A spline-profiled conical horn antenna assembly optimized for deployable Ka-band offset reflector antennas in CubeSats

With the advent of small-scale satellite technologies, there has been significant interest in developing advanced functionalities for CubeSat and SmallSat projects. Developing high-gain antennas within this paradigm opens the door for many new applications which require high data rates or narrow-beam patterns. In this paper, we discuss the optimization of a compact, spline-profile horn antenna assembly that could be used as a feed for future deployable offset reflector antennas in CubeSats.