipole is 203mm for each arm, with a feed gap of 11mm. The paper further describes the simulations and modelling carried out for the antennas using a CAD software: Computer Simulation Technology (CST). A thermal simulation was done using the System Assembly and Modeling (SAM) module of the CST software to understand the effects of the varied temperature range in space on the antennas. After the intended design of the antennas is achieved using the CAD software, the antennas are practically tested, and the antenna length is altered to obtain the required results. For the intended frequency of operation, measured experimentally, the gain of the monopole and dipole antenna towards the earth facing side is −0.47dBi and −0.8dBi respectively. The return loss of the antennas was experimentally measured and found to be −30.836dB for the monopole antenna and −28.672dB for the dipole antenna. The paper also analyzes the effect of thermal protection tape on the antennas.