New Conceptual Structure Design for Affordable Space Large Deployable Antenna

In recent and future space applications, affordability is becoming increasingly important, hence new kinds of large deployable mesh reflectors are being considered and used for satellite communications. We propose a new conceptual structure design for large deployable spaceborne antennas based on a folded fixed truss hoop reflector. Through analysis and simulation, this new structure is shown to have good mechanical performance and good electromagnetic performance. By comparing this new design with typical large deployable antenna structures, we show that our folded fixed truss hoop reflector is a potentially good selection for future affordable large deployable antennas in satellite communications.