Development of deployable antennas for the Diwata-2 microsatellite's amateur radio payload

This paper discusses the design and testing of deployable antennas for the amateur radio payload of Diwata-2. Diwata-2 is a 50-kg microsatellite designed primarily for scientific earth observation. Constraints due to Diwata-2's structure and other subsystems were considered and the optimum design was determined through simulations. The antennas were fabricated and tested in an anechoic chamber and the results showed good agreement between the actual measurements and simulations. Initial space environment tests were performed for the deployment systems and the results are being incorporated in the design revisions.