Antennas & RF Front Ends
Antennas and RF front ends for CubeSats and SmallSats.
Custom development
We design UHF, S-band and X-band antenna systems, RF circuits and feed networks. Antenna geometry, polarization, bandwidth and installation are developed together with the satellite structure and mission link.
- UHF / S-band / X-band
- RF front ends
- Installed-pattern verification
Frequency bands and antenna options
| Band / application | Antenna and integration options |
|---|---|
| UHF | Fixed or deployable monopoles, dipoles and turnstile arrangements for TMTC and mission-specific links |
| S-band | Low-profile patches, fixed patch arrays and helical configurations for telemetry and payload-data links |
| X-band | Directional patches and fixed arrays for payload-data downlinks |
| L-band GNSS | Passive or active receive-antenna assemblies, filtering and low-noise amplification for selected GNSS signals |
| VHF mission payloads | Dedicated monopole, dipole or deployable-element designs for the selected radio application |
Operating channels and bandwidth are defined for each mission. A band label does not mean continuous coverage of the entire band.
Key features
Antenna design
- Linear, right-hand circular and left-hand circular polarization options.
- Single elements, multi-element arrangements and fixed beam-forming feed networks.
- Single-band and selected dual-band architectures.
- Low-profile body-mounted antennas and deployable-element assemblies.
- Coverage-oriented and directional patterns matched to the link geometry.
- Feed placement, connector orientation and mounting pattern tailored to the spacecraft.
- Antenna placement and installed-pattern modeling with the bus and deployed appendages.
- RF coexistence analysis for multiple transmitters, receivers and antennas.
Deployment and interfaces
- Retention and release electronics for deployable antenna elements.
- Commanded deployment, arm/inhibit states and deployment-status sensing.
- Ground-test and re-stow provisions developed with the mechanism.
- Redundant release paths where required by the architecture.
- Coaxial harnesses, bulkhead interfaces and controlled RF grounding.
RF front ends
- Low-noise amplifiers and receive filtering.
- Transmit power-amplifier stages with bias control and telemetry.
- Band-pass, low-pass and notch filters.
- Diplexers, splitters, combiners and couplers.
- RF switching, attenuation and impedance-matching networks.
- Receiver protection, transmitter leakage management and thermal design.
Technical configuration options
| Parameter | Design choices and verification focus |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Selected operating band, channel plan, impedance bandwidth and pattern bandwidth |
| Polarization | Linear, RHCP, LHCP or selected dual-polarized arrangements |
| Pattern | Coverage, boresight direction, half-power beamwidth and off-axis behavior |
| Matching | Input impedance, return loss, VSWR and variation across the operating band |
| Circular polarization | Axial ratio and polarization purity across the required field of view |
| RF interface | 50 Ω interfaces; SMA, SMP, MMCX or mission-selected connector and harness arrangements |
| Mechanical | Footprint, height, mass allocation, stowed/deployed envelope and keep-out regions |
| Power and environment | RF power handling, thermal paths, material compatibility and environmental requirements |
| Installed performance | Realized gain, efficiency, coupling and pattern changes with spacecraft geometry |
CubeSat and SmallSat integration
CubeSat layouts prioritize available faces, deployer clearances and compact RF harnesses. SmallSat layouts allow larger apertures and separated antennas but require coordinated field-of-view, grounding and coexistence analysis. Gain and coverage are evaluated for the installed configuration, not just an isolated antenna model.
Verification and delivery
Conducted measurements characterize matching, insertion loss, isolation, noise or amplification as appropriate to the assembly. Radiated measurements evaluate pattern, gain and polarization. Delivered hardware is accompanied by mounting and interface information, RF measurement records and configuration identification.