Special Article Collection on Antennas and Propagation for Space Applications
Spotlight on selected articles
Selected articles of the Special Article Collection are highlighted in short videos showcasing the presented research.
Discover the entire special article collection here.
Our authors’ perspectives
We invited the authors of our featured articles to address two key questions:
- How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity
- What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
Explore the articles to gain valuable insights and find inspiration for your own research journey.
An Integrated Dual-Band Dual-Circularly Polarized Shared-Aperture Transmit-Array Antenna for K-/Ka-Band Applications Enabled by Polarization Twisting Elements
Xuanfeng Tong, Zhi Hao Jiang, Yuan Li, Fan Wu, Jianjun Wu, Ronan Sauleau, and Wei Hong
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
High throughput satellite, which can provide high connectivity density and high-speed communication, plays a crucial role in unified space-air-ground communications. The planar transmit-array antenna, known for its capabilities, including multi-band, multi-polarization, multi-beam, high gain, etc., has emerged as a powerful lightweight and low-cost candidate for antennas used in satellite communication systems.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
Transmit-arrays with simultaneous multi-band and multi-polarization beamforming capability are important for space applications, but have not been achieved previously. This work proposes and demonstrates, for the first time, a dual-band dual-circularly-polarized shared-aperture transmit-array antenna. The polarization twisting cells, miniaturization method, and inter-band coupling reduction technique presented in this work serve as a guide for designing antennas for space applications.
A Dual-Polarized SIW Lens Antenna Array for Rx-/Tx-Integration at K/Ka-Band
Thomas Jaschke and Arne Jacob
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
Satellite communications enable efficient connectivity in places not covered by terrestrial systems. This includes, in particular, mobile platforms such as aircrafts and ships in remote areas. The implementation calls for steerable terminal antennas. Phased array technology, facilitated by the advent of highly integrated transmit and receive chip systems, is an appealing way to accommodate fast platform movements.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
The spotbeams of today’s high-throughput Ka-band satellites generate patterns of alternating frequency and polarization on the earth surface. Terminal antennas should be versatile enough to accommodate both, and should thus feature dual-polarization and a large bandwidth. For compactness, transmit and receive functionality should be integrated in a single aperture. The proposed antenna architecture presents a solution to these demanding requirements.
Risley Scanner Using a Metasurface Source and a Single Deflector for SATCOM Applications
Matthieu Bertrand, Jorge Ruiz-García, Jean-François Allaeys, David González Ovejero, Thi Quynh Van Hoang, Brigitte Loiseaux, Ronan Sauleau, Romain Czarny and Mauro Ettorre
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
The integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks is transforming the communications sector. Affordable and efficient terminal antennas for ground users are essential to support the growth and adoption of this technology.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
A simplified Risley Scanner, composed of a metasurface antenna and a single deflector for SATCOM, is presented as an alternative to power-demanding phased arrays. The metasurface enhances aperture efficiency while minimizing beam squint. The deflector consists of partially dielectric-loaded metallic waveguides fabricated via additive manufacturing. A prototype demonstrates a 360° field of view in azimuth, 50° elevation coverage in K-band.
Generalized Risley Prism for Beam-Steering Transmit Arrays With Reduced Grating Lobes
Sérgio A. Matos; Nelson J. G. Fonseca; João C. Serra; João M. Felício; Jorge R. Costa; Carlos A. Fernandes
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
New-generation space antenna technologies, powered by advanced satellite constellations, are delivering broadband connectivity with unprecedented low latency—overcoming key limitations of earlier systems. These breakthroughs are transforming global communication and revolutionizing critical sectors such as disaster response, navigation, and the Internet of Things. They extend seamless, resilient coverage across land, sea, and air, reshaping the future of global connectivity.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
Our research tackles key SATCOM terminal challenges by reducing cost and power consumption. We propose a novel generalized co-design approach for Risley prism transmit-array antennas to overcome high side lobe levels—a major limitation in prior implementations. This method offers greater design flexibility, enabling more efficient and scalable implementations of this widely researched mechanical scanning concept for SATCOM applications.
High-Gain Tapered Long Slot Array for Satcom Applications in PCB Technology With Folded Corporate Feed Network
Adham Mahmoud, Mauro Ettorre and Ronan Sauleau
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
The evolution of space antenna technologies is enabling compact, high-performance solutions that support broadband connectivity across the globe. By replacing bulky mechanical systems with flat, PCB-integrated antennas, it becomes possible to deploy scalable and cost-effective terminals on mobile platforms and in remote areas. This transformation is key to the success of emerging satellite constellations and global coverage.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
A key challenge in wideband space antenna arrays is managing the complexity and cost of multilayer feed networks. This work addresses this challenge by introducing a folded corporate feed network using a novel “stair transition” concept, reducing the number of substrate layers by 65% without compromising performance. The design also merges PCB-based multilayer integration with a low-loss, air-filled pillbox beamformer, combining the benefits of both fabrication technologies. This hybrid approach maintains excellent wideband performance and radiation characteristics while enabling efficient, scalable implementation in next-generation Satcom terminals.
Design of Rim-Located Reconfigurable Reflectarrays for Interference Mitigation in Reflector Antennas
Jordan Budhu, Sean V. Hum, Steven Ellingson and Richard Micheal Buehrer
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
Communications satellite megaconstallations are allowing for global connectivity and internet services to remote locations across the globe at the cost of increased radio interference directed toward the earth. Antennas at both the space- and ground-based ends of the link must be innovated to allow for reshaped global connectivity while simultaneously allowing for radio astronomy to continue. Our design is one example of such innovation.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
By placing reconfigurable reflectarrays around the rim of high-gain reflectors used in radio telescopes, our design promotes coexistence between satellites and ground-based radio telescopes by adaptively nulling the interference arriving at the aperture. This innovation can advance the future of space communications by promoting coexistence between communications satellites and ground-based networks.
Maximum Achievable Gain of Annular-Shaped Beams
Arun Bhattacharyya, Joshua Gustafson, Thomas Hand and Joseph Torres
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
The space antenna is a very important and crucial part of a communication satellite that enables global communications, navigations, weather monitoring and scientific explorations. The advancement of space antenna technology allows uninterrupted connectivity with high data rate and mitigates jamming scenarios.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
Maintaining uninterrupted connectivity between a satellite and a moving platform is challenging. The paper addresses that issue by proposing a high gain annular beam antenna for the moving platform. Such a beam has high gain along a fixed elevation angle regardless of the azimuthal angle, which allows unperturbed connectivity between the moving platform and the satellite.
A 7 m × 1.5 m Aperture Parabolic Cylinder Deployable Mesh Reflector Antenna for Next-Generation Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar
Yahya Rahmat-Samii, Junbo Wang, Jeremy Zamora, Gregg Freebury, Richard E. Hodges, and Stephen J. Horst
Q1: How are space antenna technologies reshaping global connectivity?
By enabling high-throughput, low-latency communications from orbit, space antenna technologies are redefining global connectivity and overcoming the constraints of conventional terrestrial infrastructure. Advances in lightweight, deployable antennas empower small satellites and CubeSats to perform increasingly complex missions at significantly lower cost. Constellations of such satellites expand global coverage, making seamless, ubiquitous communication more accessible than ever before.
Q2: What are the key innovations or challenges in space antenna design and propagation modeling that your research addresses, and how could these advance the future of space communications?
This research presents the design and validation of a high-aspect-ratio parabolic cylinder deployable mesh reflector with a line source feed. Its unique linear deployment mechanism enables significant reductions in mass and stowage volume, making it well-suited for payload-constrained platforms. This antenna is a key enabler for next-generation remote sensing missions requiring high-gain antennas on compact low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.