A printed microstrip antenna for Cube satellites: First steps towards the two metre amateur band

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A. Thomas (2019), JBIS, 72, pp.238-241

Refcode: 2019.72.238
Keywords: Microstrip antenna, Microsatellite communications, 144Mhz microstrip, pcb antenna

This paper reports on early experiments to design a functional microstrip antenna for one face of a 10 cm x 10 cm Cubesat. The objective is to design an antenna with no moving parts and a minimum of soldered components. Microstrip antennas are printed circuit boards where the copper track acts as a radiating element. A literature search suggests that most microstrip antenna designs are resonant for either RFID circuits around 900 MHz or for microwave frequencies at 2.4 GHz or above. This means that no design is readily available for the popular bands for satellite telemetry, the 145 MHz and 435 MHz amateur bands. Small circuit boards can be ordered online, relatively inexpensively, from production companies in China, thus making it possible for further experimentation to take place. This paper is written to encourage such experimentation.

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