Deployable One-Meter Reflectarray For 6U-Class CubeSats

This paper describes the development of a 1-m deployable reflectarray antenna which is designed to fit in a 6U (10×20×30cm3) class CubeSat. This antenna was designed for a potential Raincube follow-on mission, that could potentially follow the success of the precipitation radar Raincube. It deploys into a 98.6cm × 82.1cm flat reflector. This antenna provides a gain of 48.2-dBi and an aperture efficiency of 46%. It consists of a Cassegrain reflectarray using a total of 14 deployable panels, a telescoping feed and subreflector.