Microstrip Antenna and Tumbling Simulation for CubeSat on Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) System

Designing antenna for CubeSat on Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) system is very challenging by considering the tumbling scenario when satellite orbiting. Microstrip antenna is a type of lightweight antenna with a small dimension that meet the requirements of a CubeSat. Its simple configuration simplifies the assembly and adjustment process with the condition of the CubeSat. The propose ISL systems will orbiting on LEO orbits (600-1000 km). On the LEO orbits often occurs an ionic rotation that commonly referred as faraday rotational effect and it can cause Polarization Loss Factor (PLF). The antenna Design use truncated patch to produce circular polarization. Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) is placed under the antenna to suppress the surface current and reduce the side lobe and back lobe. Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) will increase the gain and widen the bandwidth of the antenna. The satellite prototype is a 3U satellite consist of three CubeSat made of steel alloy. The tumbling simulation produce the minimum HPBW and gain required for the tumbling scheme.