Feasibility study on electronically steerable PDHT antenna S/S

This paper describes an original antenna solution for downloading data on ground at X or Ka band from Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEO's) at medium/high Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP). The antenna consists of a small electronically steerable planar array magnified by a rotationally symmetric single or dual reflector optics. It can provide a 1D or 2D electronically steerable beam, with costant EIRP on earth, as requested to typical LEO's orbiting at 400-1000 Km attitude. The antenna is characterized by a limited number of radiating elements (typically 8 to 40) allowing to reduce payload cost and complexity.