S-band antenna design for nanosatellite applications

Abstract

In this thesis a 2.402 GHz circular polarized microstrip patch antenna for nanosatellite applications is developed. Nanosatellite is a type of satellite which mass is between 1 and 10 kg [1], developed to provide more cost effective way to send devices into Earth’s orbit. The reference when designing this antenna has been Aalto-1 satellite, developed by Aalto University, Finland. This nanosatellite follows the international CubeSat standard [2], which defines a set of requirements to cost effectively develop and launch nanosatellites. Therefore the developed antenna can be implemented in other projects adhered to the same standard or even projects with similar characteristics. The antenna has been designed to establish a high-data-rate radiolink between the nanosatellite and the ground station on Earth. The design goal was to provide at least 2 MHz of bandwidth, axial ratio better than 3 dB and the reflection coefficient magnitude smaller than -10 dB along the whole frequency band. Optimization of several parameters of the patch antenna has been carried out to fulfil these requirements. The antenna design was verified with simulations and a prototype is manufactured and measured in anechoic chamber conditions to compare its behavior with the simulation results. Differences between both measurements and simulations are discussed in the work and conclusions are drawn at the end of the thesis.