Abstract

Based on the requirements of a total weight of 42 kg or less, the NEXTSat-2 SAR (synthetic aperture radar) system was developed. As the NEXTSat-2 is a small-sized satellite, the SAR system was designed to account for about 40% of the dry mass of the payload relative to the total mass. Among the major components of the SAR system - which are an antenna, an RF transceiver, a baseband signal processor, and a power unit - a part with a particularly large dry mass is the antenna, the core of the SAR system. Whereas various selections are possible in consideration of gain and efficiency when designing the antenna, the micro-strip patch array antenna was adopted by reflecting the dry mass, power, and resolution required by the NEXTSat-2 project. In order to meet the mission requirement of the NEXTSat-2, the antenna was developed with a frequency of 9.65 GHz, a gain of 42.7 dBi, and a return loss of –15 dB. The performance of the antenna was verified by conducting a field test onboard the vehicle.

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